fishing boat with drag net

A drag net was a large net, around three hundred meters in length. At the ends it was three to four meters in height, and in the middle about eight meters. In the water, the bottom of the net was pulled down with lead weights, while the top was held up with cork floats. On either side, the net tapered to a point, with ropes attached.
To spread out the drag net, half of the crew would sail out onto the lake or the sea, while the other half stayed on the beach and held the end of one of the ropes. The boat kept moving further out onto the lake until the net was taut. Then the boat would sail back to the shore in a wide arc. Next, the fishermen on the beach pulled the net full of fish ashore. The net could also be pulled up into the boat.