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I would mount the fish with the tip-up, line,leader and all.would make an interesting mount. 20 years from now you will have the evidence to go with your story.
Cool story It's your fish and money , do what you want with it and don't listen to anyone else
I have never left traps in the hole at the end of the day but a friend of mine had to much to drink. The next day he went back , some one beat him to it on the 1 left behind. Dont know if a fish on like you but his trap was gone duhh! Congratz on a nice walleye, cant get them in maine. Used to get them as a kid growing up in VT on champlain.
The whole hook disolving story is what the state Biologists want use to believe! I personally caught a laker on willoughby years ago that was 20 inches long the first weekend of ice fishing and released it by cutting the leader in the hole as I dont care to eat them! I was using 10lbs blue trilene leader and a #6 english hook! 41 days later I caught that same fish again a little ways up the lake and it was starved super thin from the hook embedded in its gut i would guess! 100% certain it was the same fish!!! I kept and cut the fish open to inspect and the hook was still as perfectly intact as the day I had first caught him! I actually reused the hook and caught another fish with it that day!