Fizzing, a somewhat controversial technique for mitigating barotrauma, uses hollow hypodermic needles to release gas from the swim bladder of fish. To isolate effects of fizzing, 106 smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ) were caught from shallow water without barotrauma and tested to determine if they could effectively control their buoyancy after having their swim bladder fizzed or punctured by releasing them over shallow...

Recreational anglers have access to a diverse range of rod and line strengths that enable them to choose equipment that can enhance their ability to effectively target and capture specific fish of a given body size. However, anglers may not always select the appropriate gear type for the targeted species. Here, we assessed the effect of gear setup on immediate reflex impairment and short‐term post‐release swimming behavior of...