Elites culling fish?

[Fishin Dad]

It just drives me nuts to see Elite Series anglers pull all their fish out of the live well, lay them out, flip them over, then GUESS what fish is bigger.   Put the bass on the scale, use a numbered cull tag, and get back to fishing.  When you catch the next fish, check the scale, find the number, put it back, and KNOW you culled the correct fish. 
 

End of rant!

[Smokinal]

I've thought this exact thing for years.

I'll preface and say I'm no pro, so they can do them and I'll do me; that being said, it does drive me nuts when they have $100,000 on the line and they eyeball fish.

 

I have the Rapala touch screen that holds 8 weights, as I've seen some of them use. I swear it takes more time for them to flop them all out, eyeball them, hope they got it right than it would to just weight it and tag it at the time.

 

Again, they're where they are for a reason so maybe it's just me ?‍♂️

[Anthony Watson]

Either a scale or a cull beam. You see very few use scales, which seems odd. I like to know what I have weight wise when tourney fishing instead of guessing 

[scaleface]

What would be neat if the scales held five weights and each one color coded that match the cull markers .

[Ski]

13 hours ago, Smokinal said:

Again, they're where they are for a reason so maybe it's just me

This ^^^^^

 

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, Anthony Watson said:

Either a scale or a cull beam. You see very few use scales, which seems odd. I like to know what I have weight wise when tourney fishing instead of guessing 

I watch a whole lot of bass live and I see them using a scale on just about every single fish they catch, even the 1-2 lbers. I even remember thinking today “I’ve watched them weigh fish longer than I’ve watched them catch fish”

[Susky River Rat]

I watched a little bit of and saw them weigh fish. This is a job to them. Just like musicians who make a living doing it can tell by ear pitches. They can tune accordingly by ear. Why can’t an elite eyeball a fish? 

[Smokinal]

53 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

I watched a little bit of and saw them weigh fish. This is a job to them. Just like musicians who make a living doing it can tell by ear pitches. They can tune accordingly by ear. Why can’t an elite eyeball a fish? 

Good analogy

I'm sure these guys are very skilled at their profession.

This is probably one of those things that looks odd to non-pros, like myself

[Fishin Dad]

I guess when it could come down to ounces to win, why take a chance.   I also think it is easier and less time consuming to weigh and grab one cull tag and switch them out.  Not saying I am better than anyone or questioning their abilities.  I agree most do use a scale and cull very efficiently.   I have just seen quite a few this week grabbing them all out, flopping them around the deck and guessing.  My buddies and I use the Rapala scale as well.   Makes it so easy.   I saw a lot of guys using the new Bubba scale.  Have to check that one out.  

[WIGuide]

I did see some weighing them but not others and have to agree, it made me scratch my head a little especially when things are that tight. I've had it happen plenty of times where the smaller looking fish actually weighed more on both the scale and the beam. To each their own though I guess, but I'll keep using my scale and beam the ones that are too close to call.

[Fishin Dad]

5 minutes ago, WIGuide said:

I did see some weighing them but not others and have to agree, it made me scratch my head a little especially when things are that tight. I've had it happen plenty of times where the smaller looking fish actually weighed more on both the scale and the beam. To each their own though I guess, but I'll keep using my scale and beam the ones that are too close to call.

I agree.  I even think it is a timesaver to look at the scale and know right away which numbered fish needs to go.   We always fill the box with our 5, once we catch the 6th fish, we weigh em, tag em, and get back to fishing.  The next fish gets weighed, quickly replace the bigger fish with the lightest tagged fish and get back to fishing.  No guessing.  

[gim]

The problem is that the scale each angler may be using in their own boat is not going to align with the universal scale being used at the weigh in.  The only scale that matters for these events is the one at weigh in.  A culling beam is probably the easiest and quickest way to do it.

[gulfcaptain]

Most know which are their smaller fish. Use a Cull beam when they are close or scale them as I catch once I know what my smallest is in the well. Just have to remember you have to add  the clip to the fish if the ones in the well were weighed with clips.

[Mike L]

It’s much faster and easier to just eyeball them when there’s only 2-3 in the well. 

However, If a catch is close and it’s not immediately obvious that’s when the beam or scale will come out. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

The problem is that the scale each angler may be using in their own boat is not going to align with the universal scale being used at the weigh in.  The only scale that matters for these events is the one at weigh in.  A culling beam is probably the easiest and quickest way to do it.

