MILWAUKEE — Angler attitudes have changed over the years with the growth of the catch-and-release ethic.

"Years ago, we used to see pictures in magazines with 10 to 20 fish lined up on a cutting board," said Todd Hanson, publications director with Wisconsin Trout Unlimited. "Now you're likely to see a fish being cradled gently just out of the water, the picture of health, about to be released."

But there's more to releasing a fish than just removing the hook and throwing it back.

"When you do release a fish, do it the right way," said Hanson, of Madison. "If you don't do it the right way, you're going to pat yourself on the back and that fish will die anyway."

To teach anglers the right way to release fish, earlier this year Wisconsin Trout Unlimited printed 50,000 copies of a "Consider Proper Release" brochure, an updated version of one that was first printed in the late 1990s.

"We sent them to different (Trout Unlimited) chapters across the state for distribution at sporting goods stores and local bait shops," Hanson said.

The brochure states: "Most anglers agree that trout fishing in Wisconsin has improved over the past two decades. Average size and the number of trout caught per trip are increasing. One of the factors contributing to this healthy trend is that anglers are getting better and better at releasing trout."

The brochure breaks down catch and proper release into these five steps:

• Don't play the fish to exhaustion. Use a landing net.

• Handle fish in the net. Grasp across the back and head.

• Turn the fish belly-up while removing hooks.

• Don't remove swallowed hooks. Just cut the line.

• Don't keep fish out of the water for more than 10-15 seconds.

Biologists estimate that Wisconsin anglers can save the lives of at least 250,000 trout each season by following the steps, Hanson said.

Bob Hunt, a retired Department of Natural Resources trout researcher, helped to develop the brochure, and has posted more details about why catch and proper release works on the Web site www.wisconsintu.org.

"What we're trying to emphasize here in our brochure is not just catch and release but catch and proper release," Hunt said in a phone interview from his home in Waupaca. "It's not enough to just have good intentions."