A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net

Fishing net

A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...

 used for fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

. It is a circular net

Fishing net

A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...

 with small weights distributed around its edge.

The net is cast

Casting (fishing)

In angling, casting is the act of throwing bait or a lure using a fishing line out over the water using a flexible fishing rod. The usual technique is for the angler to quickly flick the rod from behind toward the water...

 or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. This technique

Fishing techniques

Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates....

 is called net casting or net throwing. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in. This simple device is particularly effective for catching small bait

Bait fish

Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...

 or forage fish

Forage fish

Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding...

, and has been in use, with various modifications, for thousands of years.

Construction and technique

Contemporary cast nets have a radius which ranges from 4 to 12 feet (1.2 to 3.6 metres). Only strong people can lift the larger nets once they are filled with fish. Standard nets for recreational fishing have a four foot hoop. Weights are usually distributed around the edge at about one pound per foot (1.5 kilograms per metre). Attached to the net is a landline, one end of which is held in the hand as the net is thrown. When the net is full, a retrieval clamp, which works like a wringer on a mop, closes the net around the fish. The net is then retrieved by pulling on the landline. The net is lifted into a bucket and the clamp is released, dumping the caught fish into the bucket.

Cast nets work best in water no deeper than their radius. Casting is best done in waters free of obstructions. Reeds cause tangles and branches can rip nets. The net caster stands with one hand holding the landline, and with the net draped over the other arm, so the weights dangle. The line is then thrown out to the water, using both hands, in a circular motion rather as in hammer throwing

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

. The net can be cast from a boat, or from the shore, or by wading.

There are also optional net throwers that can make casting easier. These look like a lid from a trash can, including the handle on top. The outside circumference has a deep gutter. The net is loaded along the gutter and the weights are placed inside the gutter. The net is then tossed into the water using the thrower.

History

In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

 the sea giantess Rán

Rán

In Norse mythology, Rán is a sea goddess. According to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in his retelling of the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, she is married to Ægir and they have nine daughters together...

 cast a fishing net to trap lost sailors. In Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, in a parody of fishing, a type of gladiator

Gladiator

A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...

 called a retiarius

Retiarius

A retiarius was a Roman gladiator who fought with equipment styled on that of a fisherman: a weighted net , a three-pointed trident , and a dagger...

 or "net fighter" was armed with a trident

Trident

A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...

 and a cast net. The retiarius was traditionally pitted against a secutor

Secutor

A Secutor was a class of gladiator in ancient Rome.Thought to have originated around 50 AD, the Secutor was armed similarly to the Murmillo gladiator, and like the Murmillo, was protected by heavy armour. A Secutor usually carried a short sword, a gladius, or a dagger...

.

Between 177 and 180 the Greek author Oppian

Oppian

Oppian or Oppianus was the name of the authors of two didactic poems in Greek hexameters, formerly identified, but now generally regarded as two different persons: Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia; and Oppian of Apamea in Syria.-Oppian of Corycus:Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, who flourished in the...

 wrote the Halieutica, a didactic poem about fishing. He described various means of fishing including the use of nets cast from boats. References to cast nets can also be found in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

.

External links

• How to throw a cast net Youtube.