About our elver fyke nets
I have 13 years of elver fyke net fishing experience. The nets I sell are the same type that I fish with. They are White. I build a standard 8'x30' net with 18' foot wings and also a standard 4'x17' net with 8' wings. A bottom chain or bottom rope and top floats depends on what you want. I build to suit you and the price is in accordance with what you want. All of my nets are "true dimensional", which means that they are the actual dimensions that you order.
I sew in the top rope and tie eyes on each wing tip and in the trapezoid corners. These eyes are for poles. If there is a bottom rope, it is installed and tied in the same manner. If there are floats installed, they are on a separate rope which is attached to the top rope. I sew the chain into the net leaving a few links protruding from each wing tip to tie strings to. I use ONLY stainless steel hog rings and galvanized chain.
In my personal nets, I use a rope in the bottom and they rock down fine. This is my personal preference.
Call if you have any questions, wish to purchase, or want me to repair one of your nets. As I say every year, DON'T wait until the last minute to order! There may be a few nets on hand one day and gone the next.
50% down will reserve you a net and put you in pecking order and it's first come with $, first serve. I usually begin taking orders and building in January and will take payments, credit & debit cards, cash & checks.
The word has been getting around about these nets and there have been a lot of happy people. Some people are buying multiple nets each. In 2019 there was a mesh supply crisis. Even trying to plan months in advance to be ready, suppliers were caught off guard. As of summer 2019 I have some nets on hand, some in various stages of completion and a roll of mesh on hand. If you really want to be an early bird and get your net this fall or early winter, that is not a problem.
RACISM: I'll get that straight right now. I don't care if you're white, native, black...whatever. You treat me with respect, I treat you with respect and we are all happy.
Let's not play games:
1. Please don't call me and say you have XX amount of money and want a certain type of net for under the list price. I spend a lot of time assembling these nets and the materials to build them are expensive. These are not thrown together carelessly to get them out the door. (You don't go to a restaurant and order a nice $30 steak dinner from the menu, but tell them that you want it for $10 do you?)
2. Please don't try to get me to sell you a net for less with the promise of "I'll tell everybody to buy from you."
3. You're expensive! Make me a deal. No I am NOT expensive. I've done my homework. I have seen incomplete nets for sale for hundreds more than my complete ones that are ready to hit the water. I refer you to the bottom of this page to "a deal" someone got. I also refer you to the link to the "Net Price List" below. At the bottom of the price list is a notation about being legal.
4. Will you teach me how to build nets? (I have been asked this) Umm..no. I figured out how to do it on my own and learned my own tricks along the way. Why would I show someone else so that they can start trying to compete with me?
5. Prices here are reasonable. There is quality in the work. If you take care of your net it will last for years and earn you thousands and thousands of dollars. Depending on your quota size and prices it could earn you six figures....so don't try to beat me down.
DELIVERY- Yes, I will deliver nets if I'm going to be in an area.
ph: 207.598.6862
Legalities-
These Fykes are built in accordance with Maine law. They are within legal size (no more than 30' from wing tip to cod end) and the excluder panels are within limitation set forth in Title 12. The excluder must be 1/2" mesh or smaller. I use 1/4" which works absolutely fine. The reason I mention this is because awhile ago, a person was on facebook posting information which made it look like I had put an illegal excluder panel in the net that he had purchased from me. He publicly posted some dimensions which indicated that my 1/4" panel was illegal. His claim was the panel had to be between 3/8" and 1/2". I copied and pasted the law to him regarding the dimensions and asked where he obtained his incorrect information. He never responded. Rest assured, if you buy a net here, it is legal. I build them according to what is written in Title 12, not what so & so says or thinks the law is.
With that being said, if you desire a larger panel than 1/4", I will install it, not a problem. My stock nets come with 1/4".
I sew in the top rope and tie eyes on each wing tip and in the trapezoid corners. These eyes are for poles. If there is a bottom rope, it is installed and tied in the same manner. If there are floats installed, they are on a separate rope which is attached to the top rope. I sew the chain into the net leaving a few links protruding from each wing tip to tie strings to. I use ONLY stainless steel hog rings and galvanized chain.
In my personal nets, I use a rope in the bottom and they rock down fine. This is my personal preference.
Call if you have any questions, wish to purchase, or want me to repair one of your nets. As I say every year, DON'T wait until the last minute to order! There may be a few nets on hand one day and gone the next.
