For the most part the largie is a tough fish. I have caught them in tourneys at 7:30am and accidentley gut hooked them, they can bleed, and when I go to weigh them in at 3pm, usually the hook fallen out and it is in the livewell or they are alive and stick kickin like nothing ever happened. Now smallies, thats a whole different thing, if I ever gut hook a smallie, they are usually up-side down in the well within 2 hours :'(. If they are dead at the end of the day, sure bring them home. If they can swim, put them back because you never know.