Yup, a digital scale, no matter how accurate, is going to bounce or be off on a rocking boat. The beam doesn't lie, one does need to make sure it's 100% calibrated though.  I will say that after seeing thousands of fish, you can eyeball them really close, but most recreational anglers won't have the experience to do it.

[WIGuide]

3 hours ago, Fishin Dad said:

I agree.  I even think it is a timesaver to look at the scale and know right away which numbered fish needs to go.   We always fill the box with our 5, once we catch the 6th fish, we weigh em, tag em, and get back to fishing.  The next fish gets weighed, quickly replace the bigger fish with the lightest tagged fish and get back to fishing.  No guessing.  

I take it even a step farther and don't wait until fish #6. #1 comes in and gets weighed and tagged. I've had too many Mike Iaconelli "never give up" experiences catching a couple late in the day in tough tournaments and I can't afford to spend the time to figure out witch fish rides and which one swims. 

 

3 hours ago, gimruis said:

The problem is that the scale each angler may be using in their own boat is not going to align with the universal scale being used at the weigh in.  The only scale that matters for these events is the one at weigh in.  A culling beam is probably the easiest and quickest way to do it.

That is correct at weigh in, but during the day you aren't comparing weights to other anglers, only the fish you catch. A scale that is consistently off can still be be used to accurately cull fish. To clarify, consistently off would be that it weighs incorrectly by the same amount. For an example a scale that's 5 lbs. off would weigh a 2.00 lb and 2.25 lb fish as 7.00 lbs. and 7.25 lbs. respectively. The bigger fish is still the 2.25 even though it doesn't weigh as much as what the scale is reading. 

[dickenscpa]

On 2/22/2023 at 5:29 PM, WIGuide said:

I take it even a step farther and don't wait until fish #6. #1 comes in and gets weighed and tagged. I've had too many Mike Iaconelli "never give up" experiences catching a couple late in the day in tough tournaments and I can't afford to spend the time to figure out witch fish rides and which one swims. 

 

That is correct at weigh in, but during the day you aren't comparing weights to other anglers, only the fish you catch. A scale that is consistently off can still be be used to accurately cull fish. To clarify, consistently off would be that it weighs incorrectly by the same amount. For an example a scale that's 5 lbs. off would weigh a 2.00 lb and 2.25 lb fish as 7.00 lbs. and 7.25 lbs. respectively. The bigger fish is still the 2.25 even though it doesn't weigh as much as what the scale is reading. 

That is correct, even if your scale is off it will still tell you which of YOUR fish weigh more than each other. I'm about 100% kayak tournament now and we measure every fish and let'er swim and TourneyX pretty much culls for you by default anyway, so that's one less decision I have to make. Kayak tournaments are basically like the new rules in MLF. Catch all you can and the app or program culls for you. Good for dummies like me.

 

I was born with ZERO depth perception so if I shoot a 3D archery tournament I have to shoot a known class and use a range finder. You could tell me we were 3' apart or 30' apart and I'd just believe you. By the same token I HAVE NO ABILITY to look at a fish and say that it's 18" long or 11" long. Ours have to be at least 12" long to count and I can't tell you how many fish I've caught and thought "he won't make it" and be 17-18" long. I've also been sitting on 4 fish and caught 5 or 6 in a row 8-10" long and got so excited thinking I had my 5 and I could start culling.

 

I just make it a habit to measure every catch and go from there. I own a CPA firm in TN and there are a ton of pros in TN and I do a lot of their taxes. One pro in particular went to high school with me, he was 3 grades ahead. We didn't know each other or talk in school but he's a client and we're great friends now. I go fishing with two of my clients quite often and they absolutely bewilder me when they say "she'll go about 5lb 9 oz" and they're either spot on or real doggone close.

 

Definitely a talent I don't have.

[Johnbt]

I just turned on a live Elite event. First thing I see is a guy culling a fish and hearing the fish smack the water when he dropped it overboard.

Next thing is a guy boat flipping a fish and letting it flop around on the deck.

 

I changed the channel. 

 

Edited to add:  And during the cull the camera shot down into the well showed a fish belly up.

