Catching Bugs

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Someone has just told me about another use for our fishing nets. They could be used like a sweeping net to collect bugs for examining. We think it would be great fun to get the little ones out running through the long grass in a nearby field to see what they can find. The correct action would be to gently sweep the net from side to side to collect the bugs, hence the name sweep net. Hopefully we'll catch some interesting suspects by surprise and then pop them into our bug viewer to have a closer look through the magnifying lenses. If you don't have a bug box any old jar will do, with a few air holes. Once we've had our fun and maybe even taken a few pictures, we'll pop the creatures back.

Here in Looe our fishing nets get used for crabbing or rock pooling. It's a great spot for catching crabs on the Looe river. With one crab line and an hour to spare we managed to catch 28 little crabs. All you need is a bucket, crab line and some bait and we happen to sell all three for £3. If your in Looe it's a must do activity for the kids while you sit and relax by the river.

At granddad's house (known as Granfa) he has a lovely pond. This is great for pond dipping as he has no fish, it's completely left to let nature run it's course. It is teaming with life such as water boatman, pond skaters and newts. As kids we would collect up some tadpoles and watch as they gradually turn into frogs. We have also floated many a boat across his pond often with the assistance of a long stick to prod it out of a patch off Lily pad's.

I have used a fishing net in water many times but I have never tried sweeping so I'm looking forward to seeing what we find.

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