Checked By Wildlife Officer

[Thornback]

Anyone got a story about being checked by a wildlife officer or how many times and the place you have been checked? I was checked once on Half Moon Lake and once on the Withlacoochee River. Both times the officer was professional and courteous. On Half Moon he tied up to us and asked if we had had any luck. We told him we had one in the live well. He asked to see our fishing license. Then he asked to see if the bass was the legal 14". I told him the bass was 14.5" and showed him my homemade measuring board. He took the board and measured it. Then he asked to see my horn, fire extinguisher, and throwable flotation device. Then he took off and said to have a good day as he headed for another boat. We laughed that he measures the board and not the bass. When the officer tied up to us on the Withlacoochee he asked if we had any bass in the live well. We told him we had two so he asked to see the smallest. We handed him the smallest and he checked it to be over 14". I asked if I could take a photo of the officer with my buddy and he agreed.