Detailed Net Specifications

How do we know our designs work better than other nets? We constantly field test our creations using the "testing machines" shown here on the right. It's tough work but it simply has to be done.

So how do you go about designing your net, and how is it priced? This all happens by clicking the "Create-A-Net" button.

The base prices are:
HipPocket_____$225
Trout_________$295
Lady Angler___$275
Float Tube____$295
Spring Creek__$375
Raft/Boat_____$450
Steelhead____$575


You have many options to choose from on each model. If an option has an additional cost associated with it, it will be clearly marked. As you elect various options, all price changes are immediately reflected in the "Total Price" field at the top of the screen.

You can experiment with various options to see its effect on the overall cost of your design. Once you're satisfied with your net design, just press the Order button. In a few short weeks you'll have your net in hand!

Not comfortable with all that Internet-based stuff? Then simply call us at (406) 360-3092 and we'll come up with your design the old-fashioned way -- by talking..

There are nine separate segments of the overall net design for which you provide us with specifications. Let's review these various net segments from hoop to handle butt.

Please note that all sizes are approximate. Actual sizes vary slightly depending on your total set of specs.

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Hoop Styles:


All BBN hoops are made with 5 laminates of wood to make a very light yet strong frame. It also lets us (and you) play with wood types to get intriguing color contrasts where the hoop "melts" into the handle.

  • Teardrop (16 1/2" x 7")

    Perfect size for typical trout waters. While it fits any handle, it's commonly coupled with our Trout handle. It's sized to sit nicely on your back between the shoulders, net-side up.



  • Lady Angler (14 1/2" x 6")

    A slightly smaller Teardrop to accomodate the slightly smaller woman, but with the same hoop proportions. We couple this with a thinner profile handle to fit a woman's smaller hand.



    • Long Teardrop (19 ½" x 7½")

      Here we've extended the standard Teardrop design a couple inches with a tad more width to keep the proportions intact. It sizes up nicely with longer handles like the Spring Creek and Boat/Raft models.



    • Elliptical (16 ½" x 6")

      Unique, clean and lean shape, but still big enough to take a 20" trout with room to spare. Don't let the narrow lines fool you -- landing fish with this net is a breeze.



    • Long Elliptical (18 ½" x 6")

      Just like the Elliptical design, but with a slightly longer hoop for either bigger fish or just a different look. One of our favorite shapes. We keep one at the shop with a Spring Creek handle for use on a local spring creek (naturally!) whose identity shall remain confidential. Only eight feet wide, this creek yielded a 25 ½" brownie that fit into the net with ease. This hoop makes a very unique and functional net.



    • HipPocket 10 ½" x 5")

      This little gem really does fit in your hip pocket! Only 5" wide, it has already landed trout up to 20". Great if you're fishing little streams, or if you just like the minimalist approach to your gear.





    • Fat Teardrop (16" x 9")

      The closest thing we have to a "traditional" shape, it's ideal for fishing from a boat or raft, and for warm water species like bass and walleye.

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    • Steelhead (26" x 11")

      Our largest hoop, designed for the bigger game fish. The hoop is stiff yet beautiful, and it comes with a rubber-coated net that is kind to fish and won't snag on your fly. This is only available with our 28" Boat/Raft handles. Because of all the unique issues that have to be considered when making a wooden net this size, please call us to figure out exactly what you'll need and what it will cost.

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    Net Throat Styles:


    The throat is where the hoop meets the inner end of the handle. The handle must widen here to meet the tapering sides of the hoop. We've developed three different approaches to build this feature into our nets. All work equally well while providing you a way to further build your own tastes and style into your net.


    • Flared Throat

      This method is the traditional one used in most wood nets. The wood of the handle's shaft flares slightly at the inner end. The specific shape of the flare depends on the hoop shape,handle length, and the woods being used.

    • Solid Wedge Throat

      This uses a straight (rather than flared) handle shaft, with a pair of wedges, carved in a contrasting wood, placed on either side of the handle to provide the flared shape. This puts strengh into the throat, and adds a nice stylistic flair as well. You could say it puts a flair in your flare (budda-bump).

    • Laminated Wedge Throat

      Form may follow function, but why not have some fun in the process? That was our thinking when we developed this technique. Using the same wedge construction found in our Solid Wedge Throat, here we build the wedges with 3 to 5 exotic woods selected to complement your hoop and handle, laminated into a brightly colored "wood sandwich".
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    Handles (lengths are for handle only - add hoop length for overall length):

    All BBN handles are made up of 3 sections -- the Handle Shaft, the Separator, and the Butt. The handle shaft is the part that connects to the hoop. The separator is where the shaft joins the butt section, and is usually made from 1 or more pieces of contrasting wood. The butt section, where your hand goes, comes in a variety of shapes and styles.

    You choose the length of your handle, the woods for your handle and butt, the style of the separator, and the carving style on the butt.

    Handle Styles:

    • HipPocket (4")

      Made to go with our HipPocket hoop, this fits in your pocket yet handles full-size fish. All BBN nets come with a leather-and-brass Rose Creek net release to attach the net to your vest, net-side up (or, in this case, on your belt loop).



