Pretty sure i saw that. Wasn't close enough to hear the convo but the guy had what looked like to me, a slot. He brought it to the board, GW came over,they had a short conversation then the guy. Went to the dock(presumably to return the fish to the cnr boat)*and then cam back and had about a 15 20 min talk with the GW and as it went on, the guy looked more and more upset. .then I got bumped and left. Your welcome for the insight lol.

Exactly. I fished the skeeter tourney and no doubt I could have weighed in 2 overs had I known about the relaxed mouth rule. I don't know I had never heard of it. The GW told the contestant that he wasn't going to measure the fish and was going to go by what the TD measured the fish as. They got into and the GW told the angler that if he didn't shut up he was going to make it worse for him than a 200 dollar fine. Kind of Chicken S to me. On both sides.

There is only one way to measure a fish according to TPW directions. A double standard should never be allowed, it makes it near impossible to assume you're doing it right. I'm glad I didn't fish the thing... The mouth should always be in the fully closed position, swipe the tail up, then down.. I've fished countless numbers of these events and NEVER heard that before, what a load..

Same thing happened to me. The guy flipped the fish over 4-5 times, massaging it, flattening it, literally doing everything he could to make sure it touched the line. It finally did. The game warden's allowed me to measure it on my board, where it was a legal fish. They let me walk away without a ticket or a warning. Simply telling me it was bad luck.

My mother had one of those really close fish.Plus it a a chunk, shoulders like a Linebacker. We measured it under 16 on our board. Go to weigh-in, they measure and say it's an illegal fish. They hand the fish to GW and he told her to go get board. GW measured on our board, LEGAL. GW measured on their board, LEGAL. I believe it would have been the largest under weighed-in during the tournament. The GW didn't give her a citation or a warning or anything. He just said sorry. Go catch another 1. Could she have asked for her legal fish back? Then try to weigh it in later?

Fished the McD's event back in '87 or '88 when the slot was still 14-21. The GW (now retired) was at the weigh in physically measuring fish then handing them to Sealy to weigh. I handed him my fish which was over the slot on my board.

He laid the fish on the board with the fish's belly away from him and calls it a slot fish. He then asks for my license to issue a ticket and starts walking around behind the stage to put the fish in the live release tank. I followed him and asked him to turn the fish over and re-measure it turned over like the picture in the TPWD handbook. He looks at me like I am crazy and tells me the fish will be the same length no matter what side he measures. I protest loudly and tell him to measure the fish like the handbook shows and it will be legal.

He says, "The fish will be the same length no matter how I turn him but just to prove a point, I am gonna show you!" We come walking back to the measuring area and Bob Sealy takes notice as did a bunch of others. Everybody crowds around to watch him measure the fish. As he lays the fish on the board in the proper position, the fish's tail goes over the slot. I loudly say, "See, the fish is over the slot!" The GW then says, "Nope, I didn't have it against the stop good enough."

He then proceeds to jam the fish's jaw against the board stop so hard that the gill plate sticks upward in a very unnatural position. He says, "Slot fish!" Bob Sealy and several others were staring at the fish the whole time. I look up at Bob and he just shakes his head in disbelief. I get a ticket for a slot fish and move on. I was steamed.

Sealy comes to me a few minutes later and tells me he saw the fish's tail go over the line and he knows it was a legal fish. He tells me that I can fish the next year's event at no charge.

Early the next morning me & my partner go out and start fishing. I catch a good one about 7:15 am and we head into weigh in at LFM. As I walk up to the weigh in the same GW is there measuring fish. I hand him the bag and say, "See if you can make this SOB a SLOT FISH!" He measures the fish, which was a couple inches over and hands it to Sealy to weigh.

The fish goes 7.27 and I win the hour and $1,200. I figure the previous day cost me a grand or so and a ticket.

Ronnie Ward. He was a real piece of work.

That is him!

Had the same thing happen to my daughter a few years ago at Mcdonolds. Fish measured 15 7/8 she took it to the line they said its over GW came and started to write a ticket. I told him that the fish was good. Went and got my board he started to measure the fish and said that side is good them flipped the fish over and said this is the one that got you. Have a Good day? No ticket.

I complained to TWP about the way they were measuring fish with the mouth not fully closed and this is what they sent back about measuring fish.

Determining the total length of fish is not difficult if it is done properly. The snout of the fish has to be firmly in contact with the end of the measuring board and its mouth must be kept closed. It helps to keep one hand over the fish�s head to keep it in place. With your other hand, pinch the lobes of the tail together and move the tail slightly up and down until the maximum length of the fish can be determined. The illustration below shows the proper method for measuring fish and is taken from the TPWD Outdoor Annual. Granted there are bound to be some differences in the accuracy of measuring boards. It would be better to release a fish with a length that is very close to the legal limit than risk getting a fine. In most cases whether an angler gets a fine for a fish that is very close to the legal limit is determined by his attitude and intent. There is no excuse for possessing a fish that is � inch too short or too long.

If you notice he says it should be placed firmly with mouth closed.

One more piece of advice.

Make sure you use the same measuring stick the TD is using. I learned this the hard way too.

The op

I have 3
Pro rule
Check it
Golden Rule, that's never used anymore, but I still have it just in case..

I think we need instant replay,...video taping,..and a challenge flag.

Funny you mention that. This guy is meticulous about everything. He verified which measuring stick was being used and the proceeded to measure it on 4 different sticks just like the one the TD was using. He verified on 4 different measuring sticks that the fish was legal as he is paranoid as hell and this wasn't his first merry go round. He's a well known east texas fisherman and has won many tournaments and many thousands of dollars. Just a weird deal.

The fish was prolly honestly over 16". The guys that weighed the fish in prolly didn't measure it correctly and got over excited at a huge under that was right on the line. Ive measured and weighed a ton of unders right on and real close to the line. Never had one turned back. Ive also had to release some giant ones that were a tad over.

I will be the first to admit. There is an art to bumping fish. Ive watched a lot of guys do it, and do it incorrectly.