Measure or Weigh?

[bassguytom]

On September 12, 2016 at 7:47 PM, soflabasser said:

I weigh and tape measure(length and girth) all bass that I suspect to be 8 pounds or bigger and rarely  bother weighing bass that are clearly smaller than 8 pounds.The reason I don't weigh smaller bass anymore is that 4-7 pounders are common down here ,but a 8 pound or bigger bass is not and they deserve proper documentation in South Florida.

I do this also for all fish is suspect to be 8lbs. or more. I have done this once. ?

[MassYak85]

Depends, I don't waste time weighing every fish, if I say "I got a couple 2 pounders" I am just guessing the weight. But any good size fish i weigh on a scale accurate to 100'ths of a lb. So like my two PB's I know both weighed exactly 5.40lbs. I also have switched over to weight and rarely if ever measure length. A 20" fish can vary widely in actual weight. If I ever wanted a mount made I would obviously get accurate measurements though.

[corn-on-the-rob]

Like most fishing concepts, it comes down to preference.

Because fishing tournaments, and state/world records go by weight, that is what I prefer.

Obviously length tends to correlate with weight to a significant extent but like others mentioned weight can vary significantly at the same length. I have caught a 13 inch fish that weighed 13 ounces, I have also caught a 13 inch fish weighing very close to double that. So when someone tells me they caught an "n" length fish, that doesn't necessarily tell me the actual size of the fish unless I make an assumption based on averages.

So in a scenario where two fish are close in length and weight, ask yourself, which fish is bigger?

                      20'' - 4.5 lbs                             or                                     22'' - 4.25 lbs

In my opinion, even though the other fish is significantly longer, the heavier fish is the bigger predator, therefore weight dominates my perspective.

[wnspain]

Weigh. I use a Berkley Digital scale, but only for the fish that I think will push 4# and up. Otherwise I will guess ( I do a lot of guessing )

[Scott F]

If you measure fish, and everyone you communicate with weighs fish, they won't get it. It's like going to work where everyone speaks English and you speak Greek. It's funny, in my crowd, we all measure. I don't know if anyone even owns a scale. If somebody said they got a 4.68lb fish, the first question everybody would ask  is "How long was it?"

[J Francho]

2 minutes ago, Scott F said:

If you measure fish, and everyone you communicate with weighs fish, they won't get it. It's like going to work where everyone speaks English and you speak Greek. It's funny, in my crowd, we all measure. I don't know if anyone even owns a scale. If somebody said they got a 4.68lb fish, the first question everybody would ask  is "How long was it?"

It's totally like that with trout fishing up here.  If I said I stuck a beautiful 12 lb. hen steelhead, the guys would look at me like I was from Mars.  Tell them I got a 34" hen, and everyone is hooting.  I do like weigh those trout.  It's interesting to compare their size and power to the tackle we use.  It favors the fish, in many regards, though step up, and you won't get bit.  Different world.  I do hear bass anglers use length, though.  A couple 17s, a 19, and small keepers.  That's as acceptable to me as a two threes, a four, and some small keepers.  Perch jerkers are funny, they'll just pull one big slob out of well, and tell you there's 99 more like it, lol. (It's a 50 perch/angler limit, two guys).

[S. Sass]

13 minutes ago, Scott F said:

If you measure fish, and everyone you communicate with weighs fish, they won't get it. It's like going to work where everyone speaks English and you speak Greek. It's funny, in my crowd, we all measure. I don't know if anyone even owns a scale. If somebody said they got a 4.68lb fish, the first question everybody would ask  is "How long was it?"

Its the total opposite here. Its all about the weight with the people I am around. Using your example If I came back from fishing and the guys asked me if I did any good I better not start calling off lengths. They will bust a gut laughing, probably swear I didn't catch squat. Then they would swear I got drunk and was still drunk. 

[j bab]

I weigh em if I suspect they're 4lbs or more, just because I wanna know. If I'm guessing it'll be to the nearest ½lb, I'm not gonna ballpark a fish and tell you "man it was probably 5.6 pounds!"

[mplspug]

Weight.  I have a Rapala digital scale that comes with a clamp and a hook.  I don't like either because the clamp has too much pressure and the hook is thick.  I think both would cause unnecessary harm to the fish.  

If I have a net I will zero out the scale with the net as a baseline and weight the fish in the net.  

I'll use the clamp directly to the lure if it is firmly hooked and not deep down the mouth, both are rare.  

Some guys use the hook to poke a hole in the lower jaw, I don't like that, but if you put the scales hook under the gill plate, there's a chance you might kill the fish.  It doesn't take much to damage the gills and bleed them dry. 

[J Francho]

Get a FishGrip, Zero your scale out with it hanging from the hook, clamp in the fish.  No holes, no drops, fast and easy.

[.ghoti.]

Weigh or measure? Neither. Don't care. Some times I do get a pic.

[Glenn]

Like this?

[.ghoti.]

looks like Trophy Country, but that ain't a trophy. Either one.

[tiredbobmarley]

Originally from Pennsylvania.  We would always refer to bass in inches (grandma still does).  Now that im in florida its all about the weight.  You can almost tell if someone does or does not fish big bass waters by which method they use.