Those posts were not directed to you,were they?

I was fortunate to catch a beautiful 10.88 pig on Fork years ago. Took pics, meaurements and had a replica mount made. Which turned out GREAT!And years later it still looks fantastic unlike skin mounts that do not hold up well. My thought was release it for someone else to catch or me......and maybe next time EVEN BIGGER!! Good friend back home said "If you put it next to fried potatoes you can't catch it again another day"!!

No, we don't know that, You don't know that..........

First off, Immediate release of that fish without being fizzed would have been almost sure death. Second, you nor anyone else knows how many "immediatly released" fish die of delayed mortality. So, for you to act like it is a certainty is a LIE.

The only person that should have a say is the person that caught the damn thing... end of story

^^^

"Best chance". We already know is wasn't fizzed.

Yes and you don't know that is the best Chance, Especially since the fish is alive and well now.

If you have an opinion say it's your opinion.

Stating it like it is fact just makes you look foolish.

Dude,you dont have to be a jerk. Did you happen to see my smiley face and I did start this thread so I figure I can quote anyones comment to it.

On another note, I think the best thing said so far eluded to the fact that if he would have released the fish it for SURE would HAVE DIED due to not being able to sink, it would have just floated off. Since it needed to be fizzed at the Minnow Bucket or whereever, it didnt magically need that from the livewell, it needed that as soon as it was brought up from the deep water. So it is pretty much fact that they either saved its life or prolonged it by putting it in the sharelunker program.

Whether you like it or not this is the way it is, get over it.

Actually,I didn't know that the fish was on it's side prior to arrival at LFM. I don't fish deep.

my 2 cents worth, I caught an 11.7 and kept it to have mounted, taxidermist screwed it beyond any reasonable repair. with the quality of reproductions I will never keep another one. I will take lots of pictures and measurements, do no harm to the fish and release it then have a repro done. I have no problem with people who keep what is legal to keep and even do so myself sometimes. I would hope that like me they just keep what they will eat and take care not to waste. common sense goes a long ways. I would never take the right of a person to catch and keep their fish away from them and even if I disagree with the decision they make it is still their decision and their right. I am a conservative

OK, I can understand that. I will try to explain it best I can (no expert either). Fish need to be fizzed due to when brought up quickly from deep water their swim bladder (what allows them to suspend at any depth and not use any energy almost like a life vest) expands due to the quickly reduced amount of atmospheric pressure. I do know that at sea level normal pressure it 1atm, for each 32 ft of water you are under you increase that by 1 more atm. So as soon as she was brought to the surface she was doomed unless she was fizzed.

I consider,myself,an independant. I understand that you can't control how big the fish is that bites. You're not a better angler just because you get a big bite. So,I am not concerned with the size of the fish I catch. I,simply,enjoy the activity of Bass Fishing and want to take care of the fish. "I am haunted by waters."

You can Target Big Fish and that usually requires fishing deeper water.......The guys that Catch big fish consistently aren't lucky, they understand how to catch big fish...........

This usually means fishing deep for all but about 3 months a year.

Just to help clear up some things about a fish airing up after being caught from deep water. This comes from my experience from over the years fishing some really deep water on Lake Amistad.
Most of the time we are fishing in tournaments at 20 to 25 ft.. That is just the lenght of most big bass boats. It takes a while but those fish will need to be fizzed. Now if we catch a fish that will not help our sack and release it immediately it will swim back to its comfort zone and relieve the pressure off by itself. The process takes time for them to air up.
Next is a depth of about 50 ft.. The process of a fishes air blader filling up whith air happens much faster. You can't play around and take pictures you got to get it back quick. Past 50 ft. you might as well put them in the livewell because they will need the needle. Sometimes they will air up twice at that depth and need it again.
I don't believe anyone except the man that caught the fish knows how deep she was caught or how long it took before she could not stay upright because of extra air in the blader.
Hope my experiences helps you to understand the process.