Your rod is the tape.

[memo43]

Well here it goes. while on watch :o (Active duty Marine), an reading threads an what not, I saw alot of pictures of fish with the quote" guess the weight, size etc, etc. For the most part they where all in good manner, but for some reason people would get offended when the weight was not what they wanted to hear. So to help everyone get along here it is.

Take a measureing tape (cloth, plastic ) an tape it to the back of your Rod, start from the bottom an work your way up. This can serve multiple purposes, (1) measeure the length of your catch (2) rod protector, that way hooks will not scratch your finish.

It's simple.

lay yuor catch next to your rod an walla there's your length.

for girth take a piece of line an measure girth. BARA BING

length x lenght x girth / 1200

walla estimated weight.

I dunno know I was  bored, on duty.

memo

tell me what you think

[Mattlures]

Not a bad idea but I wouldnt want something like that taped to my rod. I would rather take a sharpie and make small dashes up the blank for each inch. i usualy have a tape with me and always a camera and scale so I dont have to guess but for those who dont carry these things, your idea is great.

[OcBassman63]

Thats a cool idea. Doesent someone make a stick on measuring tape for rods?  I thought I had one once.

[Gatorbassman]

And you can use the BR fish calculator.

http://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html

[George Welcome]

If your shot at a deer had as much accuracy as any fish weight formula you would never hit the deer.

Stop guesstimating: get a scale.

[basser89]

From time to time, I fish for musky from shore. In order to get a quick estimate on a musky, I've marked my one rod with different intervals using duck tape. Quick easy method for me.

[mayassa]

That would add to much weight to my Rod, I'm getting old ;D

[J Francho]

lay yuor catch next to your rod

If your going to release the fish, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!!!!  Just get a freaking scale.

[Grey Wolf]

Buy a scale.

Buy a scale.

Buy a scale.

Oh by the way , buy a scale.

[grimlin]

I do that somewhat...I know from the butt of my rod to the hook hanger is 14 1/2".Which is a keeper here....however i got a scale coming in the mail soon.

[mayassa]

lay yuor catch next to your rod

If your going to release the fish, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!!!!  Just get a freaking scale.

I agree you need to let the fish keep its slime covering you can ley it on a  wet piece of plastic to measure length

[mayassa]

http://www.evolutionproductsinc.com/landingtool.php

Lipper still on sale;

I received mine it is pretty nice and great to use on the water.

[Certified Public Angler]

20$ berkley digital scale at wal-mart.  Once I made this purchase my fish lost about half their weight.  It stinks living in reality. ;D

[Paul Roberts]

Make your rod into a tape measure. Heck your half done before you even start!

Put dots every inch with phosphorescent vinyl fabric paint (cheap at every craft store). Coat with rod epoxy, 5min epoxy, or clear nail polish (which requires touch-up every now and then). I suggest the glow color bc you can "fire it up" when night fishing.

See dots along lower side of rod.

BTW: I know of no real problem with laying a fish next to a rod.

[nebass]

Well here it goes. while on watch :o (Active duty Marine), an reading threads an what not, I saw alot of pictures of fish with the quote" guess the weight, size etc, etc. For the most part they where all in good manner, but for some reason people would get offended when the weight was not what they wanted to hear. So to help everyone get along here it is.

Take a measureing tape (cloth, plastic ) an tape it to the back of your Rod, start from the bottom an work your way up. This can serve multiple purposes, (1) measeure the length of your catch (2) rod protector, that way hooks will not scratch your finish.

It's simple.

lay yuor catch next to your rod an walla there's your length.

for girth take a piece of line an measure girth. BARA BING

length x lenght x girth / 1200

walla estimated weight.

I dunno know I was bored, on duty.

memo

tell me what you think

According to Bill Dance,   it goes like this length x girth(squared) / 800 to get your weight. Just my two cents

[nebass]

Buy a scale.

Buy a scale.

Buy a scale.

