Obviously laying them down and over handling them damages the slime coating which is harmful.My scale has a built in ntape measure which I can use while looping them to get a roundabout length.if I'm off a 1/8 in. I'm off.My lip grip Jr comes in tomorrow as well so I'm not damaging the gills.Its your sport,respect it.Are there going to be incidents where the fish gets loose? Of course there is.We can't be perfect all the tine,but it doesn't hurt to try.