I get a little tired of seeing "under 16" as the legal limit on Lake Fork. I realize many Fork tournaments have their "more restrictive" rules that it has to be "under 16" and you have to honor that when fishing that tournament. The good point has also been made that it is hard to touch the line without going over.

The fact is a 16" fish is legal to keep on Lake Fork with the state.

Yes technically it is. But every person measures it differently and I am always going to default to the side of caution.

rob you are correct. i have always wondered why most tournys will do the if it touches 24 its good but if it touches 16 your done. if it doesnt go over 16 perfectly legal. but im not taking the chance my board is exact as mister warden!lol!

Rob, I have heard (so this is second-hand) that GWs have told guys to not bring a fish to the scales that touches the line. The line is legal, I know, but it's a very fine line also.

Here is the explanation ive heard.

There's no such thing as a 16.00" fish. If it touches the line, it's at least 16.00000000001" and that's a slot fish. Same with 24, which is why it's legal to keep any fish that touches.

Well you hope its a fine line, so you can tell if its over. the thicker the line the harder a judgment call it is.

This is an on going thing in alot of tournaments I was disqualified for have a fish touch 16 but didn't go over which my argument was on texas parks and wildlife the slot is 16 and under but can touch 16 but not over it.

I have had PLENTY of minimum lake fish just barely touching, they only touched on one side and you had to fan. they were most certainly not 0.0000001" over. In those cases it is easy, every tournament I have been in if the fanned tail just hits the line on any side you are good.

However, I am with everyone when you are talking about the low end of a slot lake measurement. For some reason it is 100x harder to be on the line, but not over vs. just hitting it on a minimum/over measurement.

Legal or not....It's not going to make enough weight just touching the line to win...so why bother. If its 15 and 7'8th's I'd think that last 1'8 of an inch wouldn't matter and could save someone from a fine or DQ. just my 2 cents

If you are fishing an hourly tournament where game wardens are present you will get a ticket. I was told by the game warden if you have a big fish you can pinch the tail and swipe it to make it touch the line and be legal. He said they do the same thing on an under and tickets will follow no exceptions. Just FYI

Doesn't really matter. It is all up to the judge. I bought the "official" check-it stick and put a Starrett ruler along it. It was close up to about 16 inches and the started getting more and more off. What's the point of arguing decimal places when the WHOLE STUPID OFFICIAL measuring device is off?? An "official" measuring device made out of aluminum? A metal that changes its size based on the weather!

LOL

Tournament rules and State rules can and do vary, personally being understanding of the reason any TD running a tournament on Lake Fork makes that decision. (can't touch 16)
Also knowing from experience on that lake, it cuts out a lot of guess work to say under 16"inches. It keeps things moving better IMO, some what removes the argument factor...
In saying that, I've brought my share of squeeeeeeker's to scales many times. It's been the difference in winning and losing if my gamble pays off.
When Kay and I fished trails with great regularity, I watched the fish handler with a keen eye. I paid very close attention to how he held and measured the fish. I'd try to repeat that on the water, that helped me make the decision to keep or release it on the spot.. JM2C's

If you are visibly able to detect the difference between a 16.0000000" fish and a 16.0000001" fish, then you're the first person in the history of mankind with that ability. Fact is that even the width of the line creates uncertainty. It's just far easier to tell if a fish touches the line or not than to thoroughly prove that a fish is 16.0000000" but not 16.0000001".