Judging fish by pics

[jbsoonerfan]

We have all seen the threads about "how much does this fish weigh". Well the ONLY true way to know is to weigh the fish on a set of scales. Pictures are so misleading and at times I feel like people think they have caught a 6 lb bass and it might have went 4. I am going to show you an example of two fish caught on two different lakes by my fishing partner. Both fish were weighed more than once to ensure they were accurate. The pics were taken from the same distance on the boat. I don't want you to guess the weights, I am going to tell you so that you can see what I mean. Guys with experience already know this, but guys new to fishing apparently don't. Hopefully after reading this, some people will be more inclined to buy a set of scales and take the guess work out of it. 

 

Length and girth were not measured. The fish on the left weighed 4 lb 8 oz. The fish on the right weighed 4 lb 15 oz.

 

 

[WRB]

Can't beat a accurate scale.

The vast majority of bass anglers never catch a bass over 5 lbs and have little experience judging the weight by looking at it. 7 lb bass have big heads and look like they weigh 10 lbs as a good example, that is close to a 30% error.

Fish held towards the camera look a lot bigger then they are and unless the angler has big hands the fingers can be used to ball park dimensions for a guesstimate only.

Length X Length X Girth divided by 1200 will get you with in 10% if the measurements are accurate with mouth closed etc.

I love it when TV shows have the pros saying " that was a 10 lber" and never got a glimps of the bass.

Tom

[scaleface]

So , how much did  your avatar one weigh ?  ?

[flyfisher]

Scales turn 5lbers into 3lbers pretty quickly.  I usually don't even pull out the scale unless i am sure it is around 5lbs and I am pretty good at guesstimating the weight.  if anything, I tend to guess light but that isn't a bad thing.  As far as other species go though I am way off...i can't judge the weight of a chain pickerel or a bowfin to save my life.  

[jbsoonerfan]

16 minutes ago, scaleface said:

So , how much did  your avatar one weigh ?  ?

6.8

[Catt]

Which one y'all think is heavier?  ?

 

[jbsoonerfan]

The guy with the long hair.

[Bluebasser86]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

Which one y'all think is heavier?  ?

 

I'd guess top one. Bottom fish is much closer to the camera and the angle makes the fisherman look small/fish look large. Judging off the size of his hands compared to the fish though, the top fish looks larger to me. Makes it tougher with 2 different people and not knowing if they're average size adults or if one is much larger or smaller than the other. 

[JustJames]

first pic, do I win anything? Lol.

[CrankFate]

I have pictures that make 3lb fish look like they’re 10lbs. But the pic I posted of my biggest fish last season looks like it’s 4lbs, when it was much bigger. Held at my hip it was longer than the distance to my knee. It is held close to me and in a bad position and the camera was far away. All making it look much smaller. It was easily twice the size of a “big” 3-3.5lb fish from the water it came out of. It’s now in my avatar. My finger at the right is 2” as a reference point. Why didn’t I stand up and hold it close to the camera ??? ? I didn’t have a scale or tape measure with me. At least now I know it was too big to fit in my avatar box without cutting the tail off ?

 

Yes. I want the whole world to know that this fish was more than 4lbs d**n it.

[ratherbfishin1]

@jbsoonerfan's original pictures do a good job showing that bass really don't look that big when people aren't long arming them.  People long arming bass makes it so unrealistic often times, no a 4 pounder is not going to be the entire size of your torso.  However, if you get a good photo from a good angle while somewhat long arming one, you can get a pretty sweet picture. 

[kenmitch]

19 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

However, if you get a good photo from a good angle while somewhat long arming one, you can get a pretty sweet picture.

As a solo kayak fisherman I got to long arm my fish to get a photo. It's really hard to tell how big the fish really is in the end. Photos do usually come out pretty good at least.

 

 

Same fish looks much bigger posing for the camera.

 

 

She was 7lb's and my new PB. 1st fish I've caught that was worthy of the hawg trough. 

[A-Jay]

23 minutes ago, ratherbfishin1 said:

@jbsoonerfan's original pictures do a good job showing that bass really don't look that big when people aren't long arming them.  People long arming bass makes it so unrealistic often times, no a 4 pounder is not going to be the entire size of your torso.  However, if you get a good photo from a good angle while somewhat long arming one, you can get a pretty sweet picture. 

1

Besides long arming it, selecting a wide angle lens and holding it very close to the camera lens makes every dink I catch appear like it's a 6 lb smb or even a 10 lb lmb.  

