net vs. cradle

Getting into muskie fishing and wondering about any pros and cons on nets and or cradles. I am leaning towards cradle but comments would be appreciated.

Forget the cradle unless you plan on fishing everyday. We catch no more the 6-10 musky per year and almost all are released at boatside without the use of either a net or cradle. The few big ones we use a net for and then practice CPR.

I agree with the net if you must remove a muskie from the water. May also consider a pair of Lindy fishing gloves to protect your hands from hooks and teeth while removing hooks, $50 is a cheap investment vers an Emergency Room visit, trust me.

No real pros to a cradle IMHO. First you have to ask yourself if you ever fish alone? How are you going to cradle the fish by yourself? Get the big net (Frabill Big Kahuna or Beckman Mag Musky)

Also, if you have a buddy along and is maning the cradle for you great..but as you’re leading that fish into the net with a 3oz jerkbait with three razor sharpe trebles on it think about where he is…face down by the cradle..if that fish shakes and that bait flies that guy might get hurt bad. It does hurt, I got a 7X hook through my arm night fishing a few days ago..no fun. Go with the BIG net.

Not to mention you should be working the fish in the net with the net in the water (can’t do that with a cradle) forget what you see on In-Fisherman with Jimmy hoisting the fish in a cradle into the boat and dropping it on the floor…not good for the fish or the fishery.

Hope that helps some.

Oh, one other thing…the fishing gloves idea isn’t a bad one but I might suggest spending that $50 on a Knipex hook cutter instead. That and an 11″ needle nose pliers that will keep your hands far enough away from the fish to be safe. You’ll want a quality hook cutters for cutting hooks out of badly hooked fish but more importantly for cutting them out of yourself. Like I said I got stuck the other night when a buddy set the hook and his mag dawg came back at the boat 100 MPH and buried into my forearm and stomach…Trust me the quality hook cutters was the difference between being able to stay on the water after that and putting the screws to some fish or a trip to the emergency room.

The hook cutter idea is a great suggestion. A few years ago I got a few Rapala hooks in my thumb and ended up using a knife to open the wound enough to remove the hooks. A hook cutter would have been much less painful.

AgentEsox said it all……………

No cradle for this guy and GOT to have hook cutters!!!!!!

I would suggest practicing a bit too, cutting some hooks in the garage…..It isn’t the easiest thing to do, first time, on a fish……when you have never done it before.

Completely agree. No cradle and Knipex are a must. One of the best investments I have ever made. They will cut thru muskie treble hooks like butter!!

great info
thanks
zoomer