*BLING* floating gaff project

...besides, Mooch's right - the net's the only way to go.   I don't know if I'll use my gaff anymore. 

You can see the gill filaments being deflected by your knuckles in that photo...not good for fishies!  The direction that a food fish goes down has nothing to do with hands in the respiratory organs.  Also, nets rub off too much slime and scales for a happy release IMHO.  So I either baby em, or stick em!

I think that the direction a food fish goes down - tail first presumably - likely does have some relation to how my hand or a gaff would affect the big ling and the inside of its mouth as well as surrounding tissues.  But I don't want to harm the fish that I release, so I'll keep studying this.  Sorry for hijacking your post - I'll start a new one about a net option I saw recently.   

Hijack freely my brother!