Some of the obvious things to do during the process of catching-and-releasing a native steelhead are 1) don't overplay fish 'till exhausted. 2) don't lift it out of the water for a long time. 3) revive the fish before sending it on its way. What other major points sould be included on this list?

Also, at what point/where in the mouth should the line be cut and hooks left in?

How about square in the eye or eye socket? Extract hook or leave it?

I'll remove any hook I can if I feel I won't do any more damage to the fish. On the east side where I fish we are restricted to barbless hooks, so if a fish is hooked in the eye or eye socket, I can remove it without further damaging the fish. About the only time I leave a hook in is in the event I hook one in the gills, as even with barbless hooks there is a chance of causing the fish to bleed, which I try to avoid. When bait fishing, I happen to like barbless hooks even if I'm not required to use them as it makes dehooking much easier. I lose very few fish as a result of going barbless.

Barbless hooks are a must & never slide a fish you intended to release unto the rocks or into shallow water, I prefer to stay knee deep and tail the fish by it's wrist and gently roll it over to its side for a better angle to remove the hook (have your pliers handy for a quick pop, if not hooked in a critical area). I'm still not convinced that netting a fish even with the right mesh is a good idea (I brelieve the jurys still out on this one). If you have to take a pic have your buddy get the camera and shot ready while the fish is being revived. When your buddy is ready for the shot gently raise the fish just above the surface of the water, shot, and quickly lower down back into the water for release.

We don't see this much, but never lift a fish by the tail. Larger ones are heavy enough to cause spinal damage. The commercials learned this years ago, when they caused internal (spinal) bleeding and ruined the meat. Obviously, this is bad C&R practice!