Fish Size Definitions

[JohnR]

I'm seeing a lot of different bass & blue size definitions getting tossed around and I don't want to seem like an Arse, but let's have a discussion on what terms apply to what sized fish, eh ? If I'm suffering from Optical Rectumistis, please let me know....

I saw on a magazine the other day (or the Fisherman, I don't recall), someone calling a 28 pound striped bass a "Trophy" Fish. Anyone agree with that?

Now I like all kinds of fish of all sizes but I consider "Trophy" to be in the upper reaches of the size classes available to a certain species. A true 20 pound Blue has GOT to be a "Trophy" fish, right? A 12 pound Bonito or a 12# Tog - those are trophy fish too.

So let's work on a couple fish size classes -

I've always thought of Trophy bass being over 40 pounds, some consider over 50 on normal tackle, whereas 35 pounds might qualify for the shore fly.

Cows, 30#s and over, Teen fish - self explanatory....

snapper, harbor, tailor, gator....

flatties & doormats....

I'd go into more but gotta get to work

[Mr. Sandman]

I agree, I saw that picture in the fisherman as well. (a week or two ago?) I even mumbled something to my wife about it, she gave me the...ask me if I care...look. I looked at the picture and said, nice fish but I would not have it mounted. To me a trophy fish is one that you would have mounted as a real trophy...a once in a lifetime catch, something over 50 for sure. Cows to me are bass over 40 lbs. The 20-40 range I deem as large. I suppose everyone has their own terminology, and if you caught a 40 lber on a fly rod that could be considered a trophy as well. I don't take anything away from a 28 lb striper...it is a good size fish but for it to be a trophy (in my eyes anyway) it would have to be 2X as big.

That said, I am guilty of using the term "doormats" loosely...I think a doormat is a fluke > 10 lbs but since they are so damn rare I have started calling fluke > 6lb doormats.

[BasicPatrick]

HMMM,

It seems to me that the fishers experience and personsl history of catch will determine the range of their definition of a particular term. Once a fisher or group of fishers has fished together for a while, they develop their own set of definitions. The following are the ones my little gang in Boston Harbor use

Term Bass Blue

Mount sized 50 Pounds 20 pounds
Trophy / Cow 40+ pounds 17 + pounds
Big Fish 30+ pounds 15+ pounds
Good Fish 20+ pounds 12 + pounds
Keeper 34+ inches n/a
Schoolie 34- inches
Rat 28- inches 10-pounds

My all time pet peive is when people describe their good fish as a 32 or a 30 and they are talking inches not pounds

Just my not so humble opinions

[Homerun04]

Couldn't agree more......I've seen 35" bass being called "trophy" fish.

As far as I am concerned, I fish bass for length, and bluefish, tuna, and flatties for weight.

Keeps it simple...

P.S. Bass need to be 35+ lbs to be considered a "cow" in my book.

[Backwater Guide]

Here in Maine we have two different types of striper fisheries- ocean and river. Each of these types of fisheries has two different size classifications for stripers because they are two totally different water systems. What is considered a good fish in the river is completely different from what might be considered a good fish in the ocean. However, in my opinion, no matter where you fish....the size in which I would call a fish a trophy remains the same--- over 50lbs. Here are the size classifications myself and my fellow guide buddies use.

RIVER/OCEAN

>67LB STATE RECORD
50LB TAKE MANY PICTURES
40+LB COW/COW
30LB COW/NICE FISH
20LB NICE FISH/AVERAGE
15LB AVERAGE/SCHOOLIE
10LB SCHOOLIE/RUNT
<10LB - DON'T BOTHER FISHING FOR

note: all fish caught on artificial lures only.

[ragfly]

It all depends on your prospective. If you fish for stripers once or twice a year they would probably call it a trophy. For me........living up here in Maine I consider any fish over 40 inches (not pounds) a LARGE, but not a trophy. A trophy to me would be 50 inches, for which I am still searching.

[BassmanN]

This is obviously a group of anglers that has caught real fish. I agree with everyones statements.
Can a 28" fish be considered a keeper...not in my book.. You catch a 30 and then a 34. Throw them on a scale. Alot happens to these fish in those couple of years.... This however is not my point.

Ethical Question... ( poll )
You get a 50 lb'er..
Do you eat ?
Do You get a photo so your friends will believe you and then release?