In these pics, for instance, the smb is 6lbs and the lmb is 10 lbs. 

So I really needed the smoke & mirrors to pump them up. 

A-Jay

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

I always carry a scale with me when fishing. My LMB PB was caught years ago big old bucketmouth I could fit my fist in.

 

I didn't have a scale at that time and I vowed never to go on a fishing trip without one again.

 

I test my scale every so often by hanging a 1 pound bag of coffee or a 5 pound dumbbell from it.

 

 

[MrPeanut]

I've been staring at @A-Jay pics for a few minutes instead of working lol, spring can't come soon enough up here.

 

I think long arming a fish in a pic is fine as long as you're doing it for the picture value, and not trying to say it's bigger than it really is.  There's a lot of fish, even if they're not giants, that just look cool and should be a focal point of a photo.

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, MrPeanut said:

I've been staring at @A-Jay pics for a few minutes instead of working lol, spring can't come soon enough up here.

 

I think long arming a fish in a pic is fine as long as you're doing it for the picture value, and not trying to say it's bigger than it really is.  There's a lot of fish, even if they're not giants, that just look cool and should be a focal point of a photo.

And no one wants to see my ugly mug anyway.

Full facial buffs are my friend.

A-Jay

[Logan S]

I almost never weigh fish if I'm not in a tournament...Don't even have a scale in my boat.  A nice fish is a nice fish and if you're not in a tournament and/or it's not a record (state/lake/world/personal/otherwise) there's no real significance to knowing the exact weight of a fish.  I guess what I'm getting at is, if you catch a nice fish be proud of it...Doesn't matter what the number on a scale is (or isn't if you don't weigh it).  If I'm posting or showing off a fish I didn't weigh I generally don't bother with a weight estimate unless someone asks.

 

It's a shame when a guy catches a nice fish only to be 'disappointed' if it doesn't reach a certain threshold...Especially newer anglers if they fall just short of 'milestone' sized fish.  Like a 4-15 not cracking the 5lb mark or whatever the local benchmark number is for a big fish.  

 

Bass weights can be funky, especially LM vs SM vs Spots and also at different times of the year...I've weighed in mixed limits of Spots and LM where my heaviest fish was a Spotted Bass, yet it looked like one of the smaller fish in my bag.  

 

For pictures I always hold my fish out and try to make the center of attention...Why not make them look good?  The fish is the reason for the picture in the first place.  

[Frog Turds]

I actually prefer seeing largies held out in pics to get a good close up shot, I like seeing the details/markings etc...purpose isn't to make the fish look bigger and make up some bs about it...the point is to showcase the fish, which each are unique...When held too far back, cant see nothin for details, they all look pretty much the same and meh, doesnt do the fish any justice imo...

 

I do weigh all my better fish...reasons for that are mine, when Im on the water I wanna know what my top 5 bag is first and foremost...then also if someone does ask, there's no guesstimate and/or fish story because i have the exact poundage...

[ratherbfishin1]

2 minutes ago, Frog Turds said:

I actually prefer seeing largies held out in pics to get a good close up shot, I like seeing the details/markings etc...purpose isn't to make the fish look bigger and make up some bs about it...the point is to showcase the fish, which each are unique...When held too far back, cant see nothin for details, they all look pretty much the same and meh, doesnt do the fish any justice imo...

 

I do weigh all my better fish...reasons for that are mine, when Im on the water I wanna know what my top 5 bag is first and foremost...then also if someone does ask, there's no guesstimate and/or fish story because i have the exact poundage...

Pretty much exactly how I feel

[WRB]

12 hours ago, Catt said:

Which one y'all think is heavier?  ?

 

Top 

Tom

[Dwight Hottle]

13 hours ago, Catt said:

Which one y'all think is heavier?  ?

 

 

Top picture is a 14lber. The bottom picture looks like it could be heavier because of the gut size & being held out from the body perspective but it is probably much smaller than the 14lber. I'm guessing the bottom picture weighs 9-10lbs. When I first saw the top picture before Catt posted this I thought the picture didn't support the verified weight of 14lbs. 

[webertime]

Size of the angler throws pictures off too.  I'm a big dude and a 6lb smallie doesn't look big in my hands with me behind it.  

Whereas my buddy is 5'5" and this fish "only" weighs 7.2

[A-Jay]

A-Jay

[J Francho]

How big is it?

[Crestliner2008]

I don't know J.....but I think you need a BIGGER boat!