It depends on what you are trying to catch. If you have local streams in your area, there are almost always shiners in them. For this scenario, I would go with the bass pro shops castnet. Its five feet radius, and 1/4" mesh size. The small hole size allows you to catch minnows and shiners down to 2 inches long. I have one and catch my crappie bait all the time. The good thing is, you catch everything else in it too, including shad. At five feet its not huge, but if you know where the bait is, it doesn't have to be big. This net only costs 29 bucks. It is made of nylon...which in my opinion holds up alot better than monofilament. I have other castnets that are larger for shrimping on the Georgia coast and other bait. But they aren't too expensive either. Your typical Wal-mart brand. My reasoning behind this, is it really hurts your feelings to pay 200 plus dollars for a top of the line net, only to have it rip or lose it when it snags on something on the bottom. As far as catching the bait....if you can find a spot on your lake that has shiners, throw canned dog or cat food in that area. Give them about ten minutes then throw over the food. You will have all the shiners you need. Assuming they are in the area. This works great for rivers and streams also. Boat landings are a great place to find shiners.