RalphD
10-12-2004, 10:58 AM
In Al Ristori's 10/10 column he says that you have the option to pinch the tail or not depending on whether you're trying to add length or decrease it. Below is the quote from the article and he says it was confirmed by a call to fish & game.
"Though I've never taken advantage of it, New Jersey law does allow anglers to squeeze the tails of bass together in order to make a marginal fish into a keeper. There has been some confusion about how that works with the new law, but it's quite simply up to the angler.
Tom Fote of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association cleared up the confusion with a call to Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement chief Rob Winkle. The law says "may," and that means you may squeeze the tail to get that fraction of an inch to make a 24-inch slot or a 34-inch "keeper" -- but you don't have to squeeze if the bass would then be too long for the 28-to-less than-34 inch size, which is presently illegal unless you have a Bonus Card. My feeling is that any bass not clearly legal by any standard should go back, but the letter of the law does give the angler a bit of leeway."
This is contrary to the discussion here where it was generally agreed that you msut pinch the tail. I would think there would have to be some leeway in issuing fines if this is really the case. I wonder if the CO's know about this? This just adds more confusion to the rules.
"Though I've never taken advantage of it, New Jersey law does allow anglers to squeeze the tails of bass together in order to make a marginal fish into a keeper. There has been some confusion about how that works with the new law, but it's quite simply up to the angler.
Tom Fote of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association cleared up the confusion with a call to Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement chief Rob Winkle. The law says "may," and that means you may squeeze the tail to get that fraction of an inch to make a 24-inch slot or a 34-inch "keeper" -- but you don't have to squeeze if the bass would then be too long for the 28-to-less than-34 inch size, which is presently illegal unless you have a Bonus Card. My feeling is that any bass not clearly legal by any standard should go back, but the letter of the law does give the angler a bit of leeway."
This is contrary to the discussion here where it was generally agreed that you msut pinch the tail. I would think there would have to be some leeway in issuing fines if this is really the case. I wonder if the CO's know about this? This just adds more confusion to the rules.