Proper Closing
Now this part can change drastically depending on current speed, and or structure on the bottom....Preferably you want to be familiar with your casting area.... is there structure on the bottom??? How deep is the water??? What is the depth between the water surface and the structure.... Of course you dont need a tape measure to figure this out... You can use a stick or even throw out a line with just a wieght and count out the seconds until it hits bottom... Then reel it in slowly feeling for structure.. Repeat this process from several directions before throwing your net in a new area.....If there is structure there you can probably catch numbers of baitfish but you must get a feel for how for you can let your net sink before you snag when closing it.....
NOTE: When letting your net sink you must be sure not to have any tension on the rope or the net will begin to close and limit the amount of bait you will catch... meanwhile scaring off other baitrfish.....
If you are casting in an are with no structure or very little to no current you must let the net hit bottom... Once on bottom don't just start pulling in the rope...... This will cause you to lose bait also... as the net will lft off bottom partially open and allow some baitfish to escape... The proper way is to give a series of small jerks .... this will cause the weightline to skip along the bottom while closing ..... This skipping will stir the mud and scaring the baitfish to the top of the net trying to escape..... and if there are any shrimp or crawfish within your net this will also get them to come up out of the mud also ..... 5 or 6 soft jerks are all that is needed then you can quickly pull the net in finishing the close.... If you are trying to catch shrimp then PM me and I will give a whole new set of techniques to catch them....