When starting magnet fishing, it can be quite daunting picking your first Fishing Magnet. With a large variety available online, it’s difficult to spot the difference between a good and a bad magnet. As with anything, the cheapest isn’t the best option if you’re looking for a quality, powerful magnet.

Unfortunately, the Magnet Fishing market is plagued with over-exaggerated pull forces and substandard products. We don’t supply these low-grade magnets, but if you’ve bought a magnet elsewhere, you’ll know yours is lower grade when you feel objects easily slip off your magnet in the water.  Our number one tip is to choose a Neodymium magnet rather than a ferrite magnet. Neodymium magnets are 10x stronger than Ferrite magnets and you’ll certainly notice a difference. 

Step 1: Single or double sided?

First, you’ll need to decide whether you want a single or double sided magnet. Double-sided magnets are the best all-round types of magnets as you’ll be throwing your magnet and dragging it back. When a double-sided magnet is dragged, the face of the magnet is facing down which increases the chances of you finding something. Single sided magnets are great for dipping along the edges of a canal and they’re great for pulling heavy, large items since there’s little chance of the item slipping off the magnet. Single sided magnets can tilt upwards when being dragged which means the magnetic face is facing away from the floor, reducing the chances of catching something. 

 Step 2: Strength / Price range

Once you’ve decided whether you want a double or single sided magnet, now you need to decide what strength to go for. This can dependant on your budget but the better, stronger magnets do cost more money because they have a higher content of Neodymium. Many people start Magnet Fishing with magnets capable of pulling 200KG-500KG on a double sided and 160KG and above on a single sided magnet.  If you’re wanting extra power, we recommend going for a magnet that is 65mm or larger.

Step 3: Choose accessories

Now you’ve decided what magnet you want, it’s time to get your accessories. We provide braid-on-braid rope that is perfect for Magnet Fishing and is super durable. The only thing you need to decide is the length of the rope. 10m will work just fine for small bodies of water like a canal. If you’re wanting to cast your magnet further, or if you’re Magnet Fishing in lakes, we recommend using the 30m rope.

Threadlock is often used to permanently secure your eyebolt to your magnet. It’s a very common occurrence for people’s eyebolt to come loose and people lose their magnet. If you buy threadlock, squeeze it onto the eyebolt screw, tighten it inside of the magnet and let it sit for 24 hours.  Lastly, Grappling hooks are really useful getting heavy, uneven and non-magnetic objects out of the water. They can also be used to free your magnet if you get it snagged somewhere. 

 Step 4: You’re good to go! 

We ship all items within 24 hours of purchasing between Mon-Fri meaning you’ll get your delivery really quick. All we ask is you take care when handling high-performance magnets and always keep 2 magnets away from each other. If they get too close they will quickly snap together and can cause serious injury. Asides from this, enjoy yourself and happy hunting!

There are many types of Fishing Magnets, but we’ll cover the three most popular Fishing Magnets here to save time.

Single-sided Magnets: Pros and cons

Single-sided magnets are great for raw power but they do have their limitations. If you’re looking to hoist a heavy object from the water (like a safe), single-sided magnets are perfect for this. This is because they cannot slide from the of the magnet since they’re being pulled from a 90-degree angle.

The negative with single-sided magnets is they tend to tip on their side when you’re dragging from a distance, so the face of the magnet doesn’t face down.

Double-sided Magnets: Pros and cons

Double-sided magnets are used to drag items closer to you. For example, if you cast your magnet, when you’re dragging the magnet back the face of the magnet will be facing down which increases your chances of catching something.

Unfortunately, double-sided magnets lose around 30% of the pulling force due to items being able to slide off the side. This is only notable when you’re lifting from a 90-degree angle and the object is out of water. This is where single-sided magnets come in.

All traditional double-sided magnets have two disc magnets stuck inside of a metal shell. This means their power can feel underwhelming. Clamp double-sided magnets are ultra-powered, please find the pros and cons of them below.

Clamp double-sided magnets: Pros and Cons

Clamp magnets are the most popular fishing magnets to go to because they hold one very large Neodymium magnet inside of a clamped frame. This is very different from traditional double-sided magnets, which have two thin magnets inside of the steel shell.

Since clamp magnets have a larger surface area, the power they emit is very much higher than that of traditional double-sided magnets. The 220 Pro is the most popular Fishing Magnet in the UK. The 330 Pro and 550 Pro are for experienced Magnet Fishers and generate a very strong magnetic pull.

The negative to clamp magnets is the same as the normal double-sided magnets con. They lose approximately 30% of their pull force due to items being able to slide from the edges.

Summary

The best Fishing Magnet to buy for everyday magnet fishing uses is definitely a clamp double-sided magnet because they generate much more power than traditional fishing magnets. With a clamp fishing magnet, you’ll find much more items and much heavier items. The 220 Pro Fishing Magnet is the most popular Fishing Magnet in the UK. Single-sided magnets are great for lifting heavy objects like safes out of the water but impractical for typical magnet fishing.

The size of your Fishing Magnet entirely depends on your experience level and what you’re expecting to find. The reason I say that is because bigger isn’t necessarily better and here’s why.

Let’s take a single-sided fishing magnet you could get a 200mm Fishing Magnet that is capable of lifting 1000KG which sounds great! But not necessarily. This magnet is perfect for large safes with flat surfaces. Once it’s stuck on a safe, you’re going to have a battle to get that thing off.

However, the 1000KG magnet will really struggle to grab smaller and objects with an uneven surface. This is a physics-based question, but without getting too complicated, the sheer diameter, coupled with the thin depth of the magnet, disperses the magnetic field which makes it very difficult to grab onto smaller items. This is why the larger magnets are often called ‘safe pullers’, but they are largely impractical for everyday magnet fishing.

The Best Fishing Magnets To Buy

For beginners, you’ll get plenty of power from a 110 Pro which is a 45mm diameter magnet and has a combined pull force of 220KG – 110KG on each side. If you’re wanting to pull heavier items up, the 220 Pro is the most popular Fishing Magnet in the UK and has a combined pull force of 440KG. Anything larger, like the 330 Pro and 550 Pro is for the experienced Magnet Fishers who want to clear up the waterways fully.

If you’re looking for a strong single-sided magnet that’s capable of lifting safes, we advise you go for at least a 75mm sized single-sided magnet and upwards. We find anything larger than 120mm is cumbersome, heavy and offers no extra value.

As we’ve discussed above, there are magnets that are capable of lifting thousands of KG, however, these are incredibly heavy, cumbersome and poor at picking smaller items up.

To answer your question more accurately, what is the strongest practical Fishing Magnet you can buy? The most powerful general-use Fishing Magnet on the consumer is currently the 550 Pro and it’s insanely powerful. These magnets are only for experienced magnet fishers and not for the faint hearted. Caution is required when handling these, they’re incredibly strong.