He handled the fish just fine for the photo. Let poor Jerry be. What you don't see from the photo, is that the hook is buried so deep, he couldn't get it out with his fingers and Jerry didn't have his pliers with him. So, to get the hook out, he threw the fish up on the bank, stepped on its head with his logging boot, took a sharp stick and gouged the hook out of his gills. Then, he stuck his hands in both gill plates, drug the fish back out into the water and pitched it 15 feet in the air so he could hear the cool SMACK as it hit the water. Don't worry, the fish revived and floated away just fine, upside down. I saw the whole thing. Happened just like that, I swear!