September 12, 2019
By Ralph Manns
Many years ago, former hatchery superintendent and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department employee David Campbell reported that several of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass submitted to the state’s ShareLunker program had broken jaws, apparently due to anglers improperly holding them. This news was reported in many outlets including this column in In-Fisherman.
Department employees have found similar damage to several ShareLunker fish, and the news has been widely disseminated. Some press releases have distorted the message, suggesting that holding a heavy bass by its jaw may break the jaw and implying that lip-landing big bass is detrimental.
But heavy bass can be...
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