Quote Originally Posted by Oregon slabman View Post
Just because they try to swim off from slapping them down doesn't mean they'll stay down. Some do but some don't. I've had better luck holding them by the tail and dropping them straight down. Sometimes it takes a few times but you'll actually see the fish release the air bubbles and swim quickly straight down and stay down.
I also use the above technique of dropping the fish nose first. If they have lock jaw close their mouth. If fishing 15 feet or more it helps to bring the fish up very slowly, this give them time to adjust for the change in pressure.