How about just pouring the fish out of the net and onto a soaking wet towel?
I've checked local regulations (Rochester NY) and found that it is legal to
photograph a fish on a towel. Holding it up in the air by its gills is
ridiculous and unnecessary, unless your brother's name is Clevis and your
mom wore a backwards Caterpillar hat while she was giving birth, in which
case it's a tradition to hold a fish that way for 10 minutes while telling
anyone who'll listen that a fish should go back in the water ASAP if it's
expected to survive.

"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in
message ...

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...
I made the mistake of landing a 17 pound pike once by the gills - tore
my
fingers to shreds! I sure as h-ll wasn't lipping that creature...

You stuck your fingers in too far and either got caught by the gill rakers
or if waaay too far, the teeth in the back of the mouth.

Practice makes perfect, now you just have to do it a couple thousand more
times and you'll have caught up to me.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com