Quote:
Originally Posted by B-Faithful
Where I think the no-take slot will hurt is in recreation violations. DNR is going to have to be real-clear on how fish are measured. For me I have always flat tailed measure just to make sure we are over a mark. What happens if an officer can squeeze a tail a tad more than the boat did. A 35.5" fish can go over 36" with a tail squeeze. A flat ruler vs a tape that curves on the fish can add a 1/4" or more too. DNR noted that there was a significant increase in violations with the last time we had a no-take slot. Hopefully they will do a good job at notifying and education to help reduce that. Also if they are in place multiple years, participants will have a better understanding.
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I should note that I also fear people screaming about release mortality too. Though I believe the release mortality to be very low (especially in the colder water) and the slot will reduce overall mortality, it is only going to take a few photos of floating big fish to tug at some's heart strings. The battle over C&R will heat up again too.