Fish Care: Catch-and-Release Tips for Bass and Trout

Don't boat-flip bass onto the deck or carpet. Grab the line or the lower jaw before the fish hits the floor.

Hold smaller bass vertically by the lower jaw. Hold bigger bass with two hands: one on the lower jaw, the other supporting the body. Bass over 5 pounds should be held with two hands, supporting the fish under the anal fin.

Keep a bass out of water no longer than you can hold your breath.

Use a rubber or vinyl-coated soft mesh net if allowed, not hard knotted nylon.

Keep both livewells full and split your catch, since more water means more oxygen per fish. Below 65 °F, pump in fresh water regularly. From 65–75 °F, pump fresh water regularly and aerate continuously.

When water is over 75 °F (70 °F for smallmouth), fill livewells early, run the recirculating aerator full time, and don't pump in hot afternoon surface water. Cool with small amounts of ice, no more than 10 °F below the lake temperature. Add 1 cup of non-iodized salt per 15 gallons.

Bass caught from deeper than about 20 feet can have an over-expanded swim bladder. If released right away they often swim back down on their own. If a kept fish can't stay upright, it needs to be fizzed.

If you fizz, learn the technique first. Use the side method with an 18-gauge needle about ½–1 inch behind the tip of the pectoral fin, holding the fish underwater. Don't squeeze the fish. Mouth fizzing is no longer recommended after a Texas study found more internal damage. Weighted fin clips don't cure barotrauma.

Use culling clips that lock but don't pinch hard. Never use clips that pierce the mouth.

Fill the weigh-in bag with at least 2 gallons of livewell water, not warm boat-side water.

If a bass is hooked deep in the gills or stomach, cut the line as close to the hook as possible. The hook will fall out in time with minimal harm.

Hold it upright in the water, one hand on the tail and one under the belly, and move it gently back and forth so water flows over the gills. Let go when it's ready.

Wet your hands before you touch a trout and handle it as little as possible. Its slime coat protects it from disease, and dry hands can rub it off.

A rubber net is less rough on a trout's scales and slime than a knotted string net.

Unhook the fish in or right over the water. If you want a photo, take it with the fish in the net just out of the water, and get it back fast. Every second out of the water adds to the chance it dies after release.

Researchers recommend keeping air exposure to about 15–20 seconds by unhooking in the water and taking photos quickly.

Barbless hooks with a single point do less damage to a trout's mouth, and they still hold fine if you keep steady pressure on the line.

If a trout swallows the hook, cut the line as close to its mouth as you can and leave the hook. Digging out a swallowed hook can cause fatal internal injuries.

Don't fight a trout to exhaustion. A stiffer rod can help you bring it in faster.

With live bait, set the hook before the trout swallows it. Deep hooking sharply raises mortality.

Trout get sluggish when water reaches the mid-60s °F, and temperatures near 70 °F are often fatal. Trout Unlimited suggests calling it a day above 65 °F. AGFC notes brown trout suffer high mortality above 68 °F.

Hold a tired trout upright facing into the current so water flows over its gills, and let it swim away on its own. Faster water carries more oxygen.

Keep your fingers away from the gills. One slip under the gill plate can kill a trout.

In the posted catch-and-release areas on the Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters (e.g. below Bull Shoals Dam, Rim Shoals, and the Norfork C&R area), all trout must be released immediately, and only artificial lures or flies with barbless hooks are allowed. Check the current regulations before you go.