All that is required is keeping the dip net stationary and flush to the bottom while using my foot to probe around boulders and turn over rocks. Most of the fishes flushed from their hiding places flee downstream into the net. In pools, I walk down one side of the stream with the dip net extended toward the other bank. Large schools of fish first begin to move upstream until they hit shallow water at the end of the pool and attempt to circle back along the other bank where my net is waiting for them. I admit most of the school is able to by-pass the net, but I still end up with 50 to 100 fish per pass.
Umbrella drop nets also require baiting and are set on the bottom off bridges, docks, and piers.
Usually in a short time, fish move in over the net which is then quickly lifted to the surface. Nevertheless, I have not given up on this gear type and am convinced they are the best answer for skittish minnows, killifish, and other surface hugging species. Casting nets are available in monofilament and multifilament and diameters 6 to 16 feet. Cabela's also carries a one man seine which will stand by itself allowing the seiner to walk through the water herding fish toward the net. I have also used it as a push seine in streams, but have only found it effective in dead-end channels or small, landlocked pools.