Rod Hutchinson Dream Maker
A landing net that appears to have it all? Impossible! Thom Airs begs to differ...
I’ve never been particularly fussy about landing nets. As long as they haven’t broken within a few sessions then they’ve generally got the thumbs up. But I’ve now owned the Hutchy Dream Maker for three years and its charms have crept up on me to the point where I’d be very sad to replace it.
It’s not a flashy item of kit that wows you with each use, but it is a dependable and doughty companion ready to do its duty whenever called upon. And it’s surprisingly feature-packed for a landing net. Firstly, it’s got a proper flotation collar with enough buoyancy to keep it from sinking, and the twist-lock extendable handle adds useful extra reach beyond the standard 6ft length when fishing with Zigs or in awkward swims.
My favourite feature, however, is a very simple one. The bottom of the mesh clips up against the handle to keep it free from brambles and branches when not in use. It stays clipped until the moment a fish sinks into the mesh and releases every single time. It’s a huge asset when netting in shallow margins.
Beyond that, it’s just been a reliable landing net with arms that lock solidly in place yet don’t take too much effort to remove once you’ve banked a carp. It’s carbon all round but isn’t the lightest, though that doesn’t bother me. Nothing has yet snapped, fallen off or weakened—and that’s key to long-term use.
