So I know as a tournament angler how much confusion there is when we measure our fish one way and the TD or official measure does it another way. I know every one here has been to the tpwd site 10 times to read the regulations so I won't repeat them. Here is my question.How hard would it be to petition TPWD to come up with a little more specific instructions on measuring bass and other "tournament fish" so that there would not be the grey area that exists today...? We should get this going... Red Skeeter? JP?

A change to the regulations would have to go through the TPWD Commission. I'd start there and ask them what the process would be.

There are many regs in the Parks and Wildlife Code that are somewhat open to interpretaion of the GW. Those should be refined and clarified, as well.

For instance, the confusion between USCG approved and TPWD approved PFD's as it relates to hydrostatic and auto-inflate PFD's.

The TPWD regulation on measuring fish is pretty cut and dry and is used by all culbs and recreational anglers.
Below is out of the TPWD regulation book.
Use these guidelines to measure fish correctly (total length):
Place the fish on its side with the jaw closed.
Squeeze the tail fin together or turn it in a way to obtain the maximum overall length.
Measure a straight line from the tip of the snout to the extreme tip of the tail fin.
You can also fan the tail instead of squeezeing it together the key is over all length.
Now if you are referring to the topic where they petted the fish to make them relax so the fish length will increase then that's a practice that's not normally used in most club or open tour. I never seen it done before. The bottom line is that the fish will relax and could measure longer but if you were to take that fish to another table and board it would tense up again and you would have to do the petting/stroking again to relax him. In the years pass the only issue i've seen or heard about measuring a fish was folks not real clear on the 16 to 24 inch slot at fork as far as if a fish touched 16 inch mark was it legal. Yes it is but it cannot go over a smig if so then it's an illegal fish. Not to hi Jack your post but just wanted to state that the TPWD measurement on fish is OK and understood by most.

As a TD I handle lots of fish annually and I can say out of the thousands of fish that cross my boards only a handful do not make the minimum or maximum requirements according to our rules.
When measuring fish on a slot lake there will always be anglers who will try to crowd the line because it is hard to get that perfect fat 15 7/8 fish that really boosts the limit weight. The anglers that take that chance understand that if it is a slot fish that their chances of cashing are gone for that day due to loss of fish and penalty. As stated I measure a lot of my anglers fish and I only penlize maybe 5 anglers a year. Most often it is a culling mistake made at the livewell not some angler taking a chance of squeeking one through.

I tell my anglers at Fork it cannot touch 16" and must touch 24" to be legal for our events. This keeps that touching the line issue out of the equation. I place the fish on the center of the board with mouth firmly closed (not crushed) and close the tail, if no problems the fish goes into the basket to be weighed. If it touches on the 16" line I will turn the fish over and measure one more time giving the angler the benefit of the doubt, if it does not touch on the second measure I will allow the fish to be weighed. On the 24" end of the board I will work the tail by closing and swishing it to try and get the fish to the 24" mark and flip the fish if needed to get there. Quoted from above "I tell my anglers at Fork it cannot touch 16" and must touch 24" to be legal for our events." I will work with anglers on the big end of the slot if they will not crowd me on the small end and it has worked for us very well. Some of the best seasoned tournament anglers on Fork have made some amazing culling mistakes, I am not talking crowding the line but like 1/4 to 3/8 inches over. Its very embarrasing to make a mistake like that. It usually happens during a bass biting blitz and someone drops one in without measuring or culls the wrong fish.

I have never and will never stroke a fish at my boards thus removing the protective slime, I will wipe one down on the tail occasionally just to get a good read on the tip of the tails as I use a pro-rule board for my trail and it is black and the tails are sometimes hard to see. Each tournament has there own means and methods and I am not knocking anyone's way of doing things.

I will say that on the big fish I have seen a fish measure at 24 1/8 and have watched the fish tense up on the board and litteraly draw up a 1/4 inch. Thats scary stuff when your weighing one of the 24" squeekers.

Chris, that sounds way to smart. You know how most good ideas
end up...

Jonathon,
I would really like to see some uniformity in the way a fish is checked; primarily in the procedure, and on what board specifically.
The Fouzman above has some pull in those areas, I would help and support any efforts made to establish a state wide standard
in which a fish is measured..
On the TP&W site, the example they give is something I've never seen any fish handler do.

I've never seen a fish measured that way in competition.

There's usually no confusion when it comes to measuring fish. It has not been a reoccurring theme on this board, so why would anyone think there is a need for change in the law?

You need to keep in mind that fish usually relax a little in the livewell from the time they are caught. In a big bass tournament on a slot lake, you may need to check the length again right before heading up to the weigh-in.

A rough boat ride will often tense the fish up but if it is a long weigh line and your fish are in a dark black weigh bag they will relax again. Good for overs, not for unders.

+1 you may need to check the length again right before heading up to the weigh-in. I also see no need for a change in the law.

I should have checked my again.. I don't think the law needs to changed. I just think that stroking a fish to get a fish to relax and then add length that's my problem. I learned a lot this weekend

I think the regs are pretty clear but they also need to reflect what we know about fish biology.

It's pretty clear a fish can tense up or relax, and that can change the measurement. Also a fish might measure differently when flipped over.

With that in mind I would like to see a tolerance allowed by law or TPWD rule. Maybe up to 1/4 inch. That would mean the Game Warden could measure your fish and if it is over the lower limit of the slot for example, it's still illegal. But if it's within a 1/4 inch there is no penalty other than maybe you lose the fish and/or maybe get a written warning ticket. Outside that 1/4 inch tolerance it's a ticket.

At the same time it would be up to a tournament director to decide whether to accept that fish, and at his discretion he could say no - if it touches the line at all it can't be weighed if he believes it's illegal but still within tolerance. As long as he's consistent and everyone knows the rules beforehand it shouldn't be a problem.

This would eliminate all the problems that have been recently brought up. It would also eliminate any problems with different brands of measuring devices.

Tolerance introduces interpretation.

Laws need to state exacts. Keep it black and white.

I don't think so. 1/4 inch is pretty black and white. It's just as much an exact measurement as 16" is.

The guidelines for measuring fish via TPWD cant get much easier. Closed jaw and pinched tail. What is so hard about that? Throw it on the board closed jaw against the end and pinch tail...

Dang thats hard!

No massaging, squeezing, or stepping on em...

you would have the same issues with 16 1/4" as with 16"

I agree

Adding a 1/4" tolerance is the same as making the slot start at 16 1/4". People would then just be complaining about fish relaxing and going over that line.