Great advice from all and thanks for the tip on the academy nets. Thats what I have now but its beat up. I can make it work and have a personal preference for the nylon. At 15 buck a pop I'll get both nylon and mono and see what the difference is. I can give the other one to my nephew till he gets more practice.

BigDad,

I just purchased a new 7' dia. 3/8" Bett's Old Salt at BassPro last week. They are still 49.99. They also had a different Bett's net that was called Bett's Blue or something like that which was 7' and 1/2" mesh for 46.99. I really thought about getting this net before settling for the Old Salt which I have enjoyed the most over the last 10 years. The packaging didn't say anything about weight per foot, but I did a little research afterwards and discovered that the Blue net has 1.25 lbs for running foot, and the Old Salt has 1.0 lb for running foot. If I had known this I probably would have bought the Bett's Blue Net. In either case if you go to Bass Pro be sure and take the BPS 20% off coupon you get out of the TPW regulations booklet (WalMart sporting goods desk behind the counter). That will bring the price down to $40. I can't believe the difference in throwing a new net compared to my old net which had been repaired about 20 times over the last couple of years. I do throw the 3/8", 1lb per foot Old Salt in deeper 20' plus water all the time (I have a 15' extension rope), but I don't know how much better the 1/2" will allow the smaller <3" shad to pass through.

Bigdad,

I have both, a 7' radius 1/2" that I use for bigger bait especially at the coast and a 6' radius 3/8" that I use for smaller bait in fresh water. The 1/2" works great for bigger bait, but you do loose a few small ones. Probably not enough to matter though. If you can only get one, I'd stick with the 6'or 7' 3/8" mesh and try to get one with 1.5lb/foot of lead.

spaz

Just as a learning experience, I think I going to buy the Bett's Blue Net from BPS that Brian referred to. That will give me a good basis for comparison to my previous 3/8" Betts Old Salt. I'll post my opinion after I try it.
Thanks to all for the input!!

Bigdad, I'll let you be the guinea pig, and if you like it, I'll get me one of those. I know dang well that 1/2" mesh should fall much faster, even without the extra weight. This is why I flat out don't like a nylon net. Far too much water resistance on the fall. I saw that big gun Rednecks got (I forget who made it??), but it is a good looking cast net, but heavy!!

I have a half dozen weight lines full of lead laying out here in the garage, guess if all I wanted was extra weight, I could sew some extra weights around on my current nets?

A couple more pieces of advice for some of you folks new to cast netting. If you buy the Academy nets, examine them very carefully for two things. The line your lead weights are on, I have found is not tied well. I've had to go back and rebond and tie these on two of these Academy nets. Also, the main seam where the panels are sewn together is very poorly sewn. So, I merely took some braided spider wire and sewed it up to a point I guarantee the net will break down before the seam comes apart.

And, when you go to casting....Watch all the techniques you can find out there, and try them until you find one you like. But, regardless of what they tell you, be sure you have at least a 50% split of weights in your two hands before you start your toss, if not maybe a 60% in your stationary hand, and only about 40% in your tossing arm. This will give you a flatter layout, and won't wear you out near as quick.

And, if you are throwing from a boat, don't think you have to chunk this thing like you are casting a rod and reel. I often just put enough toss in my cast to make sure the center will clear my gunwale by seven feet. Sure saves on the shoulders when bait is hard to find.

Just do like I do...cast when they are in 2' of water. Then you don't got to worry about sinkin' rate!!

I threw my new Academy net las night in the ard...easy to throw, not sure how fast it'll sink. Definitely worth the $15 to try though.

For the bigger shad and fewer casts you definitely need a 7fter. The best ones I have found on the net are calusa and fitec. We bought a fitec that works great. I can't belive I ever did without it.
Both sites have some great tips on how to cast. Calusa even has real player footage so you can see just how easy it can be to cast one of those big babies. I still have some trouble and have to refer back to the video clips to refresh from time to time.
They also classify mesh size and what to look for in a quality cast net.
Larger mesh helps the net sink to greater depths faster, but you miss out on smaller baits.
Check them out:
http://www.calusa.com/
http://www.castnets.com/

I bought the 7'radius x 1/2" mesh Bett's Blue Net from BPS. It works great. Caught more 5"-7" shad than ever before. Caught very few sub 5" shad. Net is a bit heavier than I'm used to but I'm very happy with it. Sinks fast.

Can shad be caught with a cast net in deeper than 20 feet of water? How deep is to deep?

Yes, Shad can be caught in deeper water, I a 7' 1/2 inch mesh w/1.5lb. per ft. that I removed the factory rope and put a 50 ft. on, its great for winter time use. Shad are easily caught before daylight around lighted docks in 4-12 ft. of water.

How do you add more weight to the net? Where can you get the lead?

Looking to add aditional weight to my net, I found this web site. They sell weights that you can slip over the existing weights or lead line and tap closed with a hammer.
http://www.louisianalead.com/commerci.htm