Quick-Release Netkeeper

by Mike McGuire

There are various ways of attaching a landing net to loop at the back of the collar of a vest. I don't like the magnet one because it inevitably seems to get close enough to my wallet to corrupt the magnetic stripes on my credit cards etc. A scheme I found which I do like uses a modified Fastex buckle. This is the squeeze-from-the-side release buckle you typically find on neoprene waders etc. The one-inch size seems to be about right for a net. REI has them.

The modification is to file or shave down the ears at the sides of the fork part of the buckle. The illustration shows the change. Rounded off that way, a firm pull down on the net releases it; squeezing the buckle's sides isn't necessary.