I’ll bet it’s not easy being a finger mullet. These little fish are chased by everything from bluefish to tarpon, along most of the Atlantic coast, around the tip of Florida, and into the Gulf of Mexico. About this time every year, huge schools of small finger mullet begin an annual southward, inshore migration. You can see them in the breakers and on many days, bluefish, speckled trout, and drum are in hot pursuit. No wonder they act so nervous as they swim in the surf.

When finger mullet are migrating along the Outer Banks beaches, they can usually be purchased at most local bait and tackle shops, but beach anglers can easily catch their own with a cast net. A cast net is a circular net, weighted at the bottom that is thrown over a school of fish. As the net settles to the bottom it covers the fish and traps them until the thrower retrieves and opens the net. Cast nets are readily available and affordable, but the variety of sizes, materials, and price ranges can be confusing.

At first glance it might seem that all cast nets are created equal, but that’s not so. The same net that works great for catching finger mullet from the beach will not usually perform well while pursuing menhaden from a boat. There are several different factors that come into play, including the mesh size and material the net is made of, the weight of the net and the size of the net when it is fully opened.

Nylon monofilament is the best cast net material. Mono nets sink fast, and the fabric does not retain water, which increases the weight of the net. This is a serious consideration when you are standing on the beach, net at the ready, waiting for a school of baitfish to swim by.

Mesh size refers to the square openings of the netting, usually ranging from 1/4-inch up to 1_ inches. The ideal size for catching finger mullets in the surf, and for all-purpose bait gathering, is a 3/8-inch mesh. This size is large enough to allow the tiny silversides that frequently school with the mullets to slip through the net. Most of the finger mullets that run in the surf are less than six inches long, but big fish a foot or longer, will be mixed in and a 3/8-inch mesh will catch both equally well.

Ideally, the open net will look like a full, round pie (not a slice of pie) when it hits the water, and the size of the net determines how large the pie will be. The size refers to radius length, which is half the diameter of the open net. A four-foot radius net will have a diameter of eight feet, and nets may range in radius size from as small three feet, up to more than 14 feet.

So, it only makes sense that the biggest net will catch the most fish with the fewest number of throws. Or does it? Theoretically, and in an ideal situation that’s true, but let’s consider some practical applications.

Generally, smaller nets are easier to throw, and are definitely less expensive, but the small nets have fewer weights around the bottom, and sink slower. I own cast nets in several sizes from three feet to eight feet, but the net I use most frequently from the beach is my five footer. Unless you are in the commercial fishing business of trying to supply tackle shops with finger mullet, I recommend that size or a bit smaller.

A decent, well made, five-foot cast net costs less than fifty dollars. This is not the Cadillac handmade model, but a good factory produced net with enough weight to settle fast enough to trap the speediest of mullets. This size net can also be thrown easily from the beach, into the wind. During the fall on the Outer Banks, some of the best runs of mullet occur when the wind is blowing in the thrower's face and it’s tough to throw a large cast net into a brisk wind. A few, well-placed throws with a five-foot net will catch anyone enough mullet for a full day’s fishing.

Care and maintenance of a monofilament net is easy, and with a little TLC a new net will last for a long time. After fishing I always give my net a fresh water rinse and hang it up to dry, out of the direct rays of the sun. When dried, the net is stored in a five-gallon bucket. That’s it. I have two nets that have seen more than 10 years of hard use and despite a few holes, are working fine.

When trying to spot schools of mullets cruising down the beach, two items are absolutely necessary: a pair of polarized sunglasses and a hat. Both will enable you to see the skittish mullets before they see you.

One other tip: don’t walk into the water and wait for the mullets to come to you. They won’t. Stand a few feet back from the water’s edge, and throw the net on a low, straight trajectory. A high toss allows them enough time to frantically scoot out from under the approaching pie-shaped forerunner of their doom. If your entire life was spent avoiding bluefish and flying cast nets, wouldn’t you be just a bit nervous?