50% down will reserve you a net and put you in pecking order and it's first come with $, first serve. I usually begin taking orders and building in January and will take payments, credit & debit cards, cash & checks.
The word has been getting around about these nets and there have been a lot of happy people. Some people are buying multiple nets each. In 2019 there was a mesh supply crisis. Even trying to plan months in advance to be ready, suppliers were caught off guard. As of summer 2019 I have some nets on hand, some in various stages of completion and a roll of mesh on hand. If you really want to be an early bird and get your net this fall or early winter, that is not a problem.
RACISM: I'll get that straight right now. I don't care if you're white, native, black...whatever. You treat me with respect, I treat you with respect and we are all happy.
Let's not play games:
1. Please don't call me and say you have XX amount of money and want a certain type of net for under the list price. I spend a lot of time assembling these nets and the materials to build them are expensive. These are not thrown together carelessly to get them out the door. (You don't go to a restaurant and order a nice $30 steak dinner from the menu, but tell them that you want it for $10 do you?)
2. Please don't try to get me to sell you a net for less with the promise of "I'll tell everybody to buy from you."
3. You're expensive! Make me a deal. No I am NOT expensive. I've done my homework. I have seen incomplete nets for sale for hundreds more than my complete ones that are ready to hit the water. I refer you to the bottom of this page to "a deal" someone got. I also refer you to the link to the "Net Price List" below. At the bottom of the price list is a notation about being legal.
4. Will you teach me how to build nets? (I have been asked this) Umm..no. I figured out how to do it on my own and learned my own tricks along the way. Why would I show someone else so that they can start trying to compete with me?
5. Prices here are reasonable. There is quality in the work. If you take care of your net it will last for years and earn you thousands and thousands of dollars. Depending on your quota size and prices it could earn you six figures....so don't try to beat me down.
DELIVERY- Yes, I will deliver nets if I'm going to be in an area.
ph: 207.598.6862
Legalities-
These Fykes are built in accordance with Maine law. They are within legal size (no more than 30' from wing tip to cod end) and the excluder panels are within limitation set forth in Title 12. The excluder must be 1/2" mesh or smaller. I use 1/4" which works absolutely fine. The reason I mention this is because awhile ago, a person was on facebook posting information which made it look like I had put an illegal excluder panel in the net that he had purchased from me. He publicly posted some dimensions which indicated that my 1/4" panel was illegal. His claim was the panel had to be between 3/8" and 1/2". I copied and pasted the law to him regarding the dimensions and asked where he obtained his incorrect information. He never responded. Rest assured, if you buy a net here, it is legal. I build them according to what is written in Title 12, not what so & so says or thinks the law is.
With that being said, if you desire a larger panel than 1/4", I will install it, not a problem. My stock nets come with 1/4".
8'x30'x18' -In the 8'x30' nets, there is approximately 600 yards of thread. Yeah…that’s 6 football field lengths. I use nylon upholstery thread so that it is strong and won’t rot out. The 18’ wings and 8’ trapezoid span allow these nets to be opened wide. It is 43’ from the end of a wing across the wing, across the trapezoid and to the tip of the other wing. Every seam that has stress is sewn with a zig-zag pattern in order to put as much thread in to the material as possible. I can also repair or rebuild your net if it is worth it.
4'x17'x8'- In the 4'x17' nets, there is approximately 200-250 yards of thread. The 8’ wings and 4’ trapezoid span create a 20’ length wing tip to wing tip. These little nets are great for those smaller fishing holes where trying to fit a 8'x30' is a pain. Trying to stuff an 8'x30' in to a waterway that’s narrow can be a nuisance. These 4' footers are perfect for areas like that.
4'x17'x8'- In the 4'x17' nets, there is approximately 200-250 yards of thread. The 8’ wings and 4’ trapezoid span create a 20’ length wing tip to wing tip. These little nets are great for those smaller fishing holes where trying to fit a 8'x30' is a pain. Trying to stuff an 8'x30' in to a waterway that’s narrow can be a nuisance. These 4' footers are perfect for areas like that.
"We can also repair your nets."
Battle Story-
How tough are these nets? Everybody likes to brag about their products I'm sure, but I won't. I'll just lay it out how it is. If you take care of your net, it will last for many many years. People who buy nets from me will sometimes ask for advice, which I give and I'll also give it freely to save them from destroying a net. One piece of advice is- "Know your waterway". Know what is going to happen with 1" of rain, 2" of rain etc. You need to know when you need to pull your net out.
