[Kirkll]

I did most of my river hiking, canyon jumping steelhead fishing in the late 70’s and 80’s and we used a fold up gaff hook a lot for the ones coming home. Worked excellent !

You never hear about guys using a gaff hook on salmon or steelhead anymore. Did they outlaw these things for salmon and steelhead or something? Kirk

 

[GPS]

I did most of my river hiking, canyon jumping steelhead fishing in the late 70’s and 80’s and we used a fold up gaff hook a lot for the ones coming home. Worked excellent !

You never hear about guys using a gaff hook on salmon or steelhead anymore. Did they outlaw these things for salmon and steelhead or something? Kirk

I know you haven't been able to use one in freshwater in WA for quite some time. I think they changed it when selective fisheries became a thing. I still have a couple.

 

[Kirkll]

I know you haven't been able to use one in freshwater in WA for quite some time. I think they changed it when selective fisheries became a thing. I still have a couple.

Ahhhhh….. that might be it… salt water gaffs are still quite common. Never see em on the rivers any more.

 

[fish_junkie]

I fished a lot of coastal rivers and cover a lot of ground hiking through brush and forest. I've been packing this net with me the past few years and has worked perfectly. Easy deploys with one hand. The net isn't very deep, but you can get the fish in it and manage it.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-gold-series-folding-landing-nets

 

[Rage]

I’ve been using the Frabill Salmon Steelhead catch and release wading net for 10+ years, the current model is shown above in HarvestNFaith’s photo, the floating model, which isn’t a bad thing. I’ve lost 2 of the old models being careless when releasing a fish. They sink!

I zip tie a strong net magnet to the top of the basket ring and put the other end on the d-ring on the back of my Umpqua chest pack. That way the handle is hanging down. Get the magnet titled ‘Strongest Net Magnet’ on Amazon, otherwise your net will constantly get pulled off. I was bush-wacking 2 days this last weekend and it didn’t fall off once.

I then attach the net’s lanyard to a bungee leash which is attached with carabiners to my wading belt. That way when you release a fish, you can just let go of the net if you’re alone.

It’s the best system I’ve found.

 

[HarvestNFaith]

I lost my old (non floating) one and proceeded to lose another brand new one about 2 weeks later. I used to just use the magnetic release and not have it attached otherwise, but I don't have the ‘Strongest Net Magnet’ so I watched it float down the river. Now I have it bungeed with a small carabiner to my pack in case brush or current best my magnetic release.

 

[TheBigFish]

Tangle-Free Wading Net - 19" x 25" - Frabill