Determining the prevalence of voluntary catch and release occurring in recreational fisheries for black bass Micropterus spp. is important in selecting and evaluating harvest regulations. Voluntary release rates of black bass have increased in some southern U.S. fisheries, but release rates could vary spatially. We used angler interviews from 245 open‐water creel surveys conducted on 167 Minnesota bodies of water during 1984–2006 to determine whether black bass release rates differed among anglers specifically targeting black bass and anglers that were not targeting black bass, among geographic regions within the state, and among time periods. Ranked values of release rate did not significantly differ between anglers targeting black bass and anglers not targeting them for any of the four time periods. Before 1990, median black bass release rates were similar in northern and southern regions of the state and did not exceed 80% in either region. During 1990–1994 and 1995–1999, median release rates in the southern region exceeded 85% and the mean ranked release rate observed for 1995–1999 (92%) was significantly higher than during 1984–1989 (76%). Median release rates of black bass also increased in the northern region of Minnesota, but rates did not exceed 85% in any time period and were not significantly different among time periods based on ranked values. Anglers in Minnesota released most of the black bass they caught, but angler harvest of black bass was more prevalent in the northern region of Minnesota; this pattern may reflect regional differences in angler attitudes regarding black bass harvest. Changes in harvest regulations may not affect black bass populations in many waters because anglers voluntarily release most of the black bass they catch, but regulation changes may be more effective in regions where harvest of black bass is more prevalent. Received July 9, 2012; accepted December 26, 2012