yeah i don't know why he was holding it like that, heck he'd be the first to say that you shouldn't have all the weight of a large musky on the be pressing on the gill palte.. best way to hold a musky or pike is to grab hold of the gill plate(like my uncle was doing) but support all the weight by placing a hand underneath the belly. Never use grippers with musky or pike, they'll toss and flip if you don't know how to hold by the gill plate correctly, and dropping them is bad for their health.