    • Trout (8")

      Made to easily fit your hand and still hang neatly off the back of your vest. All BBN nets come with a leather-and-brass Rose Creek net release to attach the net to your vest, net-side up.



    • Float Tube (12")

      Longer than the Trout and shorter than the rest, it's gives just enough extra reach to make an easy job of landing, handling and releasing big trout from your float tube. We normally take advantage of the extra length to use two complementary woods in the shaft instead of just one.



    • Spring Creek (21")

      This was designed to solve a problem when fishing small spring creeks. With undercut banks and extremely wary fish, you don't wade but rather fish from the bank. Landing a fish with a typical hand net requires squatting or kneeling in the brush and mud - ugly!

      This length is just right for netting fish from an upright position. Guides also love this length for its ease in netting a client's fish. Yet it's still short and light enough to hang off the back of your vest, net-side up to stay clear of the brush.

      Because of the extended shaft length, we can use up to 4 different wood sections in it.


      This particular fisherman ordered her handle using 4 separate pieces of wood in the shaft portion. Starting at the throat, there's 1) canarywood, 2) wenge, 3) kabukalli, and 4) pau amarello connected to a bloodwood butt piece.

      Each piece was separated from the adjoining piece with a pair of thin strips of contrasting woods. We used hickory, purpleheart, padauk, cherry, and black walnut in various combinations for the separators. Note that in just this small section of handle, you can see 20 separate pieces of wood. Creative wood selection here can yield breathtaking results!

      If you choose to use multiple woods in your Spring Creek handle shaft, please list your wood selections in the Comments area.



    • Boat/Raft (28")
    • Perfect for reaching over the gunwhales to gently net your catch without running the risk of a sprung back or an unplanned swim.
      Because of the generous shaft length, we can use up to 5 different wood sections in it, or do it up with longitudinal strips of various woods. A Trout Net has been placed alongside to give some perspective to the size of the Boat/Raft net handle.


      This particular fisherman ordered a handle with afzelia burl, cocobolo, and ebony. A salmon fly tied by the fisherman is embedded in epoxy in the butt.

      Just another example of a custom handle, this with grips to fit the owner's hand.




    • If you choose to use multiple woods in your Boat/Raft handle shaft, please list your wood selections in the Comments area.


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    Separator Styles:

    Mid-handle separators are used to colorfully join the wood of the handle shaft to the handle butt's wood. This not only provides a touch of good looks, it adds strength to the shaft-to-butt joint. You have a variety of choices in type of wood as well as number of pieces of wood.
    • 5-wood Chevron Separator

      This uses 10 pieces of wood from 5 species, selected for contrast with the butt and shaft. Here we used (L-to-R) cherry, padauk, pine, purpleheart, and mahogany between a cocobolo shaft and a black walnut butt.

    • Angled 1-Wood Separator

      This uses a single piece of contrasting wood, cut at an angle. This picture shows a padauk butt separated from a cherry shaft by a single piece of hickory.

    • Angled Multi-Wood Separator

      This uses a laminate of multiple contrasting woods that adds a bright slash of color through the middle of the handle. Here we used a separator of padauk- pine-purpleheart-pine-padauk separating canarywood and wenge wood sections.

    • Vertical Separator

      This uses a single piece of contrasting wood to give a bar of color through the middle of the handle. Here hickory separates a lacewood butt from a cocobolo shaft. We can also do this with a multi-wood laminate.

    • No Separator

      This joins the handle shaft and the butt sections with no intervening wood. We'll normally join these along a graceful curve. This looks particularly nice when joining a dark wood with a light wood, as seen here with cocobolo joined to osage orange.

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    Handle Butt Styles:
    All our handle butts are designed to fit nicely into the hand. We offer a variety of choices to fit your particular taste.
    • Fish Body Carving

      We came up with this salmonid shape which just happens to fit wonderfully in the palm of a hand. Vividly colored and/or figured Woods like afzelia burl (pictured here), chakte kok, spalted birch and lacewood look wonderful here, but we'll do it in most any carvable wood you choose.

    • Fish Tail Carving

      This is the natural mate to the Fish Head above. The tail also forms a nice gripable shape, making it practical as well as whimsical. The tips of the tail are relatively fragile, so unless it's for the den wall, we suggest not dropping this on the rocks all that often. We've only seen a tail tip crack off once, but it's worth mentioning. Of course, this would be covered under our lifetime warranty.

    • Canoe Paddle

      This looks and feels like the butt of a canoe paddle. We use a mix of exotic woods to build out the flare in the butt, making for a visually stunning handle.

    • Pistol Grip

      This was modeled after the butt of a deringer. It fits neatly in the palm, and gives the handle a distinctly unique shape.

    • Flared

      This is a simple, traditional shape. It fits the hand, and the graceful flare appeals to the eye as well.

    • See-Thru Flared

      Now we're getting esoteric. We've extended the flare about 2" here to allow for a clear, epoxy-filled hole in the handle. We normally suspend a large fly in clear epoxy, but we'll put pretty much anything that can fit in the handle (strangest one yet is a Grateful Dead button!) Here's a photo of a Cocobolo butt using an oversized Elkhair Caddis (we'll tie up any pattern you wish).

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