OP did right. The way the law for wildlife works in TN is this- having fishing or hunting gear in plain sight is implied consent to determine if your are in compliance with the law. In some states, it is common practice for wildlife officers to conduct "roadblocks" to assess licenses, bag limits, proper tagging, etc. Someone probably saw his fellow fisherman pass off the fish and assumed they were doing that to be able to keep on fishing. Most WOs will not search to such lengths without a reason to be suspicious. Was it a case of a jealous fisherman? Who knows.
Think about it this way- if the OP had gotten on here complaining about some guy hauling stringers of trout to the car and returning to fishing, how many on here would chastise him for not calling TWRA on the guy?
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