Holding/Releasing Bass:

[AndyS]

...........

[Eskimo]

Excellent post.

An important issue in bass fishing that is never discussed enough is the proper handling of bass to ensure the big fish live to lay lots of eggs and be caught again by another skillful angler.

There are times I see pictures on this forum of people lipping the bass in such a way that they are using the fishes length as leverage to torque the poor fish's mouth open wider than it was intended to be opened. This is bad! It's not a matter of snapping the bone in the lower jaw, but damaging the soft tissue that holds together and coordinates all those little bones that make up a bass's skull.

Bass eat by snapping open their mouths fast enough to create a vacuum that draws in water and food. They push the water out of their gills and retain any food items in their mouths. If they can't open and close their jaws properly because of soft tissue damage, it slowly starves and eventually dies.

As skilled bass anglers in the most congested, densely populated state in America, the responsibility for a sustainable bass fishery falls on YOU.

[tycomps]

and needless to say, no gill grabs.