In small reservoirs, any bass that moves is likely to eventually find its way home, and many more bass have previously seen much of the lake as they wandered looking for a home range. But in the large reservoirs typically selected for major tournament events, I suggest many bass are moved too far away to have previously experienced the release area. These bass are the ones most likely to stay near the release site if they can, and to be quickly caught again due to hunger. Home range bass are likely to feed successfully most of the time and often aren't biting due to digestive inactivity. Migrant bass, in contrast, may be hungry for days at a time, because the don't know from experience where the best feeding sites are, or are run out of good sites by local, home range bass.
Fishing is inherently harmful to bass.
There is no doubt that they would be better off if we totally left them alone. But I'm no PETA fanatic. I think a few lost or harmed bass are worth the benefits of fishing, even tournament fishing. But, let's acknowledge that what we do is harmful and minimize this harm. If bass must be weighed-in, Use optimum livewell procedures.