I wondered about that also. I've been catching, tagging, and releasing bass for over a decade and before I started tagging I read tons of stuff about catch n' release and tagging. Bass are pretty tough (unlike trout) but they are still extremely vulnerable to parasites and disease when they're slime coat is messed up - even in the slightest. I'm sure we've all caught bass with those big round red blotches on them - that's one result of the slime coat being messed up.

It's not a huge deal and the chances that the fish will be hurt in any way are slim but I personally like to do everything I can to insure that the fish survives with as little damage as possible.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.