Fly Fishing

What Stands Out

• The 13 × 21.75-inch hoop is substantially oriented toward larger fish rather than pretending to be an oversized everyday trout net.
• A 14-inch-deep PVC-free TPU bag gives a hooked steelhead, salmon, or big trout useful room once it crosses the hoop.
• The 19.75-inch handle provides meaningful reach from uneven banks and while wading without turning the El Jefe into a cumbersome long-handled boat net.
• Fishpond’s carbon-fiber and fiberglass composite frame is waterproof, weatherproof, buoyant, and finished matte rather than glossy.
• At 1.15 lb with the TPU bag, the El Jefe 2.0 remains manageable in hand, although its 41.5-inch overall length is the more important consideration when carrying it on foot.
• The scale printed on the handle is built into the net, so there is no separate measuring accessory to remember.
• Fishpond offers the same net in Shadowcast Camo (EJ-SC-2.0) and Salty Camo (EJ-SW-2.0), both priced at $239.95.

In The Field

The easiest way to understand the Nomad El Jefe 2.0 is to stop thinking of it as a big trout net and start thinking about the specific landing problems its dimensions solve. Around Seattle and across the Olympic Peninsula and Cascades, I fish enough water where a conventional hand net can suddenly feel very small. A hooked steelhead turns downstream into knee-deep current. A salmon stays a few feet off an undercut bank. A large trout reaches the shallows but refuses to line itself up with a compact hoop. Those are the moments when another few inches of handle and considerably more bag room matter.

The El Jefe is 41.5 inches long overall, with 19.75 inches of handle ahead of a 13 × 21.75-inch hoop. That puts it in a useful middle ground. It is clearly larger than the compact hand nets I prefer for ordinary trout fishing, but it is not a full-length boat net that I would hate carrying along a river all day.

That distinction matters because reach is not just a boat feature. On Cascade and Olympic Peninsula rivers, banks are rarely perfect little gravel ramps. They can be steep, rooty, rocky, brushy, or simply a foot or two higher than the water beside them. When I am trying to land a fish without stepping farther into heavy current, the 19.75-inch handle lets me extend the hoop beyond my feet rather than forcing my body closer to the fish.

Wading presents the same issue from a different angle. A short trout net works beautifully when the fish is small enough to guide directly toward my hip. Larger fish make that choreography harder. They occupy more space, change direction with more authority, and are much less forgiving of a poorly positioned hoop. With the El Jefe, I can put the opening farther away from my body and lead the fish into it rather than trying to bring the fish almost all the way to me.

The 13 × 21.75-inch hoop is central to that experience. For salmon, steelhead, and genuinely large trout, I would rather have an opening that gives me some margin than make a perfect scoop with a smaller trout hoop. I still need to control the fish and time the landing correctly—the El Jefe does not make technique irrelevant—but there is simply more target available.

The 14-inch bag is the other half of the equation. Once a fish crosses the frame, I want enough depth that the net can actually contain the fish rather than leaving me managing most of its body around a shallow basket. Fishpond uses a PVC-free TPU bag here. It is important to be precise about that because this is not a rubber basket or generic “rubberized mesh.” TPU is the specified bag material on the current El Jefe 2.0.

In practical use, I wet the bag before the landing when possible, get the fish fully across the hoop, and then let the net support the job rather than continuing to fight the fish against the frame. If I am taking a quick photo, I can keep the fish in the water while I get organized. That is about as complicated as the handling routine needs to be.

The frame construction is another reason this net makes sense around PNW water. Fishpond specifies a carbon-fiber and fiberglass composite and describes the frame as waterproof, weatherproof, and buoyant. Buoyancy is not something I plan to rely on as a carrying system, but it is reassuring around moving water. If the net gets away from my hand for a moment, I would much rather be dealing with a floating net than watching $239.95 sink.

The matte finish also suits the job. It avoids the slick, glossy appearance some composite products have, and Fishpond specifically positions this net for situations that include spooky fish. I am not going to claim a matte net frame magically solves fish behavior, but I do appreciate that the finish is restrained rather than reflective.

The built-in handle scale is a small feature I use more than decorative extras. With larger trout in particular, it is convenient to have a measurement reference already attached to the piece of equipment holding the fish. There is nothing additional to dig out of a pocket, and there is no separate measuring accessory listed as necessary for the feature.

