advice please on longnets

[the loner 11]

i,m thinking of getting sum longnets ,just for around sets and was woundering

would 2 30ft nets be enough to cover a decent set 40 to 60 holes?

[Forager 14]

dont sound very long to me

[the loner 11]

2 be honest didnt want 2 spend to much and i,v never been with any 1 who does it

[Tiercel 6,986]

i,m thinking of getting sum longnets ,just for around sets and was woundering

would 2 30ft nets be enough to cover a decent set 40 to 60 holes?

 

That question is like asking how long is a piece of string. 2 x 10 yard nets will cover 20 yards, but it's the placement of the nets that count. 5 Yards in the right place will catch rabbits 50 yards in the wrong place will not.

 

To find the right place is easy, you just try different placements and remember the placements that catch. Each and every ground is different and you have to learn what works on that ground.

 

For hedgerows you cannot IMHO beat small 5 yard stop nets set @ 90 degrees to the hedge, the 5 yard nets also come in handy on large open warrens to stop the rabbits hole hopping. Long nets are not the B-all and end-all for ferreting but they will help increase your catch and save time when used properly and in conjunction with purse nets, poke nets etc:

 

 

You can string them through the hedge to stop rabbits running up the middle of the hedge,

 

 

 

Sometimes especially in corners of fields it pays to run out a longer net just to catch the ones that are cutting the corner so to speak.

 

This photo was taken from the corner of the field where I ran out a 25 yard net just to try and catch the ones that had cutting corners in mind.

 

 

On this occasion the net did not catch, although it has in the past.

 

 

 

TC

[the loner 11]

thanks for that tc the pics helped ,using a long net will probz save us alot of time on this new ground

most of the sets are big 1s

 

we netted up 60 holes on a bank side then the ferret came out around the corner , here,s a pic of the holes were ferret

came out nightmare

Edited January 14, 2012 by the loner

[albert64 1,882]

looking at that picture 2 x 30 ft nets wont be much good to you

but as tiercel says in the right place will definately catch

even if you ran a lomgnet all the way round that set

youd still have to do a fair amount of netting to stop them hole hopping

albert

[the loner 11]

yeah hole hopping will be a probem ,so what size net would be best ? 25 or 100yd

that set is small compaired 2 some that we seen

[Tiercel 6,986]

yeah hole hopping will be a probem ,so what size net would be best ? 25 or 100yd

that set is small compaired 2 some that we seen

 

If you have ferreted these sets before, you should have some idea of where the rabbits bolt too or if indeed they hole hop. If they are hole hopping then the best way to deal with that is, purse net every hole. If there is no place nearby for the rabbits to head too as a place of saftey, then they will be reluctant to leave the warren, hence the hole hopping. However, looking at your photo there is a dry stone wall in the background and if that is not part of the same warren then it is a good place to start to look at as a place of refuge for the bolting rabbits.

 

There is never a fixed answer, all warrens are different and what you have to try and do is second guess where the rabbits are going to bolt too, There are basically two ways to do that. First way is to purse net every hole then take note where every rabbit that is missed by a net runs too. The second way, is to try and second guess them, lay out your long nets where you think they will run too and learn from that.

 

Using long nets is not always the answer, as you have to know where to set a net for it to catch. If you have never ferreted a warren before that can be difficult to do. You can best guess the situation, but, that is all it will be a guess. To learn you have to make mistakes, the wise man knows this and is willing to make the mistakes to further his knowledge.

 

TC

[Country Joe 1,411]

Regarding hedge netting and difficult spots, its only natural we look for the easy way out, but a lot of the times you cant beat the old purse net, i know its a bugger laying them along a hedge, and having to do a bit of crawling, but it can be productive.

[blackstaff 488]

tiercel- Good posts bud, pretty much everything you need to know about longnetting in there

 

loner - why not ask someone to go with you who has longnets ? Not everyone wants to take people onto their permission but if they have all the nets and experience why not take the chance ? Who knows it could be beneficial to both of you, a social and more rabbits in the bag. Good times

[saharashadow 26]

Regarding the length of the net, those 40/60 holes you mention could be spread over an area 25 yards or 60 yards long, so the net, or combination of nets needs to be sufficient to encompass the set you are doing , remembering of course that you require "running kill" in your net. All my nets utilise 100% running kill, which means that a 25 yard rigged net for example , is actually 50 yards long. This slack in the net, along with the "bagging" which is the slack between the headline and bottom line, being what the rabbit gets tangled in. The 30ft net you mention will effectively be only covering a 10 yard length. You could use the shorter nets to lay out a sort of grid pattern which would create smaller sections over the set, surrounded by a longer net, and maybe catch some of the hole hoppers. There are no hard and fast rules in longnetting, it's adapting to suit the situation. We've all lost rabbits that we could have caught with hindsight , but that's how you pick up that extra know how, that can put a few extra in the game bag.

Edited January 26, 2012 by saharashadow

[lifelong cumbrian 1,829]

yeah hole hopping will be a probem ,so what size net would be best ? 25 or 100yd

that set is small compaired 2 some that we seen

 

I would go for 2 50yd nets then you can also use 1 either side of a dyke.