People need to lighten up for crying out loud. We all makes mistakes, many of them innocent ones which this was. There's always the "Holier than God" crowd which feels compelled to be the judge and jury of everyone else. Masters of the Universe who do no wrong. I can understand people being upset when a trophy fish dies, I do as well. BUT clearly it was not the intention of the angler in this case to kill the fish and he posted an honest assessment of what happened in the hopes as he said that others will learn from his experience. In the process of doing so, he puts himself out in front of the court of public opinion where some feel obligated to tar and feather him regardless. I'm sure anyone complaining have themselves at one point or another in their life been in a similar situation whether they'd admit to it or not. I give this young man credit for putting in the hours and catching a truly trophy fish. If he fishes with Chrisper I can assure you he's an upstanding guy. Shit happens and in this case it did. Was it intentional...no. Could it have been prevented......yes but how many times have we as fisherman done things which weren't necessarily the smartest things in the world because of our desire to catch a trophy fish. I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again and I'm also sure others will learn from his honest post. I give him credit for having the courage and class to post the entire story. Ignore the haters, they always have something negative to post regardless of the circumstances. What matters is you had a great day, your enthusiasm for the sport is compelling and you learned a valuable lesson in the process. Unfortunate the fish died but it happens at times. Make a great mount and you'll have a memory of a lifetime!

Dakota