Dave, the possession limit deals with how many you can have in the field. You can have a possession limit at a camp site but not on a boat. Fish are not to be processed while in the field until you are preparing to leave. That way, size can still be checked. It is OK to process fish you intend to eat while in the field, and those do not count against a possession limit after they have been eaten.
I seriously can not see how having a limit and continuing to fish for, say bass, is illegal if your intent is to cull. The fish are alive and your intent is not to keep more than your limit. That's a whole nother ball game when it comes to fish like stripers that can't be kept alive and culled. But even then, we regularly catch more than a limit on one spot in a matter of minutes and it isn't something that can be controlled, aside from cutting lines. No judge in his right mind, when presented with the facts, would fine in a situation where someone had four fish in a livewell, caught two on an A rig, and released one of them. I do agree that there are some CO's that might would cite for it, but that just isn't something I would worry about while fishing. If they don't want you having more than a limit on a boat while culling, then limit how many hooks you can have in the water. Even that isn't practical, as how many hooks are on most of your crank baits?
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