South Bend Floating Wire Fish Basket

Outstanding basket. Holds alot of fish. One day I had 15 brim and 11 Crappie inside this basket all day. It's easy to put fish in the top through the spring loaded entry. Also easy to rake fish out. At the bottom, it open inward rather than outward so it's impossible to lose fish. Its collapsible too for easy storage. I'm very pleased with this purchase.R.A.G.

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.

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.

I have not had this in the water yet, but it seems to be built well. From some of the review about the bottom trap door accidentally opening, I put some zip ties on it but I could not figure out how to get it open in the first place.

My father-in-law had a fish basket that we used for our fishing outings. One day the rope that held it attached to the boat broke and the basket with all the fish went straight to the bottom of the lake. I bought this one as a replacement and man oh man I am happy with it. It FLOATS. The bottom compartment that holds the fish stays in the water, but the top part (the door that you put the fish through) is plastic and stays at the surface. We had about 20 sunfish and bluegill in it and it had no problem floating. I doubt we'll lose it again. :)To sum it up, it works perfect (like the old one we had) and has the tremendous improvement of floating/staying at the surface => no more losing it on the bottom of the lake.

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:CheapFloatsRight size for crappieCons:lacking somewhat in qualityhad to get a replacement due to product having a hole large enough for a fish to swim outI would repurchase this item again.

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!

Excellent product, sturdy,easy to use, kept fish alive. Is everything I expected. Would buy again.

Would buy again