If the fish is not legal, then don't keep it. Some fisherman say to cut the line and release the fish. They say the hook will rust away. I don't agree with this. If the fish dies, then it's dinner for raptors, gulls, otters, whatever. Then they have this hook in their gut. That's not good, especially for birds of prey. If I gut hook a fish, I get the hook out, release the fish. If it dies, then he feeds something else. It's called the food chain. To answer your question, you can use a circle hook. Usually the fish gets hooked in the side of he mouth. Don't set the hook, just start reeling. Hope this helps.