The nets people are talking about avoiding are the commercial fishing nets. The net stakes on charts can be disregarded. You can actually run over a commercial net and most likely not be an issue. The nets are actually too deep to hit with your prop. The only thing you could possibly hit between the flags are small floats that have ropes around them that run down to the nets to keep the nets suspended. The floats can bang into your hull and most likely not cause a problem, but I'm always worried that that rope could be picked up and wrapped around your prop. But if you troll into a commercial net, you most likely will lose all your gear. As the copilot, I am always on the lookout for the flags of commercial nets, logs and other boats. When i see a flag, we will slow down and try to find the other flag and see if it has one or two flags. When we determine where both flags are, we then run around that net. But when you see a net, there usually several more nearby, and we will really be on our toes to look for any more flags. Those flags are not easy to spot either. If you have sun glare or bigger waves,they can be hard to spot. And don't get too close to the flags when you pass. Some of them have multiple floats sitting near those flags too. If running back home through those nets, try and follow your trail so you know that path is clear of nets. When we are fishing near the US/Canada line we often run right on that line because there are no nets there. They may set one end close to the line,but hardly ever across it.