I posted pictures of this frame here when I completed it. But, I guess I couldn't call it a tenkara net until today, when I finally put a mesh bag on it. This was one of the most laborious things I have done (I say that a lot about these nets huh?). As mentioned a bit over a week ago I wanted to use eye-pins to secure the mesh in place on this one so I wouldn't hide the beautiful flaws on top of the frame. It will probably (or hopefully) be the only net I will do that requires that method of fastening. It was tons of work, first I died the pins (with Casey Birchwood Brass, Black, per Stephen's suggestion), then I had to drill the tiny holes on the bottom of the frame (30 in all), then pass the line directly through each of the mesh holes, and through the pin. I also used a different type of mesh bag, a soft one, that made it a bit hard to gauge exactly how much space to give between the pins. All in all very laborious. But, I am ECSTATIC that I finished it!

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

Really stunning, Daniel. The draped bag fits that frame so well; excellent work!

One of your best pieces of art Daniel. A beautiful net.

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Rick

テンカラ。小さなストリームのシンプルさ。
My Tenkara Rods:
13' Ayu, 12' Yamame, 11' with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

My Wife's Tenkara Rods:
12' Ebisu and 13.5' Amago, 12' Iwana with a conversion handle, and an Ito.

That is pretty incredible! Wow!

Looks very nice Daniel. How do you feel about the severe angle of hoop to handle? I've made a few like that and they don't work well for me on stream...great in the wading belt though.
I'm astonished at the method that you used ! If I understand correctly , it must be very neat. I laced my net through the eyelets with a needle and thread, trying to get a same number of evenly spaced stitches around the wire between eyelets, then taking one stitch between the eyelet and wire and continuing on. Much cursing that evening.
My latest net was also a pain. I selected a very nice pine branch and while studying it, as it dried in its form, noticed that the handle was oval rather than round as usual. I went through the deer antler pile and found a matching oval antler tip. Easy so far. I then decided to make the hoop oval as well. Much sanding to adjust the flex and trial and error. A very difficult splice too as I'm set up to deal with circles and the splice had to go in the center of the hoop because of the flex issues. Ended up with a hoop that is 25cm by 22cm. I sliced the handle above the hoop to accentuate the oval of the handle and hoop. Clear finish, knots same color as the frame and a black net. I will try to get someone to take some pics and send them on to you.
Love the "Colorado" net....don't stop now!

Hey Stephen,
Very severe anglers are not my favorite angle for all nets but they have their place and serve some purpose too. In part we deal with the branch we are dealt in making these nets. This particular one is about 80'. The severe angle can be particularly useful when fishing a deeper stream and you may put it on your side, through your belt, to handle fish. It's also not too bad when pressed behind the knee, and a good angle for pressing between the legs. I prefer slightly lower angles for fishing, but this would be a good fishing tool too.

About the fastening, it was laborious, but not too bad. I simply threaded the line through the top of the bag, and approximately every 12 stitches I'd pass it through the eyelets. I did not use a wire on this one.
One of the harder things about it was working with a soft mesh. With the mesh bags we sell, they stand on their own and are very easy to manage and measure, but this one just lays flat and it's even hard to see if it will really fit well.

Would love to see pictures of your net! You did some gorgeous ones and I'd love to see more of them.

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Tenkara USA, founder
打仁得流, テンカラ大使
About me and Tenkara USA

awesome job daniel- immaculate work as always

Very nice!!!

What kind of net did you use?