I fished with a guide in the Everglades for bass off an airboat. The guide was a third generation gladesman. He would not allow using a net and was insistent that the bass never touched the carpet on the boat because it could effect/remove their "slime". It was a great trip and we respected his thoughts on keeping them as pristine as possible. Back home everyone uses a net and no one seems to care about any "damage" it might cause.
I have seen some pretty rough handling on the local lakes. Mostly for bass of course and there are constant local tournaments in which everyone has had bass all day smashing around in the livewell then shoved into a weigh bag and carried with no water for the weigh in. Not saying it's right, just saying it's done a lot here and the bass all seem to make it. I do believe they are much more resilient than trout.
deadeye,
Glad you had a good experience with your guide. He seems to be on top of it.
As for the bass, they don't all make it. Lot's of studies out there documenting the % lost. Mortality can be delayed for hours, even days. An example from a quick search, from a 1985 paper:
"Mean initial and estimated total mortality rates of the fish weighed in were 9 and 14%, respectively."
from this site:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...ght_Largemouth_Bass_in_Two_Florida_Lakesthat particular article was cited in many newer papers:
Hooking mortality of released nontournament fish generally is considered to be around 5–10% (Hayes et al. 1995), whereas reported tournament-associated total mortality rates have ranged from 2% to 98% (Champeau and Denson 1988; Lee et al. 1993; Wilde 1998; Neal and Lopez-Clayton 2001). Black bass tournament-associated mortality (TM) rates vary with water temperature (Schramm et al. 1987; Meals and Miranda 1994; Neal and Lopez-Clayton 2001), tournament size (Wellborn and Barkley 1974; Schramm et al. 1985; Bennett et al. 1989; Meals and Miranda 1994; Hartley and Moring 1995), fish length (Meals and Miranda 1994), and handling procedures (Meals and Miranda 1994; Hartley and Moring 1995; Kwak and Henry 1995; Weathers and Newman 1997; Neal and Lopez- Clayton 2001). Wilde (1998) reviewed estimates of black bass TM and found that total mortality averaged about 26–28%.
Fortunately there has been a lot of research on this issue, due to the popularity (and $$$ generation) of bass tournaments. Here's an example of some info meant to increase survival, there are many more out there:
http://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/didyouknow/inland/livewells.phtmlThe real point seems to be, as always ...............
personal responsibility. How much does one value the resource and wish to treat it so it lasts? Knotless nets , releasing the fish without removing them from the water, etc are all said to help.
Geno