I saw the same thing but if I remember right, if the hook is near the mouth it is considered a catch in certain states (hopefully NC)but CA is not one of them. I remeber this because watching the clear lake bass event on tv last year, one of the leading anglers (forget who) caught a +8lb bass but had to release it because the hooks were not in the mouth of the fish.

With thousands of dollars on the line, it really pays to know the tournament, local and state rules about fishing.