In-fisherman has shown some pretty interesting studies on how many times a bass can be caught in its lifetime and it's remarkably small the % a bass will be caught multiple times, so the idea of releasing a 5lber so that it can grow to 8lbs and then u can catch it again might not hold water so to speak.
A 27-year mark-recapture study of largemouth bass caught and released in Wisconsin provides insight into how released bass fare.* A total of 1,054 bass averaging about 10 inches in length were landed using barbless hooks and briefly held in livewells prior to weighing, measurement, tagging, and release. Recaptures totaled 1,066 and occurred between one and 98 days after initial release. About 39 percent of all fish captured were never recaught, 20 percent were caught only once again, and 8 percent twice; but the remaining 27 percent were re-landed between 4 and 22 times. Near-adult largemouths weighing about a pound or more had significantly longer recapture intervals than juvenile bass, suggesting that bass learned angling-avoidance with age.
