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Patrick Durkin: What happened to this bluegill? A handful of theories exist

Patrick Durkin’s grandson, Connor Switzer, 8, caught this battle-scarred bluegill while fishing July 4 on Lake Poygan in Wisconsin. He returned it to the lake moments later. (Photo by Patrick Durkin)

When my grandsons catch a bluegill 7 inches or longer, it seldom swims another day. Catch and release? Save your breath.
The boys haven’t yet read stories by the immortal humorist Patrick F. McManus, but their thinking aligns with his comment in “Kerplunk,” one of his 2007 stories: “I remember only one fellow who practiced catch-and-release. He was eventually nabbed, I think, and placed in an institution.” Therefore, I paused July 4 when my grandson Connor Switzer, 8, agreed without comment to release a 7-½-inch bluegill with an ugly scar and dime-sized hole in its back.

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