Looking to get a cast net for shad on texoma. Any advice on which nets are the best?

I have 3 for different water depths. Betts old salt 7’ 3/8” for 10ft or less, ahi series 300 7’ for 10-20 ft and 7’ Betts deep hole 7’ for over 20’.

I use bait buster you can order on amazon. Not cheap but dang good net

Get. one that has tape , it will stay open all the way to the bottom.Nothing less than 6 foot diameter, and make sure it has at least 30 feet of rope in order to hit the bottom on tuff days in the summer. The weight makes a huge difference , 1.2 pounds per foot is a minimum, the mesh size is critical for various times of the year based on shad hatch-outs. A small mesh size 3/8 and smaller will catch everything and tie up your fishing time taking out bait stuck in the mesh. Half inch will allow most of the tiny shad to pass thru, leaving your desired catch.
If you need assistance on how to throw, you tube is a Weiner.

Get whatever you can afford I use a Fitec Super Spreader in 7', and throw it about 5 days a week. They do just fine for me catching bait daily throwing about 3,000 times a year. When you hang one up and tear it up, or lose it, get ready to drop another bunch of coin$. I go thru 4-8 nets a year so it adds up quickly.

+1

The best one is the one someone else is throwing!

I do prefer Bait Buster nets, 7' and as heavy as you can throw well. I also like 1/2" mesh for the reasons GBorg explained.

the taped nets are great..... was able to get some gizzards today in 45-50 fow

I use Bait Buster. I think castnets.com has the best price. Don't forget that Texas law only allows a maximum of 7ft radius. Like some other folks said be sure to get as heavy as you can throw. My favorite net has 1.5 lbs per foot and 1/4 mesh. I like the small mesh size so I don't have to worry about cleaning a bunch of small gilled shad out of my net. 3/8 is a popular size and will sink faster than 1/4", but I don't have any problem catching bait in deep water with 1/4" mesh. 1/4" catches ghost minnows and shiners but does not gill the small shad.

CDS: You are spot on. Use the smaller mesh and double the weight. You'll need to buy this online as Academy and others wont stock a net like this. I've never used a taped net but I think its a good idea.

watch this video and practice this in your driveway. First time I threw the net like this it came up full of shad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DmtWT0hVlk

get a Tim Wade net, you can find them on-line out of Florida. They're made for saltwater so they have plenty of wait.
We order ours from Black Dog bait and tackle.

http://blackdogbait.com/shop/tim-wade-cast-net/

if the link doesn't work, just copy and paste it.

Is there anyplace that will repair damaged castnets? I have two that have damage that I would like to get fixed.

I use 60# braid to repair tears in my castnet.
Tie off outside of the tear. Weave through good "squares" on each of the tear then tie off on other end.
If pull off the heavy line at the bottom, same thing just going around the heavy line on one side. Also pay attention to where the lead weight should go.
It does not take that long to fix.
My net does not look very good but still throws nicely and catches shad for me.

Found a good video showing a taped and nontaped cast net being thrown and falling to the bottom.
Taped Net vs. Non-Taped Net for Shrimping
Taped net falls at about 1/2 rate of non taped net but does a much better job of staying open. Also if throw is not great will help open the net during fall.
Also discovered that if pull net up slowly while on bottom it does not raise up off the bottom as much when closing keeping bait from escaping underneath.

Thanks Ocelot. I may try taping one of my 7 foot nets. That might be the trick for deep water shad.