Manual nets, also known as shovels or submergence nets, are nets or baskets held open by hoops. It may or may not be at the end of the handle. Hand nets have been used since ancient times and can be used to dig fish near the water surface, such as muskellunge or northern pike.

A hand net with a long handle is usually called a immersion net. In kitina, Alaska, the Kenai and kasilov rivers are popular with contemporary reticulated red salmon fishing, which usually lasts for two to three weeks and is only regarded as a subsistence fishery for Alaskan residents. Immersion nets can also be used for SC crabs in shallow water. Baskets are made of wire or nylon, not cloth, because crabs fight, bite, twist and turn when they are caught.

When anglers use hand nets to help fish land, this is called a landing net.

Since manual nets are harmless to fish, they are often used to catch and catch aquarium fish.