TLDR: what to do when struggling to unhook a fish? (Barbless hooks) Will spinners and poppers work with a single hook instead of a treble ?

I sometimes have difficulty unhooking fish and my husband has to come help me (I know how it sounds but it's true). Recently I've tried my best to do it all on my own because I do fish by myself often. I have pliers and haven't used them yet (for fears of doing damage to the fish and partly because I haven't had to) and I have debarbed all the hooks I use frequently. I know how to unhook a fish but sometimes it really gets in there and I call for some help. Mostly in the cartilage or once through the eye. I also don't set the hook with vigor as I see other fishermen do maybe that's my issue? So what do I do if it's been 30 seconds and no luck should I let the fish go in the river and try again or just keep at it?

Also would a net be helpful? I mainly fish off of shores on rivers and docks off of lakes. I've looked into getting a net, maybe I'll pick one up today. Fish in my area are mainly bluegill, walleye,pike,bass,catfish,sunfish, and musky. I mainly use small tackle as I'm nervous about catching anything big

My most recent struggle was on a tiny small mouth using a treble on a hula popper. I was having trouble freeing it so I let the fish go under water for a bit and tried again until he was finally free. I hope he was ok. I did a gentle release and he swam fine but I still feel awful. My only treble hooks are on spinners and poppers would they reel the same if I switched the hooks out?

The majority of fish I've caught, I've released just fine but in the excitement and wiggleness of it all there have been a few that I struggled with. I tend to count in my head to ensure it's timely fashion, if I feel it's taken to long I will dip it in the water for a moment and try again

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by catbuggie