Very cool... Sorry mr game warden, this is what happened. If you need to write me a ticket, be my guest. Please hurry, I'm on some good fish.

Congrats on a nice catch! Congrats on learning the lesson without I costing you any more than some posts on a forum!

You did the right thing in admitting your mistake and moving on. You now know the law, and I am sure you won't make the same mistake twice!

I agree we have wonderful game wardens for the most part, the limits are there for a reason. A ticket is just as much a learning experience (if not more) than a simple warning. None of us know what a specific warden would do in this situation. I am sure they hear "I didn't know", and "I was going to release it" all the time. They have to make judgement calls...

Some of my best learned lessons have been painful! Hess young men appear to be stand up guys, and I am sure they wouldn't be on here complaining if they did get a ticket. They would've learned the same lesson.

Pay it forward, make sure everyone knows that if you need a picture or have to revive a fish, you need to do it in the lake.

Good catch, and keep searching for the next biggun!