Might be worth mentioning that fish will often bleed but from somewhere else than the gills. In this case I don't think blood=death. If the blood is coming from the gills (and its a lot of blood) the fish is a goner. I have seen fish hooked with plugs that have one set of hooks in the mouth and the other attached to the outside on their head. These fish bleed pretty good but I think they are fine if released. One thing we all know for sure is that if the fish is in your cooler.. it has no chance at all.