So if you arrive at the ramp with 5 alive but they all die during the 2 hour light/tv show, do you get penalized? Geeze...get on with it already.

That would be sad

LOL - nope. My understanding is they are spot checked at the ramp once you check in for the day to note how many are alive/dead. That info is passed on to officials at the stadium where actual weights are taken and scored, and appropriate penalties (if any) applied.

 

-T9  

Our state tournament my senior year in high school(last year), we had to trailer about an hour to the sportsmans expo to weigh in.  They checked for dead fish before we left the ramp and were not penalized if the fished died between the ramp and weigh in.  It was cool to get to weigh in at the expo, but I would have rather just weighed at the ramp and then have a ceremony for the winners at the expo to limit dead loss.

8 ounces per dead fish.