I release every striped bass I catch. They're just too beautiful an animal for me to do otherwise. To release them, I usually grip their lower lip with my thumb in their mouth to control them while I remove the hook. After catching a few my thumb feels like sandpaper, but that's ok by me.

I read about people lifting stripers by the bony gill plates. Does this hurt them? I haven't landed anything bigger than about 28" yet, but I can see how with bigger fish it becomes more challenging to lift them by the lip. What's the preferred technique?

Thanks in advance!