Pound Net for Dummies

Pound Net is a term used in fishing to describe a specific type of fishing gear or method that has been used for many years to catch fish. Now, let's break it down and explain it in a way that is easy to understand.

Imagine you are going on a fishing adventure with your family and friends. You gather all the necessary equipment - fishing rods, bait, maybe a boat - in the hopes of catching a lot of fish. Well, a pound net is just another tool that fishermen use to catch fish, but it's a little bit different from a fishing rod or a net.

Instead of casting a fishing rod or using a handheld net, a pound net is like a big stationary trap or a maze in the water. It is made up of long walls or fences that are set up underwater in rivers or along the coastline. These walls are usually made of nets, ropes, or even wooden poles. They form a kind of enclosure or a large rectangular area in the water, just like a fenced yard for dogs. But instead of keeping dogs inside, a pound net is used to capture fish.

Inside this underwater maze, there is what is called a "leader" or a long narrow pathway. It acts like a corridor or a hallway for the fish to swim through. At the end of this pathway, there is a big heart-shaped net called the "pound" or the "heart".

Now, here's where the trap part comes in. Fish, on their journey through the water, swim along the coastline or in rivers. They rely on their senses to find their way, just like we use our eyes and ears to navigate our surroundings. When swimming along, they will come across this big underwater maze or the pound net. Because the maze walls are deep underwater, the fish might not even realize they are swimming into a trap! It's like us walking into a room that suddenly closes behind us, and we're stuck inside.

The fish enter the pound net through the pathway or the corridor and swim towards the heart-shaped net. Once they reach the heart, they find themselves trapped inside, unable to swim back through the maze walls. It's like they've reached a dead-end and there's no way out.

Now, why would fishermen use a pound net instead of just fishing with their rods or nets? Well, it's because pound nets are very effective at catching a lot of fish at once. They can catch different types of fish that are swimming along the coastline or in rivers. So, instead of waiting for hours, hoping to catch a fish with their rods, fishermen set up these pound nets and let the fish swim right into their trap.

So, to sum it all up, a pound net is a type of fishing gear or method used by fishermen to catch fish. It is like a big underwater maze or trap made up of walls and nets that forms an enclosure in the water. The fish swim into the maze through a pathway and get trapped inside the heart-shaped net at the end. It's a clever way for fishermen to catch a lot of fish at once, without having to catch them one by one with fishing rods.

I hope this explanation helps you understand what a pound net is and how it is used in fishing!