That's not an accurate statement. Read the Texas regulations. I provided the links and the quotes from TPWD's site above.

You are wrong 100%.

This is the correct answer.

Crankbaits, lipless are different than a worm hook. Crankbaits and lipless have two hooks. Everytime, I have caught a fish on them at least one hook was in the mouth. The only way to really know is get a response from TPWD and how their Rangers interpret the Law.

If I was betting, the majority of the MLF pros know he cheated. But it didn’t have anything to do with the outcome of the tournament and at this point they don’t want any bad press so they ruled it a legal catch. He probably had a nice little chat with the leaders. Now the rest of the pros know who they are dealing with. He’s not the only one in that group that has been accused of breaking the rules. He will be watched real close from now on

I had no idea so many people don't know how to interrupt the laws. Accidentally hooking one in the side is not against the law. Doing it intentionally is.

That’s fine. I respect that. I disagree, as I think the law is to limit people who intentionally snag fish in an unsportsmanlike manner, not for people who are otherwise fishing normally. Crankbaits and other moving treble hook baits, as has been mentioned, can often be hooked on the side of the mouth. I’ve never heard, outside of California, this being illegal, but the statute clearly makes it seem like it could be.

The law is poorly written (as are many laws, especially fish and game laws) and i’d like to hear from a warden on it. How many fish have been weighed during tournaments where a crank was hooked in the side of the mouth because a fish swiped at it?

And in regard to MLF, it seems like he was not in possession, because he didn’t put it in a cooler, livewell, etc. That’s why he was able to weigh the fish (and that he was determined to not be sight fishing for that fish).

Take or attempt to take covers both incidental and intentional foul-hooking. Whether you meant to or not, it's unlawful to take possession of a foul-hooked fish. If anyone can provide credible evidence to support the interpretation that it's only about intent and that TPWD supports weighting foul-hooked fish in a tournament, I can admit I am wrong. As of right now, I'm sticking to my guns on this and saying it's wrong to bring foul-hooked fish to weigh in.

You could ask 10 Game Wardens this question and I bet you would get multiple answers.

I bet 10 would emphasize the "intentional" part. No game warden in this state will give you a ticket for catching a bass hooked outside its mouth on a crankbait....

The law as it is written doesn't really apply to MLF regardless of how you interpret it. Since they don't keep fish there is no possession therefore there was no taking or attempting to take a fish by foul hooking. As far as snagging intentionally while sight fishing it would just be his word vs someone else's. In this case the official sided with Sprague. From that point on everything becomes moot. You have a guy saying "that is not the fish I was targeting" and another guy 5ft from him saying "I agree. It's a legal catch." It ended right there.

“It is unlawful to use a pole and line to take or attempt to take fish by foul-hooking, snagging, or jerking. A fish is foul-hooked when caught by a hook in an area other than the fish's mouth.”

It seems to alter the meaning based on where you place emphasis in that if you foul-hook a fish OR attempt to foul-hook a fish you cannot “take” it. Does that mean simply harvest it (place in your livewell) or what? What if one treble is inside the mouth and one is out?

These laws were written before this type of tournament had become main stream. I think it goes back to IF he was sight fishing or not and if an MLF rule was violated and not a state law per se.

Like Dozer said, the different wardens likely interpret this differently.

Not every LEO will pull you over for driving 5mph over the posted speed limit. That doesn't mean you are obeying the law.

GIve our texas GW some credit. Intentional is what its about. I wish MLF would post the full video they deleted. I bet a lot of you would have a different opinion.

You are reading the law wrong. "It is unlawful to use a pole and line to take or attempt to take a fish by foul hooking, snagging, or jerking." The law is saying that it is illegal if your take or attempt to take is by the act of trying to foul hook, snag or jerk your bait into a fish on purpose. It is not illegal in Texas to accidentaly hook a fish that strikes a lure outside of the mouth. Trust me.