This is why I don't use treble hooks !

[Eskimo]

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Could the line have been cut by the fish's teeth?

I presume the post-release mortality is high for pike and large pickerel just because some anglers don't know how to deal with a fish with sharp teeth.

It doesn't appear the fish starved to death. It may have bled out from the hooks puncturing all the large veins between the gills and the heart.







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