Is it common practice to have a 18" minimum length limit on a lake but yet weigh 15" fish in a tournament?

This is kansas and no, we weren't using the bass pass.

On the west coast we have a lake that had a 12" to 15" slot limit. For tourney's they got a deferment. The norm for tourney min. size is 13" 5 fish over 13"

Here it's illegal to have a short fish in your live well. We do LM over 16" spots over 12".

Here it's illegal to have a short fish in your live well. We do LM over 16" spots over 12".

Yelp! Down here game warden is @ the weigh-in!

In Florida only if your tounament is allowed an execption, which must remain on your person throughout the tournament.

If you weigh a short fish, that one and the largest of what remains in your bag is disallowed.

Mike

I fished a tournament Today and the sign at the ramp clearly stated 18" minimum for LMB. At the weigh in after the Tournament they were weighing 15" and above???

This was a father/son tourney geared towards the kids and was put on by the Sheriffs Department and a Game Warden was doing the weighing.

I just thought it was odd allowing 15" fish.

A lot of Tournaments in Kansas allow the Bass Pass but we were not. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CAsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fkdwpt.state.ks.us%2FFishing%2FFishing-Regulations%2FBass-Pass&ei=qTymU-7ELaqN8QHg6oAw&usg=AFQjCNFVFi8-lenjWVSSA5i8N5fHKPWI0w&sig2=cgE2CYd0zFLEB6sF_ESrhA

I fished a tournament Today and the sign at the ramp clearly stated 18" minimum for LMB. At the weigh in after the Tournament they were weighing 15" and above???

This was a father/son tourney geared towards the kids and was put on by the Sheriffs Department and a Game Warden was doing the weighing.

I just thought it was odd allowing 15" fish.

I would assume there wasn't any prize money awarded, and because it was a kids tournament they made an exception for them, as they should have.

Mike

You should ask the guy in charge of the tourney and see what he says. 

This was a father/son tourney geared towards the kids

 

How did you guys do?

We had fun Indy caught a little Catfish he got to weigh in.

At one point he was setting on the edge of the boat dangling his feet in the water and he fell in! Lol, he was a trooper though as he didn't drop his pole.

I'm not sure they had ANYONE weigh a 15" LMB and they started weighing shorter fish? LOL

And it was a Game Warden weighing the fish! Then they gave them back to you so you could take them home if you wanted?

That lake is tough and an 18" fish is fairly rare not to mention the tournament was only 3 hours long.

Anyhow it took a 2.3# sack to win LMB and 1.2# was big bass.

I didn't know they were going to weigh short fish and I threw back a 16" and 17" fish.

And had a BIG one shake it's head and spit my jig back at me. Lol

The best part of the day was after it was over my wife and other son joined us and we turned the Triton into a swim deck! I set the spot lock on the Terrova and we swam for hours.

Lakes and River length is different here. Iowa lakes is 15" inches 3 fish limit. Iowa rivers is 14" inches 5 fish limit. Ive never heard of 18" inches for practice.