Good on the store clerk to show you the ropes. Come June, it'll be time to put the new found knowledge to the test. When I started using soft plastics it took me some time to get use to. I like to use a braided line and a fluoro lead to detect the smallest bites. Watching your line is really important; for say odd twitches or movement that may indicate a small bite.
Reading the first post, it never mentions that you were using the soft plastics. I can certainly understand why some would assume you were given the phrasing proceeding it. To be fair, I'm sure these guys are just trying to highlight the regs, which are in place not to restrict our fishing access, but to protect fish during seasons essential for them to sustain and grow the population; it's in all our interest to folllow the regs accordingly.
That said, you can't really help what bites the end of your line. I've caught OOS fish; I'm pretty sure most people here have. It's common to catch the odd OOS bass when targeting panfish as the bass spawning grounds are similar to the habitat of them pannnies this time of year. As long as it's inadvertance that led to the catch and the fish are put back in the drink right away, nobody says you can't have fun and be responsible at the same time.
Thanks for the post. It's always good to hear of great customer service that leads to new opportunities.
reefrunner
