Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Betts 3 Foot Cast Net.  This net is marketed as a product for kids learning to throw a net, and yes it is good for that, but it is great for “big kids” too.  Why?  Because it is so compact.

Take a look at the photo above, do you see how small this thing is?  When we travel to Florida I pack a 5 foot throw net in my luggage with my travel rod so I can catch bait in the surf.  It is pretty small and since I pack like a man it doesn’t put my bag over the 50 pound limit.

But I am working on a project right now, one I will likely reveal next week.  A truly compact behind the truck seat go anywhere fishing kit.  I am talking a bag the size of say a good range bag with two full sized rods in it, and everything you need to fish almost anywhere.  To make this work you must be able to acquire bait and that is one thing this does.   Not to mention a small net has big advantages in some bodies of water, especially small creeks surrounded by lots of trees.

And as I have written about before when it comes to subsistence fishing, all fish eat what lives in the water they live in, or in my grandfather’s words…

The best bait comes from the water you are fishing
in or from say under a rock on the banks around it.

Additionally once we can catch anything in a body of water we can then work our way up the food chain.  Please note that in Texas the capture of any “non game fish” with a throw net is legal.  You need to check your State’s laws to see if this is legal there and what you can and can’t keep if it ends up in your net.  Further in Texas sunfish like bluegill, green sunfish, red ear sunfish, etc are non game fish, again if your State lists “non game fish” you need to find out what your State means by that.

What this means for me is shiners, creek chubs, shad, sun fishes, etc, all can be caught and used for bait with this net.  And it is so small when folded up it takes up only one pocket in my fishing bag.

It will also rapidly pay for itself.  Have you priced minnows and shiners by the dozen, it doesn’t take many fishing trips to burn through the 22 bucks this thing costs.  And a three foot net is easy to throw.   I use a method called the “in teeth” method that some don’t like, but it works very well for nets 6 feet and under and it is very effective with small 3-4 foot nets.  I will have a video out next week at the latest showing how to do it.  That said no matter what method you use a 3 foot net is easy to throw and great to learn with.

This means I can now go to one of my creek spots, catch a bunch of shiners, chubs or bluegills, set some limb lines for cats, sit back with a rod tossing baits or lures, etc and not spend a dime on bait.  I can do this in a place I am familiar with or I can be somewhere, see an opportunity, grab one bag and be fishing in mere minutes.

So if you are looking for a compact way to be able to acquire bait check out the Betts 3 Foot Cast Net today.  Again though please remember to check your State’s regulations about these devices.  Some States are just not worth the hassle, check out Pennsylvania’s nonsense for example.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

P.S. – I really do mean know and follow your laws, no wink wink implied.  That said, I think having and knowing how to use a cast net is a valid survival skill.  Legal or not, if say the SHTF for real, this is a tool that can feed you.  With a quarters worth of dog food and a few throws I could easily catch over 100 sunfish of various eating size with a cast net.

Additionally in many States what is illegal on public water is kosher on private water, again know your laws but also learn this skill in a pinch it will put food on your table.  Just something to think about.

P.S.S. – If you have any doubt about what is legal in your area, call your local wardens office and they will be happy to answer your questions.