Depends what I'm doing. If I'm in deeper water catching bait then a 9' brill net. In shallower water for bait a 9' cast net. If after mullet deep then a 12' brill net and shallow at 12' cast net.
I remember when I bought my 12'. I was always of the mindset that bigger was better. That thing just about ripped my lower back apart learning to throw it. Takes a fair amount of torque. These days at my age and not going regularly, an 8' is about all I want to throw anymore.
It's all in the spin. If you are twisting your back yea it's gonna hurt you but to honest that just bad technique. You gotta let the net do the work. I can sling one around ok but nothing like my great grandpaw. He'd walk up to a 16' net in a damn jumble on the ground reach down grab it barely looked like he sis anything sling it half way across the bayou in s percent circle. No straightening it out hanging it on his shoulder nothing just grab it and sling it but I've never gotten that good. He made all our nets too and my biggest regret now is not learning that from him. He tried many times to teach me but I was to young and impatient to learn. Dying art for sure and something I wish I could do. I can do it enough to patch my bets but can't come close to making one. If you are hurting your back you are using your body to make the net twist instead of the nets own momentum. It's fine for the small nets like you said but if you want to through a big one you def gotta do it right.
Your are most definitely correct. Technique is huge. I don't think my technique is that bad, it's that my mom, my sister, my brother and myself all have lower backs that are just inherently f'd up. Simply riding in my truck for several hours can put me in pain for several days. However, I am known here for stretching my dollars and will never pay for bait that I can catch. That said, I searched cast nets on youtube today and saw a new technique I have never tried that looks like it might be more back friendly. It's a shame we don't appreciate our elders before they are gone. I live within 1/4 mile of my parents now and am enjoying every minute I get to spend with my dad.
It's been a few years but I seem to remember an ad in the paper or a sporting magazine for a device that made you throw a perfect circle every time. I never saw one but in the picture it kind of looked like a frisbee
I have one. It's a tray with a collar in the middle and a handle on the side. Works ok on smaller nets, but not so much on the larger ones. I don't need help on the smaller (8') ones. I've always done it the lead in the mouth way. The video I saw today on youtube looked promising. Gonna give it a try.
