In this article, the author analyses lexemes that nominate fishing nets in the dialects of Karelian. The purpose of the article is to determine the motives of nomination in complex designations with the component (-)verkko. The relevance of the study is determined by the insufficient knowledge of some lexical and thematic groups of Karelian. A novelty is seen in the first analysis of motivation principles in designations of fishing gear on the example of nets. Altogether 48 Karelian dialectal expressions designating fishing nets and containing the component (-)verkko were found and the following features of motivation were identified: by the name of the fish (for example, haugiverkko 'pike net', lohiverkko 'salmon net', riäpuzverkod 'vendace nets'); by the place of fishing (for example, jiäverkko 'ice net', koskiverko 'waterfall net'); by the fishing method (for example, kuulleverkko 'dragnet', la.ski.verk. 'gillnet'); by the appearance of the nets (for example, kuplatušverkko 'float net', bruakkuverkko 'nagged net').