I, myself, am not exempt from all this. I also admit to having a fish grow ...not the story, but the fish.

It was the first time I had caught a Northern Pike.  I don't know what the legal length was, or if that has changed ...so, it was either 20 inches, or 24 inches.

I remember it as 20 inches, or so I think I was told at the time (correct or not).  I just know I was excited about catching such a large fish ...especially since we were not even getting a nibble.

As I recall, my catch was an inch short ...at 19 inches.  I couldn't seem to bring myself to accepting the fact that it was that close and I'd have to throw it back ...so, I smashed the head of the fish on a rock to stretch it that extra inch.

There was probably no game warden anywhere near where we were fishing, but it made me feel better that my fish now measured at the legal limit ...yet, it didn't, because I knew the truth.  And I commonly don't like to stretch it.

But, sometimes we seem to beat our own head ...and we don't even consider it a stretch, it just works for us.

It appears often harmless and imaginative for youth, but for us adults it can become worrisome.