You pinch and measure and make sure it's within the slot. Dumb ass rule as far as I'm concerned.The 1/2" gained changes not a damn thing in reality other than to let people keep a 31.5" fish measured the "old" way, at that point you might as well just change to the slot 28"-31.5" and let people measure fish in less time (aka "the old way) so that fish outside the slot can be released quicker. These are the very same fools who think they're saving the species who instituted the rules that have brought the striper biomass back to the historic lows of the 70s and 80s.Guess I don't get it, is it the 28-31" slot or is it the tail pinch?