| Let's Hold and Release Bass RIGHT! Last year, David | | | | distorted jaws and other bad examples. |
| Campbell, of TP&WD's Tyler Hatchery, announced | | | | We can do better. From now on, all published bass |
| anglers were breaking the jaws of lunker bass brought | | | | videos and photographs should show lip landings in |
| to him under the Lone Star Lunker Program. Since | | | | which bass stay vertical, hanging from jaws that aren't |
| then, Honey Hole, In-Fisherman, and many other fishing | | | | forced wide open. If a bass is rotated any amount |
| magazines have reported his comments. By now, | | | | toward the horizontal, the lucky angler's other hand |
| most bassers who occasionally read fishing | | | | must support the weight of the body, not the bass' |
| magazines have heard about jaw damage. But this | | | | jaw. |
| doesn't mean they understand it. | | | | It will take time and effort to learn better lipping and |
| We, and I mean just about everybody who ever | | | | holding procedures. |
| unhooked a bass or held one in one hand for a | | | | Anglers need to experiment with alternate grips. One |
| photograph, have been torquing the jaws of bass. A | | | | technique that seems to help is to keep fingers straight |
| jaw, whether human or fish, is only meant to open so | | | | while lip-landing and lip-holding bass. This grip doesn't |
| wide and no more. Forcing it wider does damage. | | | | feel as firm and secure as the old method and is |
| A few weeks ago I watched a popular television | | | | awkward at first. |
| fisherman mention this jaw damage and claim it only | | | | But straight fingers don't push in under the jaw and |
| applies to lunkers. He said lip-landing was the best way | | | | force it open as much as the harmful grip with fingers |
| to land and handle bass up to six pounds. If this expert | | | | rolled in toward the thumb. |
| thinks carelessly lip-holding small bass is harmless, it's | | | | Another option is to grip the bass' jaw from the side |
| likely many other bassers think so too. | | | | without a lure and hooks rather than from the front. |
| The TV angler was partially right. | | | | This grip is also less apt to force a jaw too wide open. |
| Lip-landing does the least damage to small bass, and is | | | | At least one bass angler I've seen in a video didn't land |
| often harmless IF their jaws aren't distorted. Only the | | | | bass by the lip at all. |
| jaws of mishandled super-lunkers are likely to actually | | | | Instead, he put his hand under tired bass and lifted |
| break and cause a bass to starve. But he was wrong | | | | them straight up. They seemed docile and didn't flip |
| if he thinks anglers should continue to hold smaller bass | | | | away. |
| as we have in the past. | | | | However, he still had the problem of how to hold the |
| By using jaws as levers to rotate hanging bass away | | | | fish while unhooking it. For unhooking, it's hard to beat a |
| from vertical to a "more natural" horizontal position with | | | | lip lock that doesn't force the jaw open too far. |
| one hand; TV anglers, outdoor writers, and average | | | | Proper release techniques also don't include swishing a |
| fishermen have unnecessarily strained jaw tissues. | | | | bass back and forth to "re-oxygenate" its gills. Gill |
| Tissue damage occurs long before bones break. It | | | | filaments are attached at only one end and are meant |
| may take 13 or more pounds to break a bass jaw | | | | to stream like a flag in a flow from only one direction. |
| completely, but strain occurs anytime the jaw is | | | | Backward current can bend, bruise, or break fragile gill |
| distorted beyond the full-open position naturally used by | | | | filaments. In addition, too much forward movement can |
| bass. We don't need to carelessly give every released | | | | force excess water into the fish's stomach. Although |
| bass a "jaw ache." My files and likely those of most | | | | fresh bass naturally jump and splash, fish that are tired |
| TV fishermen, advertisers, and other outdoor writers | | | | and stressed from battle don't need more stress. |
| contain many pictures that show improper handling | | | | Place them in the water rather than dropping or |
| techniques. As we all have a moral responsibility to | | | | throwing them back. If a fish is healthy enough to swim |
| display good handling, these old videos, slides, and prints | | | | slowly away, just let it go gently. |
| are obsolete and should not be used, except to | | | | Let's hold and release bass right from now on. |
| illustrate bad procedure. Anglers should no longer see | | | | |