[Homerun04]

Ethical Answer....

I rarely, if ever, keep a fish --- regardless of size. What's the point....if I want to eat fish I'll buy it at the grocery store or fish market. That is much cleaner for me, easier, and let's the fish I catch go free.

Actually, I LOVE setting a big fish free just knowing that the offspring it produces should yield a stronger and healthier stock for years to come.

Take all the pictures you want, take all the measurements, and mount a nice 8 1/2" x 11" picture on my "Fishing Wall of Fame" in my house.....memories taste alot better then any fish ever will......

[BassmanN]

Nicely put!

[Bill]

Speak for yur self! There is no person on earth, even the plastic flip-flop weari'n earthy crunch save a tree type,that would give anyone a hard time about keeping a 50! Ethics???

Sounds real profound to say "I would throw anything back and be happy with a picture"

I say thats Bulls#$T!! With a capitol B!!

There aint a guy or gal here that would throw back a 50lb fish from the beach! Not one!! I would bet my life on it!! Especially if its your first (and most likely ONLY one you will ever see in your lifetime) Thats the mark an angler fishes his whole life for.
So, I say horsecrap, that fish would be at every tackle shop in one could get too!!

And you know what?? There aint nothing at all wrong with that!!

40+lb's "Cow bass" Real nice fish"


I do agree with one other post about the "inches routine" I hate that, always talk in POUNDS! No cares about inches, its about the weight!!

48+lb's trophy

50+lbs-"HOLY GRAIL"

25lbs to 40lbs "Decent fish" "respectable fish"

15 TO 20 LBS "FUN NIGHT" Nothing to brag about but, better than schoolie size.

15 LBS AND BELOW "Rats" "School bass"

[Homerun04]

Glad to hear you'd "bet your life on it" because I have released many fish well into the 40 range. Love to see you take yourself up on your own offer.

I'll bet you also use barbed hooks, treble hooks, and the heaviest mono line you can find. Gotta love the folks that believe fishing is a contact sport.

Give it a rest pal. Only those who rarely catch fish because they don't know what they are doing are adament about keeping fish....it's because they are never quite sure if they'll ever land one again.

[Goose]

COWS: minimum 35#............my 2 cents

[Duke41]

As far as keeping fish I use the freezer rule. I max out at 4 dinners worth of fish for the summer and then go up to eight dinners worth for winter. I try to use constraint and not keep any fish between 32-46 inches. Larger than that I just can't help myself. Smaller than that seems okay to me for filets.

[Bill]

Ok here is what I think, If I have a 50 on the end of my line I want that fish GUT HOOKED!! As deep as possible and with as many barbs as is possible!

Trust me the poor little fishy hurts just as much from being hooked with a barbless"polically correct" hook as it does with a barbed hook,the experiance is just as tramatic.You think your helping the fish, fishing barbless hooks is a way for you or anyone to justify hooking the thing in the first place,makes you feel better ,
NOT the fish. I hate barbless hooks and I hate losing fish,the time for a tropy comes and you will wish you had that fish hooked in the gut!!

Yes I use heavy line, got me on that one!!

Did you know that the current "lite tackle" mentality acually hurts the fish more!
It does, in a nut shell you are playing the fish to death, takes to long to get her in and saps the fish of to much energy and oxygen.So the ones who think they are doing good are doing more harm.

I have never played a big bass more than nessasary.And most fish I caught that were not sold were imediatly tossed back,not held out of the water for 15 minutes so my friends could take pictures.Thats to long for the fish to be out of water,the angler enjoys the photo shoot more than the bass.

Im glad you tossed your 40s back, I have tossed more than my share back also! But sorry, no 50s get to swim again that cross my line!

Besides, there just aint any big fish around anymore!

Striper fishing a contact sport?? You Bet!! Done right its grueling, up all night,climbing rock piles,getting slammed by powerfull surf,etc,the chance of death at night in the surf is definatly there!! Im not talking about the dead stickers sitting in a chair tossing back a bud.

Trout fishing with a little fly rod in a catch and release area may be more the sport for you.Or try "bass master 2002" on sega,that way you never have to worry about hurting any fish!!

Happy Hunting...And remember you flamed up first!!

[Homerun04]

Need I say anymore......

