We fish the Mega, on Fork, son catches a under (on our board) 2.67 on our scale. Off to weigh-in we go, this fish is close I will admit, but does go under the line.

We would never try to cheat, just trying to win a truck; he takes the fish to the tanks and ask can I use the courtesy check board? (Do not have one).

Dad now what? I tell him the fish is good going with it, he hands the fish to the guy doing the measuring, CHAD is saying my son's name etc, and then they say the fish is to long.

Now the game warden wants to talk, he tells my son go get your board and bring it down here, while he holds my son DL and fish.
I go get the board (Check-It Stick) the warden starts measuring the fish (At least 5min) not kidding. People looking at us like we are Cheaters, any way he finally says Quote (Man this is so close 1/32 over??? 1/32 under? Long story short, The Warden (Great Guy) tells my son I am not going to give you a ticket I can see how close either way this fish was. THANKS YOU SIR.
DRAMA

did the fish count in tourn.??

I hav seen this happen a bunch on that lak and 99% of the time it's an honest mistake and people measure fish differently. There is a tpwd way to measure butit doesn't take but a slight difference to make 1/32" also I have seen tourneys not measure right. If it's that close I usually won't chance it but for my boy I might.

Oh and they really should have had a courtesy board. Fish tense and relax in the livewell and I've seen them change a 1/8" or better.

Man this sucks, at least he didn't get a ticket. I can't believe they didn't have a courtesy board.

The fish did not count, we were asked to give the fish to live release tank. End of story.

I say if the game warden was not going to commit himself, then the tournament committee should have allowed the fish. They certainly shouldn't have much to say since they didn't have a courtesy board. If it would have gotten you a prize, I would consider getting representation. With so much at stake,including reputation, I might look for a piece of the tournament organization.

Thankfully the Game Warden used common sense and didn't write a citation.

Sorry to hear the fish didn't count, that must have been a buzz kill.

I saved this response from the Berkley tournament���..

There are a lot of variables to measuring fish, especially on slot lakes. Different tournaments have different rules and some can be confusing. Some trails say the fish can touch the 16 inch line and others say they cannot touch 16.

If either side of the fish goes over the lower end of the slot, the fish is illegal. If either side of the fish touches the upper end of the slot, the fish is legal.

Some weigh masters only pinch the tail.

Some pinch the tail and fan tail

I have heard of them stroking the fish while on the board.

How much pressure is put on the fish while pushing against the board? Is enough pressure applied to consistently close the mouth completely?

Hard to tell how they are going to measure unless you are familiar how that particular Tournament does it. Even in the same circuit, different folks on the board can put variable pressure on the fish and make a difference. I remember RedSkeeter saying one time that �I watch them like a hawk when they measure my fish�. He does this because he wants to emulate how they measure when he is on the water.

ProRule, Check it Stick, Golden rule, others?..... I know the golden rule does not measure the same as the others, but I have found the ProRule and Check it Stick to be the same IMO. I make sure that I have the same board in the boat.

I have had them measured at 1/8 under and the fish be questioned or DQ�d. We have also had fish that measured under in the morning and then touching later in the day and had to chunk them back. Not a good feeling when you take time to measure again and then go back to 4 fish in the livewell. We measure the close ones again because I know they change. I have found unders to change up to 1/8 but the variance I have experienced the most is about 1/16 or 3/32. Knowing this, we like to shoot for 15 and 7/8th's.

Glad to hear that you all escaped the ticket.

Seriously?

Which explains one of the many things wrong with our country that people are so quick to sue. I haven't read the rules but I'm sure they say somewhere in there that the decision of the tournament director is final.

Just another reason I don't fish Tournaments on Fork

Lets see who can catch the smallest big fish

THEY ALSO DID THIS-- (have heard of them stroking the fish while on the board.)

They were doing their job, no hard feelings, we thought it was under BUT we were wrong.

That is the response of someone who is ignorant. Obama fan no doubt looking to sue rather than accept the findings of both parties calling the lengths. Being that there was a warning issued, then it was obvious the warden also found it too long. So then what is your grounds to "look for a piece of the tournament organization" First, the TPW findings have nothing to do with the tourney, the tourney staff likely called it long, and that is likely why the warden was involved. Second, there should not need to be a courtesy board, they tell you what board they use. If you use the flawed logic that all boards are differnet, then the bump board will also be different that the one they have at the scales. Good that there was only a warning, unless it was flagrant, "1/32" could easily happen.

I agree... don't understand the methodology to go find the biggest 15 7/8" fish around the lake.