The grip and handle length also make more sense when I am fishing a two-handed rod. With something like the Sage Spey R8 13′ 7wt, landing a fish involves managing a long rod, leader angle, current, and net position at the same time. A tiny trout net can make that final stage needlessly awkward. The El Jefe’s additional reach gives me more latitude to keep the rod working while getting the hoop where it needs to be.

From a boat, the El Jefe works well when I do not need the leverage and reach of a dedicated long boat net. Its 41.5-inch overall length is enough for reaching over a gunwale in many close-range situations, and the larger hoop and deeper bag are appropriately sized for bigger fish. But this is where I would be realistic about the product’s limits: if the primary job is reaching several feet away from a high-sided boat, I would use a genuinely long-handled boat net. The El Jefe’s appeal is that it can work from a boat and still remain plausible for bank and wade fishing.

Carry is where that versatility sends the bill.

A published weight of 1.15 lb with the TPU bag is perfectly reasonable for the amount of net here, but weight alone does not tell you how something carries. The El Jefe is still 41.5 inches long. Hiking through alder, scrambling down a bank, or moving along a brushy river corridor makes that length much more noticeable than the number on the scale.

That is the biggest difference between this and the compact trout nets I use. A small hand net can almost disappear behind me. The El Jefe does not. You plan around it.

That is also why I would not buy this as my only net unless my fishing consistently involves larger fish. If I am spending the day on a small Cascade creek chasing modest trout, the El Jefe is unnecessary bulk. A compact trout hand net is simply better matched to that job. Fishpond also has smaller nets in its Nomad family for anglers who like the composite concept but do not need El Jefe dimensions.

There is an important equipment point here as well: the current Fishpond product listing does not specify a magnet, clip, or holster as included equipment. I would choose whatever carry solution works with my fishing setup rather than assuming attachment hardware arrives with the net. Fishpond does offer carrying accessories separately, but they should not be confused with what comes with this net.

For me, that makes the El Jefe most compelling when the day’s fish justify its size. If I am headed toward Puget Sound-connected salmon water, an Olympic Peninsula steelhead river, or Cascade water where larger trout are genuinely possible, I am much more willing to tolerate 41.5 inches of net behind me. The carrying penalty buys something tangible at the end of the fight: more reach, a larger opening, and a deeper bag.

There is also a straightforward maintenance advantage in Fishpond offering a replacement bag. The specified replacement is the 19-inch Fishpond Nomad TPU Replacement Net Bag, sold separately. The net itself is not disposable just because the bag eventually sees years of hooks, rocks, boats, gravel, and riverbanks.

The two finishes do not change the underlying decision. Shadowcast Camo EJ-SC-2.0 and Salty Camo EJ-SW-2.0 share the same El Jefe 2.0 specifications and $239.95 price. I would pick the finish I prefer and move on. Hoop dimensions, reach, bag depth, and carry length are what determine whether this is the right net.

Ultimately, the El Jefe 2.0 solves a very PNW kind of compromise for me. I want enough net for serious salmonid fishing, but I do not always want to carry something designed exclusively around a boat. This gives me substantially more landing capacity than a compact trout net while remaining short enough that I can still take it down a riverbank.

It is not small. It is not cheap. And that is exactly why I would buy it only when my fishing actually requires what it offers.

Technical Specifications

Final Thoughts

The Fishpond Nomad El Jefe Net 2.0 earns its place when the fish and water have outgrown a conventional trout net. The 13 × 21.75-inch hoop, 14-inch TPU bag, and 19.75-inch handle are not abstract upgrades; they give me more room and more reach during the part of the fight where I most want margin for error.

Its compromise is equally concrete. A 41.5-inch net does not disappear behind me on a brushy Olympic Peninsula bank or a long Cascade approach. The 1.15 lb published weight is reasonable, but physical length is what I notice while moving. For ordinary trout fishing, I would carry something smaller. For boat fishing where extreme reach dominates every other concern, I would consider a longer dedicated boat net.

Between those extremes, the El Jefe 2.0 hits a useful niche. It gives me a genuinely large-fish landing net that I can still justify carrying while wading or walking the bank. At $239.95, I would not recommend buying that capability speculatively. But for anglers who regularly encounter steelhead, salmon, big browns, or other large trout, the dimensions explain where the money and carrying bulk go.