Oh by the way , buy a scale.

X2

Heck, I fish from a kayak and even I carry a scale, Mustad spring scale. Nothing fancy or expensive and I don't even need batteries! I much agree to the fact that I don't understand what is so difficult about having a scale with you. A guy Istarted fishing with this year was claiming that if a bass was a certain lenght then it was a certain weight and a pound for every inch after that. My argument was pretty easy, Bass A may be the length as Bass B but A may not have pooped today or eaten a butt load more than Bass B. He now carries a Mustad Spring scale on his boat ;D

[MichiganFisherman]

Good idea but, the best way to weigh a fish (or anything) is with a scale.  Why not invest in one if you care so much what the weight is?

[Muddy]

One simple question and it turns into another   event

[Muddy]

lay yuor catch next to your rod

If your going to release the fish, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!!!! Just get a freaking scale.

Well you did it, in your picture on the jig thread, your bass is next to your rod in your kayak. What's up with that :

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/362185918_byrLD-M.jpg

[HogHunter]

I know when I got my first accurate scale all my fish seemed to lose a little weight.

[Eddie Munster]

Buy a scale.

Buy a scale.

Buy a scale.

Oh by the way , buy a scale.

You can say that again.  8-)

[J Francho]

lay yuor catch next to your rod

If your going to release the fish, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!!!! Just get a freaking scale.

Well you did it, in your picture on the jig thread, your bass is next to your rod in your kayak. What's up with that :

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/362185918_byrLD-M.jpg

I laid it on wet smooth plastic. How does that equate to laying a fish on the ground? The fact that my rod is in the picture is happenstance. But there is a meaning ful reference in that picture, and it happens to be 21" from the seat snap on the right to where the paddle tether is clipped on the left. I did weigh the fish with my scale - it was a hair over six. Interestingly, you chose THIS forum to use a picture from MY website instead of bringing it up when originally posted.

How do you think the slime coat on that fish differed from that of a fish that was laid on the ground? Really. When I was in college studying fisheries management, we used wet, Formica counters to count and inspect fish by sliding them gently across the wet surface. Since the livestock is a fish farmers livelihood, I'd say that was a safe practice.

I find there is an element here interested only in semantics, and proving others wrong, rather than to actually educate and inform others of the best practices and current trends in bass fishing. That's too bad, Muddy. Don't you think?

Which fish looks like its doing better?

[Muddy]

The current trend in bass fishing and my life is to have fun., the slime coat can be breached by touching it to plastic if the palstic is noit sufficiently lubricated, but this is not the point of my. post.,

The idea of comparing a mount and a fish to be eaten, which is totally ethical , as ethical as hunting to eat , is the kind of semantics that kind of put discussions like this off the wall.

I did not get that from your website, you posted that picture right here, within days of this picture , on another thread, in FISHING RODS< REELS AND LINES, on a thread about what line to tie a jig with, that is why i thought it was funny. I was not being serioous and was teasing.

I catch and release, many of my friends fish for the table also. I do not think the bass in the frying pan should be in the mixture at all, after all the origianl idea of fishing was to provide a food source.

These are matters of choice based on how each fisherman feels, the statement to never lay your fish down next to your rod, was made rather strongly by you, then you posted a picture of you doing pretty much the same thing, it's just fishing and I thought it rather funny that such a strong statement on one thread was followed by a picture of the same thing being done on another thread. The smiley at the end of the post, kind of shows, with the rolling eyes that there was more than a pinch of teasing here, and i really don't give much care how anyone holds their fish I don't think it's too bad,

PS I did not know you had a website, here is the link to the post you put up on the other thread with the fish laying next to your rod, just like Paul's picture on this thread. None of this was to antagonize and I am not here to argue, I was poking fun at something, that was very coincidential.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1221598834/all

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Once again it's all about how well your rod measures up  

[Muddy]

Once again it's all about how well your rod measures up

Now that's where I am coming from