Immediate Release Becoming More Common In Fishing Tournaments

Wisconsin fishery officials say more tournaments are abandoning their traditional catch-hold-release formats.

The Department of Natural Resources says the number of bass and walleye tournaments that have eschewed the traditional catch-hold-release format for catch-photo-release rules has increased from an average of six annually between 2010 and 2015 to more than 30 per year from 2015 to 2020.

In catch-hold-release tournaments, anglers transport fish to weigh-in areas, where they’re released but not in the areas where they’re caught. DNR officials say that practice leaves unguarded fish nests exposed to predators.