Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass SMB in cages

For TJ's uses, 1/2" mesh would be best. It should be soft netting for scaled fish though---not plastic.

I use 1/4 for all purposes as a good all around size. Another source that is stronger is rigid plastic netting/fencing. Easy to build a cage with cable ties and rigid plastic.

Yeah TJ, Cecil is right, I used plastic fencing, I didn't use the cage after I had trouble with the bears and they ripped the top.
Too bad you don't live closer you could have the cage, I'm not gonna use it.

Rex,


I respectfully disagree. I've only used plastic and never had a problem. Same goes for Cody as far as I know.

Thanks Scott, looking forward to seeing how they look. I have some local guys that have been asking for HBG and don't really have a source. If demand continues I might think about them in the future.

TJ, are you seining this weekend too? I got waders man! Picked them up today in Lincoln. Nothing special, but at a great price. And the boy's should be here Friday. Can't wait to get them wet.

Just basing the info on what all the info I've read on cage culture, net and twine company's and cage builders suggest. Harder netting knocks off scales and increases stress/potential infections. Harder netting is only recommended for catfish to prevent the barbs from getting caught in the net material.

I would think the degree of scale damage would have more to do with stocking density and "fright/flight" activity when scared.

I bought my netting from Stoney Creek. It looks like galvanized hardware cloth, but it's plastic netting. It works great with the black zip ties.

That makes perfect sense Rex, but from my experience I've not seen any scale damage in the cages. I just don't see them banging against the sides. It's kind of like those coated black minnow traps that the minnows avoid because they can see them. It seems the fish in the cages with the black mesh plastic are able to easily see the sides, and avoid colliding with them. I shied away from the "soft netting" because it appeared more difficult to clean the algae off of, but I could be wrong. The black stiff plastic mesh is fairly easy to brush off with a push broom on an extended handle.

I am willing to concede that it's possible scale damage is more of an issue if the water is turbid (mine is quite clear) or the fish are in the cages at very high densities. I steer clear of high densities as my goal is high quality fish not just numbers. I also am keenly aware not to startle my fish. Interestingly though, we swim in the same pond I have most of my cages and you can snorkle around the cages and the fish are not startled by quite curious peering out at you like a convict behind bars.

The worst thing one can do however is lift up the cage and allow the fish to flop in the bottom with no water. If I have someone that wants to see them I am careful to lift the cage up only partially, but I don't even do that anymore.

The best time to plant fish in a cage is in the spring when water temps are rising and it's imperative to get them feeding ASAP to fight mucous loss from seining and the stress of hauling. When I stocked feed trained LMB's in a cage in the spring my supplier (Dan Laggis of Laggis Fish Farms, Gobels, MI) would seine them out of the pond right after ice out. If one did not get them on feed right away they were prone to fungus. To successfully counter that I would hydrate and pinch the pellets to push air out so they would slowly sink. In that cold of water the bass would not come up for pellets but they would take a slow sinking soft pellet.

There are 2 types of "netting" to which those suggestions are made. One is nylon uncoated netting which as CB1 notes will harm the fish - it knocks off scales. Second is coated netting which is what most seines and cages are made of and it does not harm fish. Those suggestions are directed at those 2 sources. I have not seen any comments on rigid plastic netting but in use the fish seem to do fine. It is often used in offshore fish cages used in large scale aquaculture operations. I am not addressing snow fencing etc as I have no idea how it works.

thats a swell looking cage, amigo. Nicely done. I think I can do that...I just need to find a crease of time. Wish I lived closer...quite a drive from NE to NY!

Isn't that the story of many of our lives?


The wife and I have seen people sitting on their front porches watching cars go by. (They are not retirement age and this was before the recession) We are baffled that someone would have the time to do that!

As I said I have yet to see any damage or scale loss of fish with the rigid plastic. However I did have some adult bluegills that had fin damage from territorial fighting. I no longer will put large bluegills in a cage. I've put yellow perch in a cage up to 14 + inches for holding and did not see any damage whatsoever.

Eric,

How long does the soft netting last? I'm still using the same rigid netting material I used 15 years ago.

It depends on the quality. I have some soft nets that are 10 years old. The rigid plastic will last a lot longer than me.

There is an easy way to make a cage with nothing but rigid plastic and cable ties (no frame). 6 pieces the same size and put 4 plus the bottom together with ties overlapping about a half inch and then put on the top with ties on only one side so it will open and shut. Then attach flotation.