Castnets Constructed of Machine-Made Netting by Hilton M

Castnets Constructed of Machine-Made Netting by Hilton M. Floyd UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES Fishery leaflet 579 CONTENTS P age Introduction. Castnet styles Designs and m e th o ds. 2 Gore n e t. 2 Skirt net. 2 Style construction. 6 English net 6 Spanish net 9 Summary . .. 13 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Stewart L. Udall , Secretary John A. Carver, Jr., Under Secretary Stanley A . Cain , A ssistant Secre tary j or Fish and Wildlife FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVIC E , Cla rence F . P a utzke, Commissioner B URE AU OF CO MMERCIAL FISHERI ES, Donald L . McK ernan, Director Washington, D. C. J ul y 1965 Castnets Constructed of Machine-Made Netting by HILTON M. FLOYD Fishery Methods and Equipment Specialist Bureau of Comme rcial Fisheries Exploratory Fishing and Gear Research Base Pascagoula, Miss. Castnet fishing has been practiced by com The following instructions and illustrations mercial and sport fishermen for centuries in are presented in a step-by-step manner. To many parts of the world. This method was make them easily understood by a fisherman, probably introduced to the new world by the I chose a 6-foot castnet with 2-inch stretched first settlers during the sixteenth century. In mesh. With a little calculation, however, he can the past two decades , it has become increas alter the instructions and use them for any ingly popular in the sou the a s t ern United size of mesh or length of net. States. Because of the lack of standardization in The castnet is a circular piece of netting measuring twine, the fisherman may have a with lead weights secured around the perim problem in purchasing the size he desires. eter, which is tucked under to form a pocket The No. 20/ 9 cable-laid cotton twine and No. and has a rope rigged to the center for re 208 nylon twine mentioned in this paper have trieving. about 0.0224-inch diameter. The breaking The net can be cast over fish by a fishe rman strength of the 20/ 9 cotton is lO.S pounds and wading in shallow water, or may b e cast from of the 208 nylon is 2 8 pounds. shore, dock, or boat. To spread the net per f ectly requires a great amount of practice and p atience by the fisherman. Judging the speed CASTNET STYLES a nd direction of travel of a fish when it whirls the water in the fisherman's vicinity is anart. The Spanish and English styles of castnets This is why castne t fishing attracts the sports are commonly used. The Spanish net has the men. weighted perimeter folded under to form a Cas~net fishing is done the year round and pocket and secured to the netting at regular many species of fish are taken; the most intervals with short tucks (or brails), usually p opular fish in the southeastern United States of l8-thread (about l / l6-inch diameter) twine. i s mullet. The handline is secured to the center of the The art of hand knitting a castnet has been circle. When the trapped fish tries to escape h anded down from father to son and requires a from under the net, which has been cast over g reat amount of skill and time. The purpose of it, it swims into the pocket. This style of net t his paper is to describe the two simpler should always be used in shallow water so methods of con s t r u c tin g a castnet from that it can settle on the bottom. After being m achine-knitted nettin:g . They greatly reduce cast over the fish it should be hauled in slowly the construction time. to preve nt the leads from being pulled off the The netting can be made of linen, silk, bottom, allowing the fish to escape. c otton, or nylon and other synthetic mate The English net has tucks (or brails), usually rials. Though cotton netting r equire s more of l8-thread twine, several inches longer than care (thorough washing and drying before the radius of the circle. The se tucks are storing) than synthetic materials, in many secured at regular intervals to the weighted instances it outlasts them, since it does not perimeter on the underside of the net and cut or chafe as easily on shelly or rocky pass through the horn (a ring or grommet bottom. The mesh size, size of t wine, and in the center of the net), and are secured to length of net depend on the species of fish to the handline. After being cast, this net should be caught and the preference of the fisherman. be hauled in quickly so that all the perimeter However, the popular size is a 6-foot net will come together in a bunch and the horn constructed of 2-inch stretched-mesh, No. will slide down the tucks, forming a pocket 20/9, cable-laid cotton twine, or No. 208 or sack of the entire netting and trapping nylon twine. For catching shrimp or small the fish. This net is much more effective in bait fishes, the mesh size can be reduced. shallow water because it touches bottom, but it is also effect ive in deep w ater w ith out The materials needed for constructing a touching bottom. In deep w a te r , a s soon as the gore net are: net settles over the fish, it must b e h aule d in One piece of cotton netting, 180 meshes quickly. The English net ther efor e h as a dis long by 36 meshes deep of 2-inch stretched tinct advantage over the S p a nish net because m e s h , No. 20/9 cable-laid twine. it can be used in both shallow and deep w a ter. O n e - qu a rte r pound of No. 20/ 9 cable-laid Because of the long tucks, however, it tangle s c o t ton t wine . more easily than the Spanish net. One mediu m - size net needle. A s h a rp knife or scissors. DESIGNS AND METHODS Now the eigh t gore s are r e ady to be cut, and I shall now deal with the two methods of figur e 2 can be use d a s a guide i n cutting out making a disk from machine-made netting: the eight gor es . (1) The gore net method and (2) the skirt net After the eight gores are cut out, the most method. There is no difference in the per time-consuming p art of con structing the net formance of the gore net and the skirt net, begins--sewing the gor e s toge the r to form a but the skirt net is more easily constructed disk. This is where a net needle (fig. 3) is than the gore net, since it does not have used. The needl e i s a s i m p l e tool for holding tapered seams . However, a person experienced the twine while the sewing i s b e ing done and in working with tapered netting can construct is pointed on o n e end so that i t can easily a gore net in Ie s s time than he can construct pass through t he d e s i r e d mesh. Near the a skirt net because there are fe wer knots to pointed end is t he ton gue ; the opposite end be tied. The materials can be purchased from has the fo r k . To fill the n e t needle, take most commercial fishermen suppliers. If several turns a r ound t he base of the tongue nylon netting is used, all the loose twine ends with the end of t he s ewing t w ine (No. 20/ 9 should be melted to prevent unraveling and cable-laid cotton ); w i nd t h e t w ine down the oFenmg the knots (a lighted cigarette can be side, around the fo r k , u p the opposite side, used). Also, all Knots should be doubled to then around the t ongue , and back to the other prevent them from slipping. side. Continue the winding until the needle is full. Wind the twine o n t he ne edle tightly and Gore Net Method make sure the n eedle i s not too full to pass freely thr ou gh t he me she s. Figure 4 shows The body of ~he gore net is constructed by the s teps to be followed in sewing the gores sewing eight tapered (wedge-shaped) sections together. On e h e lpful point to remember is (gores) together, forming a disk of netting that a fter the first t wo k nots are tied, every (fig. 1 A). The sections are cut from machine knot t hen form s a f our- sided me sh; that is, knitted netting (fig. 1 B). a mesh h a ving fou r e qual sides with a knot in each cor ne r. A ny m e sh with more or less than fou r side s i s a mistake . A sheet or b e c ket b e nd (fig. 5) is used in sewi ng the s e ctions of netting together. In making each k not, the s e wing twine is knotted in the corner of a m e s h .

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