bill, i wish i could have pulled it through the gill plate that way, but of course to make matters worse, the hook was so deep that it was in behind the gills. Even to get at the hook was brutal and did more damage. Of course theres always the option to cut the line, but this was a big crank bait that filled the entire mouth cavity, if you could imagine, it was a 6 inch crank and the entire lure was inside the fish.
I agree at the end of the day, these are just fish and it comes with the nature of the game. Oh well, come saturday that fish would end up on my table and i dont even really like eating fish, but i would have made sure that it found a home in my belly lol.