About Riversong Nets
Early on, Riversong Nets craftsman, John Parise, began his fishing career on the waters of Eastern Pennsylvania, as most folks did, catching panfish & trout with worm and bobber. As kids, nets were more of a luxury, and also not necessary as we kept most of what we caught.
As John got older and began to fly fish, he began to appreciate not only the sport, but also the fish. Catch and release became the norm so a net was no longer a luxury it was a necessity. As John's fishing experience grew so did his passion for fine wood-working. Around the same time, John would frequent local holes in PA and New Jersey, the fishing was good but he often struggled to land fish because of the lack of a long handled net. It was from this experience, that Riversong Nets was born.
Each Riversong net is meticulously handcrafted, one by one, at a small shop in rural North Western New Jersey. Locally sourced hardwoods are used to construct handles and hoops. If a net calls for it, or it is requested we will use certain species of sustainably sourced exotic woods as well.
Each net is hand signed and numbered, as John considers them to be a piece of functional art. From the small stream model, all the way up to our steel head models each one is designed to be a perfect match of form and function with the goal of landing your catch, and releasing it will minimal handling and harm.
Each net is a labor of love, a combination of John’s love for fishing, watershed habitat and woodworking. We look forward to seeing each and every one of our clients enjoying their nets for years to come.