Tactics to revive a fish

[BoxMN]

Not sure what the "real" take is on this, but several years ago I watched a show that had charters trolling for muskies on I think Lake St. Clair. What they did to release them was shooting them (throwing them...) HEAD FIRST straight down. They explained that it got them to cold water quicker, and the rush of water through their gills gave them basically like an adrenaline shot (comparison, not actual) to get them swimming back down.

Not sure what any stats on that would be, but that is how I have been releasing walleye, pike, and bass since, and holy cow do the fish really take off and swim straight down. I used to have some walleye float after a release, but haven't seen one float since. Not that they all make it, but I have not seen one float, and we usually stick close after catching walleye, cause where there is one there is more

Anyway, another thought on it. A good way to get them back to cool water. I have done it with smaller muskie caught while cass fishing, but not with a monster... cause I have not caught a monster yet

[Musky Buck]

40-45 minutes ? 23 years and roughly 400 in the boat and 8 minutes would be the maximum amount of time any of them took to swim off, we lost a 37" in 1997 on Beers and a 43" in 2001 on Alexander, the 43 swam away but I chalked it up to likely not surviving unfortunately, from then on we started removing a treble, it's made releases much easier and even with those long pliers that top treble if the fish shook scrapping the knuckles etc. rehooking the fish etc. unnecessary. Not a good feeling losing any fish, hard to admit it, but it happened and thankfully in the last decade fairly certain we've had none go belly up. Better nets, better release tools, more knowledge, more fish handled, etc.