Ok <lets put this one to pasture. I always check the size because I can’t afford to give up my hard earned money. I was just curious how that would go if all fish were in one cooler and there was either 1 over or under. Guess I’ll just give up and read all of ya’lls posts.
1720 KW 110 Johnson
16’ Bonito 65 Johnson
Don't consider this legal advice... That being said... Somebody will get a ticket. They will usually ask for a volunteer unless it is blantantly obvious who the perpetrator is. If you are nice and they feel that it was an honest mistake, you will likely get the minimum fine. If you act like a jerk or it seems that you were being a blatant fish raper, you may get the book thrown at you. Typically, there is a minimum and a maximum fine for each type of violation. Many of the violations carry maximum fines around $450 and up to 30 days in jail. Note that these can add up pretty quickly. 5 undersized fish in your cooler can be 5 violations.
At least that is my understanding of how it works…
How do I know? I’ve been caught with expired registration before and a fishing license that was a week out of expiration.
Don’t know if this will be any help, but a few years ago I was surveyed by a lady from Clemson U about what I had been fishing for that day,what I caught,etc. After the survey, a DNR gent strolls up and asks to check my cooler. All legal,as I had measured them by the DNR supplied fish ruler. 1 fish was apparently juuuust shy of the legal size. He gave me a warning, letting me know I could have gotten a rather large fine, to be careful next time. I told him I had measured all my fish on the DNR ruler(thelong,stick on your boat type) and he said that the ruler WASN’T accurate. He said it was for “information purposes only” and I should carry a tape measure or real ruler. So FYI dont trust the DNR ruler when it comes to size.
Don’t know if this will be any help, but a few years ago I was surveyed by a lady from Clemson U about what I had been fishing for that day,what I caught,etc. After the survey, a DNR gent strolls up and asks to check my cooler. All legal,as I had measured them by the DNR supplied fish ruler. 1 fish was apparently juuuust shy of the legal size. He gave me a warning, letting me know I could have gotten a rather large fine, to be careful next time. I told him I had measured all my fish on the DNR ruler(thelong,stick on your boat type) and he said that the ruler WASN’T accurate. He said it was for “information purposes only” and I should carry a tape measure or real ruler. So FYI dont trust the DNR ruler when it comes to size.
17’ High Tide CC
60 Yamaha
He did the right thing though. He gave you a warning. If you would have taken the ruler to court, pleaded guilty, and proved that it was inaccurate, then I would think that a judge have mercy on you and understood your intent to follow the law...
But, typically the problem is not the actual measurements on the DNR fish ruler. It’s the fact that regulations change every day and that you might be looking at a ruler that has last week’s regulations.
But regardless, if the legal size is 12" and you give yourself some breathing room by not keeping anything smaller than 13", then you aren’t going to have much to worry about.