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Immediate Release Becoming More Common In Fishing Tournaments

Catch-Photo-Release Method More Popular In Last 5 Years

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two men hold their fishing rods as afternoon light bounces off Lake Monona
Alexander Vang, left, and Sonny Hang, right, fish in Lake Monona on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Madison. Angela Major/WPR

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.

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