Tom T.
I use a metal yard stick to measure my fish.  I just tape the yard stick to one of the cross support.  When I don't need the yard stick, I just take it off.  When travelling, I put the yard stick in my rod case.  I plan on putting an extension on the yard stick because every year a fish is too long for the yard stick.  Your method of keeping the fish in the water while getting the lure out is wonderful, but sometimes the lure is just too deep in the fish to use that method.

It is always a good feeling to see the fish swim away after you release it.  If I kill a fish for whatever reason, that memory stays with me for years.  When you kill a fish, it is almost like you broke the contract you made with mother nature.