The trick is to handle the fish as little and as quickly as possible.
My first step in low-mortality release is a soft nylon shallow net, even for smaller fish (unless the fish can be unhooked without taking it from the water at all). Most will immediately relax in a net, so there is no need for squeezing the life out of them. Barbless hooks are also an absolute must. It still amazes me how many mangled fish I catch, just because someone is unwilling to learn to play a fish with constant pressure. There is absolutely no reason to use a barbed hook, species or size regardless.
Keep the netted fish in the water, and if you need a picture, ready the camera, lift the fish and do the picture thing, then get the fish back into the water. Keeping a played out fish in the air is the equivelent of holding a human's head underwater after he runs a 400m sprint. Generally, as far as I've heard, this results in a very high mortality rate among humans, and I'm sure the same applies to trout.
Cradle the fish upright, nose into gentle current. There is no need to slosh a trout back and forth -- its gills do not require Maytag agitation to jump start. The fish will swim away on its own when it is ready.
Come to WI, we'll set you up with those brookies!
Brian
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