We get asked this question about 20 times a summer. If you are going to be fishing and using hooks or handling anything sharp and pointy, the absolute answer is YES. You do need a landing net especially when you're 20 miles out in the woods. The last thing that you need is a hook in a finger - or an eyebrow - or an earlobe - or the palm of a hand. I've seen all of these hook mishaps and while having a landing net is no guarantee that you won't get a hook in you some other way, it sure does help prevent getting stuck while messing around with a thrashing fish. Even a small net is better than no net. There's also the risk of lipping a northern or a walleye. I've seen it done over and over again because many folks come up from the south (bass country) where it seems that all the fish down there have no teeth and lots of lip. Here, sticking your finger into a northern pike's mouth will be a bad deal. The minute a northern feels something touch the inside of its mouth, it clamps down fast and doesn't let go. All of there 1,000 or so teeth slant backwards. Many folks immediately try to rip their thumb out of a northerns mouth and that's bad, too. What you really need to do is open the northern's jaws and carefully remove your thumb. Walleyes on the other hand have fewer, bigger, sharper teeth. I've seen a thumb cut down to the bone with one slice of a 3 lb. walleye's tooth. If you don't get bitten by a walleye when trying to lift him out of the water, there are always those serrated gill covers and the half inch spikes in the dorsal fin. Considering fish slime and also the possibliity of developing a fast-spreading staff infection (staff germs are abundant everywhere on the planet) from your hand getting bitten or speared, the less contact with a thrashing fish the better. I'd always rather untangle a hook from a landing net than have to do field surgery to remove a hook. Definitely bring a net.

My favorite net is the Solvkroken Folding Landing Net. They come in 3 sizes: Small, Medium & Large

They all have telescopic handles which work very well with a simple twist. Made in Norway. We sell lots of medium and larges, but the smalls are big enough to handle stream trout, bass and pan fish. They are very easy to operate and designed to open with one hand when you are holding a rod in the other hand with a fish on the end of your line. Very cool, easy to pack and if you like to fish, I highly recommend that you add one of these nets to your fishing gear collection. $39.95, $49.95, $49.95 Order Here