South Bend Floating Wire Fish Basket

Functional and fisherman friendly when you are busy catching fish. Extends the life of small fish over placing them on a stringer and is also time saving in that you do not have to open a clip and tread the fish onto it. You simply de-hook and drop fish into basket where it can swim (hopefully with other you have caught). Major advantage is that top lid floats basket so it is always upright. The top section of the fish basket is like a funnel top to direct the fish inside. If it were not for that, you would lose fish trying to get them into the basket. The lid is on a spring and stays closed but will open with a gentle push. The bottom opening is the same. You WILL NOT lose any fish through either one of these flaps so it works great. Remember it does NOT come with a "tie rope" to attach it to a tree, rock, root, etc. on the bank. A long FISH STRINGER works great as it has a ring on the end and you can thread through the ring and make sure your basket does not float away. Yes, I have seen folks make a mad dash into the water when there basket (with no tie rope) starts to float away. While the information say it is plated to prevent rust, use in salt water and it rusts fast. Still works but gets pretty rusty. Make sure you rinse well if using in salt water. Also pay attention to size measurements. These baskets are ALL for SMALL TO SMALLER FISH. You cannot put a 6 pound trout or large mouth bass into it. You may get them in but the fish will die quickly and will beat itself to death as the interior is too small to accommodate larger fish. For 1 pound trout and pan-fish, these are real time savers. Great gift item for that teen or first time fisherman. Something so practical as this may have escaped initial "fishing tackle" purchases. Hope this helps in making a decision on your purchase. Please click "Yes" below this line if this review was helpful to you.

We do a lot of catfish fishing from our canoe. Since it's hard to have an open bucket in that small boat and getting a catfish on a stringer is both dangerous and a pain in the butt this works very well for keeping out catch. We've used it for about 3 months now and no rusting. Very easy to get the fish out. And it can hold A LOT. 10 catfish barely filled it up to the bottom line.

I chose this basket because it was a little wider than the standard size thereby allowing more movement for my catch to swim about and stay alive. I was skeptical to purchase because once again reviewers are harsh verses practical when it comes to Amazon reviews. Many reviewers said the lid was not reliable and it no longer worked after first time used. Well.... I tried the lid and sure enough, it failed on the first use. After looking at it, I discovered the spring had simply moved out of place. I repositioned it and now it works great. The mesh was also something I checked, because several posters mentioned it had holes or hadn't been wlded properly. No idea what they are referring to, because my basket is PERFECT as received.

The right size and looks great.

Fish basket is well made and it really floats. Access to the inside is either through the spring loaded top or bottom doors . Put them in the top and dump them out from the bottom. Basket collapses making it easy to store. If your looking for a functional fish keeper ... This one won't disappoint you. I received this item on time, shipped by seller as promised.

I recommend this product for every angler it's finely made and easy to use, and the springs have enough tension to make sure your catch doesn't find its way out. It's light, floats, and its at a reasonable price...doesn't make sense not to have one if you fish alot and don't have a better way to keep the fish around while your catchin more.

I have been fishing my whole life and have always used those cheap, yellow stringers that you can pick up at walmart for a couple of bucks. The great thing about having a basket in comparison to a stringer is that your fish stay alive longer, so you can fish from morning to night and keep your catch alive and fresh all day. Another great thing about this basket is that it FLOATS!!! Just two days ago, I was fishing for trout at Jenks Lake in California, when a guy fishing next to me dropped his basket with 15 trout in it, and it sank to the bottom of the lake, never to be seen again. This is the second time I have witnessed this happen. However, while I have made the same mistake of dropping my basket in the water, it is always easily retrievable with a net or by swimming out for it. I would definitely recommend this basket to anybody planning to hit the water and take home their catch!

The first basket I received had a section of the wire that had not been "welded". This allowed a large whole in the lower section of the basket that would of course let fish out. I contacted amazon and they quickly sent me a replacement product and the replacement had no issues at all. Just a warning, when you get it make sure to open it up before you go fishing so you don't lose any of your catch. I just happened to notice it when I opened the plastic. Pros: Cheap Floats Right size for crappie Cons: lacking somewhat in quality had to get a replacement due to product having a hole large enough for a fish to swim out I would repurchase this item again.

Would buy again