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, Johnbt said:

I just turned on a live Elite event. First thing I see is a guy culling a fish and hearing the fish smack the water when he dropped it overboard.

Next thing is a guy boat flipping a fish and letting it flop around on the deck.

 

I changed the channel. 

 

Edited to add:  And during the cull the camera shot down into the well showed a fish belly up.

But you don’t feel bad when the hook goes thru their face? 
 

I’ve seen people with huge limits of smallmouth in tournaments and they were all belly sideways in the livewell but somehow all alive, not really sure why they turn sideways. 
 

you can weigh in dead fish with a penalty 

[Johnbt]

"But you don’t feel bad when the hook goes thru their face? "

 

You lost me.

 

Okay, if the hook goes through their face I believe there is no reason to add to it by bouncing them multiple times on the deck and then bellyflopping them down on the water like you're mad at them.

 

Not a good show of sportsmanship for the tv cameras. But it makes a good teaching moment for the grandsons.

 

[gim]

24 minutes ago, Johnbt said:

Not a good show of sportsmanship for the tv cameras

This part I agree with. A little more respect and sportsmanship, especially on camera, would be appreciated. If the anglers can’t take it upon themselves to do it, then BASS officials need to address it.

[WIGuide]

On 2/24/2023 at 11:59 AM, dickenscpa said:

I go fishing with two of my clients quite often and they absolutely bewilder me when they say "she'll go about 5lb 9 oz" and they're either spot on or real doggone close.

I can usually ball park them pretty close when I see them, but in a tournament where a few oz. difference means making the cut or not, I wouldn't trust an estimate especially since I've seen enough times where one that looks slightly bigger side by side is actually lighter. 

 

On 2/25/2023 at 2:15 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve seen people with huge limits of smallmouth in tournaments and they were all belly sideways in the livewell but somehow all alive, not really sure why they turn sideways. 

Smallmouth are most certainly weird that way. A lot of times they'll turn sideways in the livewell. When you open the lid for a few minutes they'll turn themselves over and swim normally. When you release them they swim off just fine. Largemouth will do it occasionally, but for whatever reason it seems to happen far more often with smallies. 

 

[Logan S]

For all the blunders MLF made during the transition to BPT....They really nailed their marketing campaign against traditional livewell tournaments and their fake fish care stuff.  It's wild to see it still working this well even after MLF itself abandoned it.  

 

On to culling...In general and in the long run you save a lot of time by eyeballing it.  MOST of the time, it's easy to tell.  You just know which fish is your smallest and then cull that one when you upgrade so no need to waste time.  If you've made a few culls, sometimes it helps to 'reset' and go thru your fish real quick to confirm the smallest.  To do that, I throw all 5 into my net in the bottom of the boat and then pull out the obviously bigger fish leaving the smallest 2.  If they're close, I'll balance beam them real quick and then I'll know which fish is my smallest again and be ready to fish again. 

 

If I'm catching all the same size fish and it's not obvious which is the smallest, I still just livewell them immediately like normal and then when I get a limit I do the same 'reset' that I described above...but I balance beam all of them, leaving the lighter fish on the beam and the heavier fish goes in the well...Whichever is left at the end is my smallest.  Even doing all the fish like this, it's done in a minute or less and I'm back to fishing.  

 

I have a scale in my boat but the only time it gets used is if I want to weigh a big fish just for the heck of it...It doesn't come out during a tournament because the fish will get weighed on the tournament scale .  

[gim]

28 minutes ago, Logan S said:

I have a scale in my boat but the only time it gets used is if I want to weigh a big fish just for the heck of it...It doesn't come out during a tournament because the fish will get weighed on the tournament scale

That was my point with the earlier post.  A balance beam seems like the easiest, quickest, most efficient way of determining which fish is the smallest of the bunch.

 

I'm not in any organized tournaments, so its a moot point on my end.

[TnRiver46]

8 minutes ago, gimruis said:

That was my point with the earlier post.  A balance beam seems like the easiest, quickest, most efficient way of determining which fish is the smallest of the bunch.

 

I'm not in any organized tournaments, so its a moot point on my end.

Those pros fish in some pretty nasty weather too, I’ve seen them unload their tackle boxes and pour water out of them. I don’t know how they keep a scale working, maybe put it in the camera man’s bag