MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING to Utilize Catch and 'Immediate' Release Program

MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING™, a joint venture between Outdoor Channel and 24 of the world's top anglers, announced today that it will employ a catch and immediate release program as part of the event format.

Anglers participating in MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING events will have no limit on the number of legal fish they can weigh. When an angler caches a legal fish, the fish will be weighed in the boat under the supervision of an official. After the official has recorded the weight into a wireless electronic database, the fish will be immediately returned to the water.

"The anglers love this concept. We catch the fish, weigh the fish and put them back into he water. It's great for competition, but it's also sensible from a conservation standpoint," said former B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year Gary Klein.

The catch and immediate release announcement followed Thursday's news release declaring that Outdoor Channel and 24 of the world's premiere competitive bass fishing anglers had formed a partnership. The venture includes the creation of MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING, a new organization will host events with a creative, new format.

As part of the MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING format, the anglers will be accompanied by judges and have access to in-boat, real-time leader boards, allowing them to know at all times where they stand in the competition. According to Klein, the presence of judges and leader boards will allow the anglers to effectively employ the catch and immediate release program.

"We've been working on this format for almost two years. And every one of our anglers has said they think this is outstanding. It just makes perfect sense to do it this way," Klein said. "It's possible that within 30 seconds of the time I catch a fish, that fish will be weighed, returned to the water, and everybody in the field will have the opportunity to know how much that fish weighed."