Suspect the big gal was a dead floater just prior to ice up,,, possibly a victim of hooking mortality?
Always saddens me to see a released fish go belly up,,, but with a typical 5 - 10% C&R mortality rate, 1 out every 10 - 20 fish is not going to make it.
At the end of the day though, the mortality rate of fish released into a frying pan is quite a bit higher,,, more like 100%!!!!!
Thanks for sharing.
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