Take yer best shot. This oughta be fun....

Nicely played, until it got in the boat. I counted the fish out of the water the entire length of video from 10:18 to 11:53, including two edits of unknown length. Try holding your breath that long.

Very poor handling of such a magnificent fish.

Great example of how not to do it. That fish should have been landed in the first minute of the video. CNR mortality in action.

Captures the essence of my thoughts on the matter in a lot fewer words.... thanks for saving me the keystrokes Coley.

"get a picture, quick.... we don't have much time."

J F C !

They say being stupid is like being dead. You don't know you are . . .

The sad truth about this vid is that NO ONE intentionally sets out to mortally harm a fish like this, yet even with the best of intentions, in the excitement of the moment, too many folks are utterly unaware of how much harm is really being done.

Yes, everyone wants that glory shot of a fish of a lifetime, but even the most conservation-minded folks really need to be more mindful of what it takes to maximize that fish's chances of actually making a contribution to the gene pool instead of just the river's nutrient pool.

Look... from the outset, the guide was immediately concerned about elapsed air time. Yet he took no pre-emptive precautionary measures to get the deed done as expeditiously as possible. These things MUST be considered BEFORE ever lifting the fish from the water. Most folks are completely unaware of how long it takes to get the deed done without being prepared and having a plan. The time clock is proof enough... and there's evidence of this all over the land of YouTube.

Hell the dude even had waders so there wasn't even a need to lift that fish into the boat in the first place.

And to be clear, my purpose here is not to hate on these guys, but instead to use the vid as a valuable teaching moment.

"Glory shot"

If that is a glory shot with him giving the fish a bear hug then I have been doing it all wrong.

I think it's officially called the fork lift

Drove me crazy trying to watch the whole thing.

Sadly, I've seen damn near just as bad (maybe not THAT bad)...from some of the people that responded in this thread.

Get off your soap boxes......

Please.

You've all been there. Myself included. Kukos to the client who caugt the king and kudos to the guide who had every good intentions and released the fish.

Oh PULLEEEEEEESE Parker, are you just trying to be a spoilsport?
Surely you know that reason has no place when dealing with an emotional issue.

Flame on Fellows.

Those guys suck ass.
And I can honestly say I have never been there parker, one of the many good points of being raised by a real sportsman and fisheries biologist.
I try to pass on the info and teach just how I was taught , with compassion and by trying to get the person to think about being in the fishes position

i've been guilty of handling a king like that.....

right before i bleed it out

That was difficult to watch. I'll bet that guy smelled fantastic after for the rest of the day too.

The first thought that came to my mind is that obviously Doc wasn't on board

And the king in your profile picture?

His fish looks dead there hunter..zoom in and look at the photo hard before you try to throw stones buddy

The guy looks like a dickhead.
They take on a certain appearance.

Prolly needs a good, backhand bitchslap/dunkin'.
That might get things adjusted properly.

He has trouble keeping his mangina free of sand.

Most of the time, you couldn't pack any more in there.