Easy does it. Play the fish well and get it in. Don’t needlessly tire fish out with too light a rod or tippet. Hooks are barbed? Get the hook out. Wet your hands. Gentle and don’t crush or mishandle the fish to control it. Quick photo’s, revive the fish. On lakes, watch for fish that dive away but come back up sideways. Revive them again and notice that what you just did was too much of something to tax the fish that much: took too long to get it in or mishandled once in?
Christopher Russell Journal 