How to Throw Back a Fish

Catch-and-release can be kill-and-waste if you’re not careful

A too-big striped bass is brought boat-side for release (photo by Carl Safina)

Sometimes I wish that the fish on the end of my line was the one that got away.

Take a night earlier this month. It was the full moon out in Montauk, Long Island, a time and place which east coast anglers know is a nearly unbeatable combination. The strong moon tides stimulate something in…