Raise your hand if you have ever botched a net job. Be honest now! I feel like if you have fished for any length of time, fumbling a net job is inevitable. I certainly have. More then once. The same sickening feeling in your stomach happens every time. The embarrassment of a poor performance isn’t easy to swallow either. It doesn’t matter if you are a fishing guide or a weekend warrior. Loosing a fish so close to capture is a tremendous letdown for the angler fighting the fish. Apologies are excepted, but inside the angler left at the sudden loss is certainly unhappy. Reguardless of what they say, or how they may play it off. Bottom line is, that particular fish isn’t coming back. Period! Get over the incident and keep fishing. Learning from the negative experience. Avoiding the possibility of repeating the same mistake again in the near future. Move on and catch another fish to put in the net.

As fishing guides here in Northern California, specializing in larger fish like salmon, striped bass, and sturgeon. We especially hate the embarrassment and frustration that occurs when a hasty net job becomes a long lasting disaster. Leaving clients wondering what they are paying you for. Generally the experience keeps a guy from repeating the same mistake in the near future. If I had to be honest about my own faults as the “net man”. I would say I still botch a net job a few times a year. The sickening feeling never changes either.

I guess it’s safe to say, as long as there are fish to be caught, there will be a net. Where there is a net, there will be a “net man”. Where there is a “net man”, there are going to be lost fish. Hahaha! Because no one is perfect and shit happen! Go get another fish!

Mike's Fishing Guide Service for Sacramento River fishing targeting King Salmon, Striped Bass, White Sturgeon, American Shad and Rainbow Trout. The Best Sacramento River Salmon Fishing Guide and Striped Bass Fishing Guide on the Sacramento River.