DIY boompole - Landing Net Handle?

Susan Ee

Susan Ee

Member
I read an article that said that a "fishing landing net handle" works great as a DIY boom pole. Carbon fiber, 8 to 15 feet and actually lighter than a boom pole. Super cheap compared to a boom pole. It's a handle that fits onto a net used by anglers (a type of fishermen). But when I do a search, I can only find it in England.

Anybody have any idea if there is a comparable American name for this? Or where I can get such a "fishing landing net handle" in the US?
 
Yeah, I just can't find the right ones. The US ones seem shorter and heavier. These handles are supposed to be long, light and strong enough to handle a 35 pound fish...
 
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those articles were a great idea a few years ago but you can get a real boompole now for a really great price.

my first pole was a gitzo carbon without any built in cabling.

it was under $200 and i still have that pole today.

i don't use it often as i have added a longer, internally cabled, k-tek pole.

but if you go look at b&h you can find a decent selection of aluminum or carbon poles for as little as under $100.

i would stick to names like gitzo for budget poles and k-tek if you are looking for a better/more expensive long term pole.

matthew
 
I happened to see a fisherman’s surf rod the other day, leaning against a wall, and picked it up to judge its weight against my Avalon. Mind you... this was just for kicks. Wow, that thing was light. I think it was a 16-foot surf rod for fighting Sea Bass from the beach. It has huge eyelets that I could pass an xlr cable through with the plugs. I imagine one could cut off the very end of this pole and glue a screw mount on this for a mic clip. I see now why they call boom poles fishpoles.
 
Interesting. Haven't thought about fishing poles but maybe I will. I checked into the British shops for the landing net handles. They start as low as 10 pounds which I think is in the ballpark of about $15. Sadly, international shipping will probably cost far more than the handles.

I could try the US aluminum versions ($12-$16 - thanks, THoff!)... anyone know if that would be any better than, say, a PVC pipe?
 
Got it! If I'm going aluminum anyway, I just realized that I can use the super-cheap tripod that I got for free (you can buy one of these for $15). It's too light and flimsy for my HVX but the legs are aluminum and telescopic. If I tear off the 3 legs, I can use one for a 4 foot pole and glue two together for a telescopic 8 foot pole. Yay! I love recycling. :-)
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
What about taking the pole from this rig?

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_74345_100011006_100000000_100011000_100-11-6

Only 63 bucks!
Click to expand...

That particular handle only extends to 48" or 4 feet. I agree with Matthew, get a real boompole. I got the Rode aluminum one as my first pole for like $80 before I upgraded to a carbon fiber one. The Rode pole was decent, it extended to almost 11 feet. After getting a net handle and all the misc. parts to make it work you're almost at the price of a real one.
 
you understand aluminum transfers handling noise to the mic...which gets recorded. Not that there arent any aluminum boom poles on the market, cause there are, but you did start out looking at carbon fiber? Do you need a shock mount and wind protection also?
 
I do need a shock mount but don't need wind protection yet. It makes sense to me to spend some money on a shock mount but I'm not sure why boom poles are as expensive as they are. They're just poles, right? Wouldn't anything that holds the mic without making noise work so long as it's not too heavy?

Yes, I'd prefer carbon fiber but the money matters...
 
Well yeah they're just poles, but they are lightweight telescoping poles that transmit as little handling noise as possible. You can use anything you want to hold your mic (its better than a camera mounted mic at least). Many have used painters poles with some ok results, but you'd be much happier with a real boom. If the shot allows also look at mic stands with booms from places like guitar center. I got one for $40 or so thats fantastic for sit down interviews and such.
 
If I were to DIY one now, Id use that surf rod I mentioned earlier. But my next purchase will be an outside cabled longer fiber pole. My current Avalon is 10' and aluminum. I'm very happy with it as it works well enough. but I had a shoot the other day where more length would have been nice. Internal cables are nice and neat, thats for sure, but one cant check the wire inside for wear and tear. Imagine getting a buzzing during a shoot and everything outside the boom looks good?
 
bwest said:
Internal cables are nice and neat, thats for sure, but one cant check the wire inside for wear and tear. Imagine getting a buzzing during a shoot and everything outside the boom looks good?
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Yes but you can always forget the internal one and use a different cable outside the pole and fix the internal one afterwise... I don't see a major issue there.
 
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