You won't need to degas it if you let it bulk age. I bulk aged mine about 9 months, and it ended up completely degassed and crystal clear.
I didn't use a strainer bag, except for the oak. The fruit, I just lobbed it in there. No worries! Getting the bag with the oak out is a bit of a pain, but doable after racking the mead away.
Yes, you will want to stabilize this before bottling -- bottle bombs = bad.
Good luck with your first mead!
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