How to Make a Rectangular Box Net

A box net will help you preserve your catch longer.

When fishing, it is often advisable to allow the fish to remain in the water for as long as possible. Creating a rectangle box net to hang over the side of the boat, or to use when capturing fish in smaller areas, provides you with a means of keeping the fish in the water without allowing them to swim away or become tangled and trapped in a free-flowing net. When making your own net, you can easily modify the materials and size to produce a rectangular box that meets your needs.

Things You'll Need

• 12-inch lengths of 1/2-inch PVC pipe (4)
• 8-inch lengths of 1/2-inch PVC pipe (4)
• 6-inch lengths of 1/2-inch PVC pipe (4)
• Three-way PVC connectors (8)
• PVC slip tee connector
• Piece of 1/2-inch PVC pipe, 2 to 3 feet long
• 2 yards mesh netting
• Needle and thread
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Attach an 8-inch pipe to either end of a 12-inch pipe, using three-way connectors. Then, attach another 12-inch pipe to the 8-inch pieces to create a rectangle. Repeat this procedure with the other 8- and 12-inch pipes, but slide the slip tee connector over one of the 8-inch pipes prior to fastening the rectangular shape.

2. Insert the 6-inch pipes into the middle hole of the three-way connectors on each rectangle, creating a box frame. Note that the rectangle with the slip tee will be the top of your net.

3. Start at one corner and fold your mesh netting over the top of the PVC frame. Sew the mesh together, creating a sort of tube around the pipes. Continue this the entire way around the rectangular frame - do not cut the mesh at this time, simply skip the areas around the vertical corner pipes and the slip tee.

4. Pinch the mesh netting at the corners, around the PVC pipe. Sew the mesh together -- again creating a sort of tube in which the vertical corner pipe sits. In addition, sew the corners closed at the top where the mesh was not joined previously. Again, do not yet cut the netting.

5. Fold the mesh up underneath the bottom of the frame. Sew around the bottom pipe as you did before, then trim the excess mesh netting on all but one 12-inch side.

6. Pull the section of mesh on the 12-inch side over and sew it to the opposite side of the frame. Proceed to sew this section to the other two sides to form the bottom of your net, then trim away any excess netting. When completed, your rectangle box frame should have mesh on five sides, sewn tightly around the PVC pipes to avoid fish becoming trapped between the pipes and the mesh netting.

7. Attach your longest piece of PVC pipe to the slip tee for use as a net handle. Alternatively, use elbow joints to create an upside-down U-shape to hang the net over the side of a boat.

References

• "PVC Projects for the Outdoorsman"; Tom Forbes; 1999
• "The PVC Project Book"; Charles A. Sanders; 2005