Orvis Battenkill 14 Net

I acquired this vintage Orvis net frame a couple of years ago. The seller said there never was a net installed and that he purchased it new as frame only. He didn't know why the frame didn't have a net but did say it was somewhat rare because of its very small size. He never installed a net and just set it aside for all these years. It measures 14" in total length with a hoop of 9" long by 5" wide. Yep, don't see nets being manufactured this small in today's market. To get a net this size, you'd probably have to order one custom made. And, that's too bad because there are thousands of small stream anglers out there that would benefit from having one.

My thought was the net could be pretty much perfect for my home waters due to the small size and saw it as a project piece to finish with a rubber basket for easy catch-and-release moments. The problem was no such rubber replacement exists in today's market to fit this very small frame. So, I had to splice a rubber basket to a size and shape that would work on this beautiful vintage frame.

Initially, I attached the basket to the frame with zip ties (temporarily) and tested it in live fishing situations to confirm the landing net would work. After a few trips to fish some mountain steams, I am convinced the landing net works just fine and I have since strung it up with twine in a conventional manner. It will get restrung with black nylon to better match the black basket in the near future, but for now it's good for more fishing fun in the mountains.