It was Bruce McLean who first introduced me to the delights of the “foot-long Sub”. Never having experienced Subway before I was intrigued to find out what it would be like. “Delicious” said Bruce “it's the food of engineers Paul.”

Just as well I didn't become one of those then.

I was visiting Bruce on behalf of Guide Flyfishing since I figured that the weigh-net was just the sort of interesting product that we should be bringing into the UK. It was Bruce who first had the ingenious idea to stick a set of weighing scales inside the handle of a net. Apparently this was quite a difficult thing to do and not at all unlike Dr Who's Tardis.

Bruce ordered a foot long Sub with “everything on it” and then spent the next ten minutes directing them as to the best way of making it all fit – it was a complicated procedure and involved three of their staff. I ordered a tasteless non-descript half-sub for myself (thank God I didn't go the whole third of a yard by the way… 6 inches made me feel considerably queasy and created some mild hallucinogenic effects and possibly left some temporary brain damage; although it's difficult to tell sometimes. The foot long version would definitely have had far more permanent results, maybe even death).

Bruce said: “You know Paul, you can't beat a Sub for lunch, why did you only order half?”

“Because I want to live Bruce”

Of course just having a sealed set of weighing scales hidden beneath the handle (that you can make appear to great surprise and possible applause; a bit like a magician and a white rabbit) isn't all that these nets offer, which is just as well since some of them don't. It is merely an indication of the sort of high quality engineering that has made Bruce a well-known name throughout New Zealand. Go into any house in Christchurch and say “how on earth are we going to make that fit?” and they will answer “Simple: use your Bruce McLean”.

In fact I personally hesitate to use the weighing feature since removing fish from the water is not something that we should encourage in a catch and release environment, but it can come in handy for weighing things other than fish. The scales are accurate up to 14lbs, which should give you a few ideas in this department. Indeed there is a Seatrout model that will weigh up to 30lbs and is useful for much of the stuff around your house, opening up a whole new world of exciting possibilities. You could have competitions: “hey dude, bet you can't guess how much that video weighs?” “No idea” “Well, let's find out then.”

I personally have the short handled weight net, as modelled by Jim Curry in NZ.

The weigh net versions are engineered from “high quality anodised bronze aluminium and stainless steel components with non-slip, rubberised grips and soft woven nylon net bags” – that's straight out the catalogue, can you tell?

They are robust, hardwearing and surprisingly lightweight. The version I have has a clever little ring that allows you to keep the net tucked up and comes complete with a French Clip for attaching to D-rings, although a magnetic release is far more preferable.

Bruce McLean builds the best nets on the market and I'm happy to recommend everything he does apart from eat at Subway.

Paul :-)

You can buy the Short Handled WeighNet from the Sexyloops Tackleshop for £35 here as well as the complete range.