[numbskull]

Snook (and presumably Barramundi....a close relative) are indeed killed by suspension.

Bonefish are injured but did not die (at least in the 48hrs of the study).

Suspending them doesn't bother muskies much at all ...

"A growing number of musky fishermen believe that improper catch and release practice is the cause for the lack of their musky hunting success. Simply stated, they take the position that such things as: the "wrong type" of out-of-water holds; bleeding gills; and, incorrect netting techniques, etc., are killing a high percentage of released Muskies.

Although no previous study, to our knowledge, has ever examined the validity of these widely-held beliefs, we too, shared concern for the survival of released Muskies, especially after reviewing tables 3 and 4 of the CFMTP. For this reason, we made the decision to subject the study Muskies to a variety of popular and unpopular holds, netting practices, and release practices, etc. Considering that the catch and release participants of the study have caught and released in excess of 1,500 Muskies; and, for the most part, practice the "proper" release methods, it was determined that it was necessary to expose the Muskies of the study to the same type of conditions, practices and treatment that they would receive while in the control of inexperienced musky fishermen. Only then could we make confident determinations as to the affects of such treatment, practices and conditions on musky survivability. The first year results are in. in terms of the types of holds: horizontal vs. vertical vs. diagonal-- there was no affect on mortality. The same was true of netting and release practices. We had four study Muskies that bled from slightly to profusely from the gills and all survived more on that later. in addition, two others were hooked during battles in one eye. They also survived. At the time of their releases we "experts" would have bet that at least four of these Muskies would have died. But none of these Muskies died! The good news is that Muskies are much hardier than previously thought. in fact, 95.6% of the Muskies caught, radio-tagged and released for the study survived the open-water fishing season! Only two out of the forty-five Muskies of the study expired. Now, does this mean that we should abandon the cautious release methods that most have come to accept over the past few years? Absolutely not. But, these findings illustrate that we must be careful to label something as proper" or accept something as "fact" without appropriate supporting research data.

Incidentally, of the two Muskies that expired, only one died of angling related causes. As for the other musky, it was determined after much investigation, that it had reportedly met its demise in an otter trap! Strangely enough, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources indicates that this is not such an unusual occurrence. In fact, last year the DNR had recorded another musky, of twenty-two pounds, that also met its demise in an otter trap.

As we have revealed, the Chippewa Flowage Musky Study (CFMS) radio-telemetry proves that catch and release is a highly effective conservation practice with a 95.6% study survival rate. This fact, combined with the data of the 1979-1986 CFMTP, as well as record stocking levels since 1990, indicate that there are more Big 'Chip Muskies of all sizes, including more larger Muskies than ever before. The first year findings of the CFMS prove that catch and release is not only working, but it is exceeding some of the most optimistic of expectations concerning its' effectiveness. For example, before the study began, it was estimated by the majority of the biologists that we spoke with that we would observe a 35% mortality rate for Muskies that were caught and released. The fact that the mortality rate is much lower than ever before believed could have major implications for musky management practices and strategies. "