Collection: Caribbean Cast Nets

Caribbean cast nets across the radius and mesh range, for putting live bait in the well before you ever make a cast.

Live bait you caught this morning outfishes anything you can buy, and a cast net is the difference between fishing and waiting on the bait shop to open. It is also the single piece of gear that most changes what you can catch — snook, tarpon, kingfish and cobia all eat live bait far more willingly than anything artificial.

Two numbers decide the net. Radius is how much water you cover and how much you can physically throw — most anglers are honest at 6 to 8 feet, and a 10-footer is a real workout from a pitching deck. Mesh size decides what you keep: tight mesh for small pilchards and glass minnows, wider mesh for mullet, which sinks faster and drops cleaner in deep water.

Rinse in fresh water after every trip and the net lasts seasons instead of months.