KY#30, well said. I made my first weiss trip this past april and it will not be the last. I live 2 hrs north in TN and the brother lives outside Atlanta. Equal travel for both. Both in our 50s we grab any chance to spend a little time decompressing together. I get fish all the time, and sent all we caught home with him. Not even 1 limit due to the weather. But what a great 3 days it was.
Now to the subject of the limits and penalties. I have always done my best to play by the rules. I admit to keeping a couple of extra due to being braindead and trying to count swimming fish, almost impossible. But flagrant abuse of limits and size deserves a stiff punishment. And if they get lippy with the officer doing the bust, sock it to em. When in the FL Keys once, I saw a guy get busted for 15 short lobster. He was half drunk, and could have been busted for DUI on the water, not well tolerated down there. He also had his wife, toddler, and infant along. He got mouthy and belligerant, then took a poke at the officer just as backup arrived. Cofiscated his motor home, where some of the shorts were in the freezer. And the boat after they ran it up on the trailer cockeyed, and gave his wife just a few minutes to gather up a few things for her and the kids before departing with all the gear and the guy on his way to jail. I don't even want to know what it cost him to get out of that and get his stuff back. This is what the possum cops have to deal with on occasion, and abuse should be punished harshly to discourage others from thinking"they won't get me.
I'm down off my soap box, sorry for being longwinded.