Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Fyke Net Usage Tips

Here is our first attempt at making and posting a video. Please excuse the filming flaws. We had a lot of fun doing this as a family.

You will notice the pull rope anchor is located on the far shore line and not in the water. Its about 60' across the pond at that location.

Good job! I like how the whole family got involved.

So were any of the fish damaged by the snapper?

Very nice.....

Nice job, MNFISH!! Really nice.

Nice work guys !!!

Ok just confirms how bad I need one of these.

Great Job.

The newest frame for the trap net works great - great creative idea - you get a big Atta Boy from me. Nothing wrong with the video either, it showed everything that was needed. I would maybe be concerned that the turtles may eventually damage the net. Netting is not easy to repair. How long were your net sets?

Thanks for all the design compliments guys, it means a lot. It sure is nice to see something work once in a while. If my financial wealth were measured by my failures, I would be a billionaire 10 times over.

No fish in the trap were hurt by the snapper as far as I could tell.

The turtles and the muskrats are definitely a concern. I have a soft spot for those snappers and don't want to hurt them or relocate them. Last year there was one in my bottom pond that was at least 1.5' in diameter. He gets my respect simply because he is probably 10-15 years my elder. As far as the painted turtles, I will need to relocate or dispatch some.

To date, I have not let the net soak for longer than 24hrs. For the video, set it and retrieved it twice with each soak less than 24hrs.

The water temps were below 50F each day of filming. Once the water temps go over 55F, I believe that net will be very heavy with each pull.

Now that it looks like this net will do what I want, I can take my fish managing up a level. We will continue to test the setup and post our findings. Then post the specs.

Numerous pondowners will benefit from your experiences. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good pondmeistering.

Very cool, now I have to set my fyke net up that way so I can use it easily in all three ponds,

How heavy and or how deep is your anchor now?

MNFH, do you mind to post the diagram of your trap? I suspect you have detailed plans and a list of needed materials. I think you will go far in your field. Did the swivel hang the rope and made it necessary to put from the other bank? Excellent idea and craftsmanship!!

I've found that the warmer the water, the less time Snappers can stay in the net without drowning. I had one set in 80°F water for 18 hrs. and the snapper in it was dead. They survived for that length of time (that the net was set) in 70°F water temps.

I forget (and apologize) if you've posted it before, but what are the specs on the net? (what info do you need to give the net company to duplicate the net if you wanted to buy another one?)

I am so glad fyke nets are becoming more popular. They really are a great pond management tool and with mnfish's great alteration to the original set up, they're also easy to set and retrieve.

I haven't done much with the anchor sizing. I can tell you 15lbs is too light. I believe a water spike or digging anchor would work real well. Or my guess 30lbs of raw weight. It's something I will look at.



Ken, normally you would be right about detailed drawings but just sketches at this stage. I will post detailed drawings later this summer. If people can't wait (which I understand), look at the pics on this thread they should tell you everything you need.
1.5" ABS
ABS solvent
Black tie straps, (these hold the net to the frame)

Rope to the anchor worked well. Just not enough weight. I wanted to perfect the net and frame so I took the anchor out of the equation by roping to a tree across the opposite bank

Scott-


CJ -
Couldn't agree with you more! I believe this will be a game changer as far as my ponds are concerned. I can now establish a good baseline in my ponds with numbers, types, and size distributions along with culling trash fish from the total population. Then tailor management strategies based on accurate data. And nothing fires up an engineer like formulas and data collection.

I think the popularity has driven up the price. I just hope I can get mine ordered and in before it gets too high for me to afford it.

Plus having a few options to order one from would be nice as well.

I wasn't going to do this before I had more testing and was completely convinced in the design but seeing the responses...I would like to run an idea by you guys.

Currently, we are looking how to build the net right into the frame and a way to get the cost where all small pond owners could afford it. Also, and this is very important to me, use the net proceeds (minus the material costs) as a fund raiser for the PondBoss forum. You guys work hard to make this the greatest single private water management resource. And I want to see that continue.

Any ideas how we can make this happen?

This sounds like a great idea to me. And one I would take advantage of if I do not get my net before we do this.

A question I have would there be a possibility for this to still collapse down for storage and hauling to the locations?

That would be an issue for me since I do not live at the ponds I would use this to manage.

This is one of those things I'll probably never do, but I have really enjoyed this thread. I have a much better understanding of the fykes nets now.

Great job mnfish!

Thanks for the info. One last question: What size are the throats (dia)?

I'll be using one in a week or so. You'll be suprised at what it hauls in.

No joke, we caught a Mermaid a few years back... A pretty blonde one too.

You know the thing about pics!

More goldfish are showing up in that one pond. It's also the one that I pulled 125# of snapping turtles out of the first day.......

There is two throats. The first opening is 2" wide x 2' long (box opening). The second is a 3" diameter


CJ- Look how excited I get just catching BCP and BH with the net. Can't imagine catching a pretty mermaid. Truly, I'm such a fish nerd I probably wouldn't look at her as ou la la but rather wonder what positive/negative effect she could be posing on my BCP population.

Looks like there isn't all that much interest so I will stick to plan and post the Fyke 2.0 design specs with the collapsible net.

Yesterdays catch with the net