Reviving the Bass:  Sometimes I see guys swishing bass back and forth by the jaw to revive them or holding them by the tail and pulling them back and forth.  This is a theory that I don’t buy in to and I really am not sure how this came to be accepted practice.  Bass are not marlin, they don’t need to be revived.  If the bass can swim off, even very slowly, let her swim away.  If you’re worried that the bass is not OK, stay in the area for 5 minutes and make sure that she does not come to the surface.  Grabbing the bass by the tail and going back and forth is just more handling that the bass doesn’t need. 

In Conclusion:  I sincerely hope that with the right equipment and the right plan, each and every one of you out there fishing for big bass can experience the awesome feeling you get with a clean healthy release of a trophy bass.  Up here in Northern California my friends and I catch and release the same bass so often that it barely raises an eyebrow any more when it happens to us.  I’ve personally caught and released the same 10lb+ bass on two different occasions and it sure feels great when you see that same fish again and you know that you did things right the first time you released her.  Like the saying goes, catch and release – it will grow on you!