Are these nets indestructible? Absolutely not! Will they take a beating? Yes. Do I recommend abusing them? Nope. Do I recommend doing what you're about to read below? Nope AND Nope!
In mid-April of 2018 we had a wild night of 45+MPH wind and 2" of rain. It came in with a vengeance. My net was still in the water and I thought for sure it was wrecked. I should have played it safe and pulled it. The waterway became a raging river & overflowing. I went to check on things as the tide went down and the net was still there, standing, intact and I actually caught something. I couldn't believe it. Come daylight, I inspected it and it had sustained no damage.
That same night, a customer who had just splashed his brand new net was caught off guard also. He thought that he had lost it. However, when the water receded all he did was stand it back up again and reset it. He listened to some advice and although being caught off guard, ultimately it paid off for him. The net sustained no damage and he told me that everybody else was sewing theirs back together. He was the ONLY one who didn't have a casualty. He told me that other fishermen there had looked at his net when he set it up at the beginning of the season and criticized it because they didn't think it was that good of a net. The people who were criticizing his net before the storm had to repair theirs after it. He said then they wanted to know where he got it. It survived unscathed and he had no problem filling his quota.
Here is one of his exact text messages from after that storm: "Yeah I was really impressed. Everyone else was sewing all season, I didn't have to once, LOL. Had people saying they didn't like the material until they saw how good it was, now they want it."
Check out this short video below of a rip test.
Are these nets indestructible? Absolutely not! Will they take a beating? Yes. Do I recommend abusing them? Nope. Do I recommend doing what you're about to read below? Nope AND Nope!
In mid-April of 2018 we had a wild night of 45+MPH wind and 2" of rain. It came in with a vengeance. My net was still in the water and I thought for sure it was wrecked. I should have played it safe and pulled it. The waterway became a raging river & overflowing. I went to check on things as the tide went down and the net was still there, standing, intact and I actually caught something. I couldn't believe it. Come daylight, I inspected it and it had sustained no damage.
That same night, a customer who had just splashed his brand new net was caught off guard also. He thought that he had lost it. However, when the water receded all he did was stand it back up again and reset it. He listened to some advice and although being caught off guard, ultimately it paid off for him. The net sustained no damage and he told me that everybody else was sewing theirs back together. He was the ONLY one who didn't have a casualty. He told me that other fishermen there had looked at his net when he set it up at the beginning of the season and criticized it because they didn't think it was that good of a net. The people who were criticizing his net before the storm had to repair theirs after it. He said then they wanted to know where he got it. It survived unscathed and he had no problem filling his quota.
Here is one of his exact text messages from after that storm: "Yeah I was really impressed. Everyone else was sewing all season, I didn't have to once, LOL. Had people saying they didn't like the material until they saw how good it was, now they want it."
Check out this short video below of a rip test.
Beware of others
Most of us work hard for our money. Some other net builders don't take the time to put any quality work in to their products and may not even finish them before selling them. In 2019 I saw an 8x30 net for sale that wasn't even close to finished and someone wanted $1500 as is. Some builders blatantly rip people off. In 2019 a net was sold to a person as an "8x30". The excluder panel was rat wire wrapped around plastic pipe and secured with zip ties. This had many sharp edges. Anybody with any experience knows what sharp edges will do to a fyke net. The panel was not installed in the net and just thrown into a tote with the net. The person paid $1000 for the net because it was "a deal". This net was brought to me to be finished the day prior to opening day because it was not legal to fish when it was sold. I hung it up and immediately saw that it was not an 8x30 net. We measured it and it was 7'4" tall and only 22' long from wing tip to the end of the cod end. 22' is a far cry from 30'. The measurement across the wing tips was 25'. You can see how short the wings are and the low quality of the workmanship of this net. It is just thrown together. It is YOUR money, spend it as you wish.
There is no excuse for something like this. If you tell a customer they are getting an 8x30 net, you deliver them an 8x30 net, period.
There is no excuse for something like this. If you tell a customer they are getting an 8x30 net, you deliver them an 8x30 net, period.
Not even sure what to say
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Short wings, 10'6" long
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I'm....not even sure what this mess is.
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Toggles thrown on.
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Not a stainless hog ring anywhere.
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