RacinRob:
Hey all, I am posting this figuring the rest of the committee will agree with me.
Please, please, please, when taking pictures on your measuring device, mark the lines on the said device with a Sharpie or dark marker so we can see without a doubt the size of the fish making it past the determined size mark on your measuring device. There are far too many washed out, too light pictures being turned in where we need to spend an hour trying to decide if it made it past the mark. On a Hawg Trough it is far too easy to accomplish this. See attached picture.
One more thing. We do not really use tail pics to determine size, just the whole fish picture. Especially when the whole fish pic, and the tail shot have the fish in two different positions.
Thank you for making our job a little easier, Rob and the committee
Archie Marx:
Will do!
I need to re-mark mine. The measuring board on my recent mack pic was washed out a bit.
vwool:
Thank you for the reminder.
Clayman:
Rob, thank you for posting this. It's absolutely spot-on.
To add to Rob's post: AOTY participants, PLEASE take a look at your photos before you submit them. Put yourself in the Committee's shoes and ask these questions:
1) Is the entire fish visible on the measuring board? 2) Can I see the fish's mouth and tell without a doubt that the fish's mouth is CLOSED? 3) When I zoom in on my fish's tail, can I tell without a doubt what the measurement is to the nearest 1/4 inch WITHOUT jumping to conclusions or assumptions?
If the answer is anything except "YES" to any of the above, then you probably shouldn't submit the photo. When you submit a questionable photo to leave it up to the Committee to decide, it's a bunch of extra work for us to decipher whether the fish qualifies. In addition to marking your troughs with a Sharpie, take sun angle/brightness into account when taking your AOTY photos. Sometimes it can make all the difference in the world if you just turn your bow in a slightly different direction to eliminate glare.
Thanks to all the AOTY participants who read this and help to make life for the Committee a bit easier. Now go get some fish!
Chris
bwodun:
good timing, i just got a virgin trough about ten minutes ago from fed ex man, and am darkening the lines with a sharpie as we speak, :smt003, cameron