i have a CAST net-not throw net or castING net. just cast net. I have never seen it seriously harm fish,a nd they stay alive just fine. A sthe guy from florida said, you can cover a lot of water witha cast net. I have a 12' here, but I live closer to lakes, so I use a 6' or sometimes even a 3' (there's a lake where you can see fish and jsut have to throw the net on top of 'em) You can also use the cast net to catch turtles, bot on land and in water.