One problem could be the net getting snagged on something on the bottom.

I've seen guys use a siene net - I'm guessing about 25 feet - to get Spot for bait. They waded out about chest deep and then brought the net up on a small beach.

They got a lot but most were little. Not many of the 4-6 inchers that seem to work best.

Be careful in shallows - getting a Cownose Ray in your cast net would suck.

I'm not a big fan of live-lining because I think it's too time-consuming, but if you want to do it, there are better ways than spending hours trying to catch spot. Here's a pic of what you can turn up with just one cast with a 4' net. Rock like spot, but they can't resist bunker. Mark the bait, throw the net, hook it through the lip and drop it on the fish. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. You probably won't hear about it much, but some people have been live-lining for over a month now.

http://www.mountainsoul.net/bait

We have been live lining herring which is almost as easy to catch as bunker in a net.............Gary

Shawn and Gary...thanks for the info...may try that. Steve