Was there something in the water that gave Paul Elias and Tommy Biffle the dumbs yesterday?  Biffle got a ticket for fishing in Tennessee without a license.  It cost him the whole day's weight.  

Paul Elias, my favorite pro, brought six fish to the weigh-in.  It cost him his biggest fish plus a one pound penalty.  He also had a dead fish.

Man, it's going to look like bumper cars out there tomorrow with all those tournaments at the same time.

Biffle must have been a good ways into to TN to get a ticket.  I haven't fished that part of KY lake before, but i thought there was a "buffer zone" so that you could fish so far into the other state with a license from one state.  I am not sure of the size of the "buffer zone" though I do all my fishing around KY dam.

Biffle said in the ESPN article that there was a sign in the woods a ways from where he was fishing.  How can you see a sign in the woods?  And what DNR agent stops a wrapped boat? Said he also had 18lbs in the bag at the time.  

Anthony

I'm a pretty cautious guy.  I would have bought a Tennessee license just to be safe.

And what DNR agent stops a wrapped boat?

im fairly certain this is a rhetorical question.  weve all run into that kind of dnr agent.

Man, that's way beyond "Just doing my job". I don't get it either.

They don't owe me a break, but you might think guys fishing a big

tournament would get a little consideration. I can't believe they

stopped him to begin with, but a warning would have been a nice

jesture.

Geez...

>

I always hate getting bothered at tournaments, but they stop people for this reason. There is no reason that he shouldn't of had his TN license. I fished a BFL regional there last year and bought my TN license knowing there was a possibility I might end up there and I never did, but I was prepared.

Man, that's way beyond "Just doing my job". I don't get it either.

If I was one of the spectators and I saw the mullet police ride by and not check a pro angler just like he would me or any other guy, I'd be ticked off.  I'm always pleased to see them doing what we pay them to do.

We seem to be drifting a little off-track:

#1 I support law enforcement, period.

#2 Common sense and professional curteousey go a long ways.

#3 "Bad case of the dumbs" is correct. Everyone, but especially

guys that fish for a living should know the rules and abide by them.

8-)

 

Two thoughts involving co-anglers pop into my head:

--  Apparently Biffle's co-angler (a relation to Rick Morris) had the foresight to get a TN license and it is good that they got to keep fishing for his sake.

--  I wonder if there is any chance that Elias's co-angler accidently dropped a fish into the wrong side of the well.  I've seen this happen to another boat in a club tournament before.  (However the 6th fish got in there, it is surprising that nobody noticed until after they'd been weighed in)

What's strange to me (unless I am missing something) is Kentucky and Tenn have a reciprocal agreement that extends south to the 79 bridge so I am not sure how you don't know that your in Tenn. waters.

There is a sign, it is in the woods.

However it notes the KY/TN line not where your KY fishing license is no longer valid.

As SIND said, the 79 bridge is the end of the reciprocal agreement. It is quite clear when you pass that.

On a sidenote, the 68/80 bridge in KY is the end of the reciprocal agreement going north.

J

Those TWRA guys can be a$$ clowns... they are always stopping me asking to see my license and what not.  I've even had the same one stop me 3 times in one day.  

Jasone, he must have been fishing Barkley.

As I understand it, Biffle was fishing on Barkley, not Kentucky.  There isn't any "grace" area on Barkley like on Kentucky.  On Ky, you can fish to the Hwy 79 bridge on a Ky license.  Likewise, you can fish up to the Hwy 68 bridge in Kentucky on the east side and up to, but not including Blood River on the west side.

Yup, you two are right, didn't realize it was Barkley.  The sign must be in the woods on that side too!

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