This AM I caught the tail end of a fishing show and the host was discussing the mortality rate of bluegills. I was not able to put down the exact numbers he stated but I believe these are fairly close:

1. A group of gills that were caught on bait and immediately placed in a holding pen had a mortality rate of 6.2 percent.

2. A group of gills caught on artificials and placed in a like holding pen had a mortality rate of zero.

3. Fish kept in a live well suffered an increase in mortality rate the longer they were kept in the live well.

4. Fish kept in a wire bucket suffered a mortality rate of 32%.

The host recommened that anglers take these figures into consideration if they are considering holding caught fish for later release (culling).

Tim