I think the TPWD rule is quite clear. The length of the fish is the longest possible length you can get from it.

I think some people are just pissed off about this weekend.

When there is a tough bite, and you're trying to weigh fish that barely keep on a normal lake, aren't you happy when the TD does everything possible to get your fish to touch 14"? You can't have it both ways. Just because you're trying to weigh unders, you can't expect the TD to do everything possible to get the shortest length he can.

riiiiiight

Throw a little more confusion out. TP&W says a slot fish 14 inches and less or 24 or greater in length may be retained. according to that, a 14" fish is legal. BUT the game warden says 14" or longer is not legal to keep.

I have seen this reason to rub the protective slime from a fish given several times in the last few days. Why don't the TD's use a WHITE background/board???? Or simply take 30 cents worth of sand paper and sand the board at the needed location.
Please....someone let me know why they use BLACK background.

I am going to wrap mine with white tape in the critical areas. I would suggest all anglers do the same.

I guess this really comes into play on slot lakes, I have never had an issue with any TD or stick man. You usually can plead your case at the bump board, I know I asked for a 2nd measurement before. Many Tournaments offer courtesy checks. heck TDs don't want to make anyone mad so they try to make it easy for the angler to not get penalized. But no matter if the tail don't touch 14 its a short fish.

Introducing tolerances is a bad idea that would cause worse confusion. So on fork if it touches 16 but is not over it's legal per TPWD but a TD won't allow those to be weighed in?

I can't say that I agree... The rules are simple and I wouldn't want them to
go overboard but there could be some clarifications made.I can read what it says
but then there is a picture below with a clear picture of a bass and the
tail being pinch to obtain the length. Then you have the picture of a
hardtailed fish with the tail being fanned. As we all know this question
comes up prior to every event as to how the fish will be measured.
Second is the board, why couldn't they declare an official stick of the
TPWD.(This would also generate a nice bidding war to create revenue)

Wwll I didnt' fish this last weekend so I'm not pissed off. Maybe TD should just add the exact proceess they will use to the rules they set. I really don't care how they measure the fish as long as the angler and the stickman are using the same method when it gets done...

I see no need to wrap a "ProRule" board with white tape or any other color. The ProRule boards are engraved in "silver" aluminum. The "rays" in the tail fin of a fish become quite visible when they "touch" or "go over" that silver etching. You can't miss it or misinterpret it. Adding a different color background may or may not improve your visibility of the "rays" in the fish's tail.

I think Greg Christainson has built the best measuring board for checking tournament bass.

I normally will work a fish only to try and give the angler the advantage of being able to weigh a "squeeker". If the fish I am measuring is short or long, making it outside the limits, without diliberatly working to make the measurement detrimental to the angler, I will call it as an illegal fish, charge the appropriate penalty, and move on. For a TD to diliberatly try to get a fish to measure outside the limits is boarder line dishonest. By deliberatly bumping the fish softly or pressing hard the measurer can change the result just enough on occasion to get the desired results he or she are after; hence the dishonesty.

This whole thing is much like baseball umpires, some can call it this way and some can call it another. Either way one side or the other is not going to be happy.

Modifying the law will not change the results it will just change the interpretation.

JMO
John

Thank the Lord I am smarter than to gamble on tournaments and the honesty of the people invlved. If I have to do that I would quit fishing . It seems to me that so many want to be noticed at doing something ,to draw attention to themselve , that they use the tournaments for that platform instead of reasons that really count in life.