It would be easy to find out if they plant broodstock fish. Just ask your fish and wildlife or the hatchery that plants them. I've seen damaged fins on fish that were planted as fingerlings so that's not necessarily a confirmation that it's a broodfish.
The white meat may be a give away though that it was recently a hatchery fish. Are any browns or brooks planted in Eagle Lake?
Still a nice fish and I'll bet he made the drag scream!
As far as releasing fish from my experience the big ones fight so hard they don't always survive a release anyway. I caught a 7 lb. bow in a local lake and when I finally landed it, it went belly up.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 10/15/09 03:22 PM.