[mikecc]

this is what we call trophy fish on avrage that come in the shop
Striped Bass 40lb
Blue fish 20lb
Fluke 7-1/2lb
tautog 13lb
scup 2-1/2lb
flounder 4lb
sea bass 4lb
Lg mouth bass 8lb
Pickerel 5lb

[bassmaster]

Me....Im new at fishing...
I have never caught a keeper.
so any thing over 15" IS A TROPHY!
Bill, Hi, I was wondering. If You could Help Me get some Big Fish
This is all I can catch.....

[bassmaster]

and Look it Bit My finger......

[Slipknot]

Nice mackeral BM

A trophy to me would be any bass over 79 pounds.

[Duke41]

good one

[Slipknot]

Originally posted by Bill




There aint a guy or gal here that would throw back a 50lb fish from the beach! Not one!! I would bet my life on it!! Especially if its your first (and most likely ONLY one you will ever see in your lifetime) Thats the mark an angler fishes his whole life for.
So, I say horsecrap, that fish would be at every tackle shop in one could get too!!

And you know what?? There aint nothing at all wrong with that!!

Bill, You are wrong about that, but that is just your opinion I understand. There was one angler that I know of that released a 50 from the surf, and it was his first, His picture is on the front page of this website. God rest his soul

[JohnR]

Bill - not everyone is going to keep a 50, probably a few that have already got one will and the odd person that hasn't might release on. Me? I'd probably keep it 90% certain of that... Otherwise, I'd say 85% are going to keep a 50 and most of them will be paraded around - I know 2 or 3 shops I'll bring my first shore caught 50 to (IF, I ever get one
...

Homerun - I gotta disagree on a lot of what you are saying - for schoolies, I'll run barbless but it's all barbed when I'm chasing bigger stuff, especially from shore. Maybe I'd think differently if I could chase the fish in a boat but if I'm on the beach or rockpile, there's a barb. And yes, I use heavier gear to get them in and turned around quick. I also disagree that the people that are worried if they'll get another one are the only ones that will keep a fish. There is a lot to be said about C&R and I do that 98% on keepers but I do occasionally keep a fish. And I know that the rare bass that I keep for the grille is fresh, cleaned right & prepared right. I'm much more confident in the quality of a bass I catch than one from the market...

Oh and 20# Big Game Green. Hey Bill, since when is 20# line "Heavy" when fishing the rocks? That's what you use 90% of the time anyway, right?

BM, when your middle finger is bitten and left exposed, infection will cause it to stay stuck up - Make sure you clean it on a diseased bass

[bloocrab]

Originally posted by Homerun04
Ethical Answer....What's the point....if I want to eat fish I'll buy it at the grocery store or fish market. That is much cleaner for me, easier..

..."EASIER" yeah,...but "cleaner"......your nutz!!! Just because your too lazy to undress and clean a fish doesn't give you the right to call anyone unethical. I love to eat FISH...and what would I rather have...fresh or store bought?...Well let me think about that for a second... DUH!!...gee I think I'd rather have store bought...because I didn't have to kill it and clean it. Good thing I don't have to kill any cows..or I wouldn't eat meat either, I'd just lasso them and let them go....

Silly I tell ya.....just plain Silly!!!

...some people are in it just for the sport (yes, I BELIEVE it is a sport)...but some, including myself...enjoy the taste of a nice fresh piece of B-ass......

..chit, now I'm hungry....

[Van]

Gotta agree with Bloo on this one.
I catch plenty of fish big and small and release most.
(released a 40" today)
When the freezer is empty I might take another one. But only what I intend to eat, and over the season i don't eat it all the time anyway.
OK,,,Enuf said.

Sooooo.....
I would say to answear the original post..
30+ lbs= very nice fish
40+ lbs= trophy
50+ lbs=once in a lifetime. (your going on my wall)

Of course that is just my opinion, everyone is different, and have their own opinion of fish size and quality.

[Scotch Bonnet]

I think the term "trophy" is relative to each angler. I agree with the sizes and terms described above and I don't think a fishing mag should call a 28# bass a trophy. They know what most anglers consider a trophy bass. But if some guy is proud of a 28#'r and wants it mounted, I think thats fine. I have a 5# largemouth (hardly considered a trophy) that I had mounted when I was 12 and it still hangs in my garage. To me it was a trophy then and I still consider it a trophy to this day. Lots of great memories and no regrets. And as far as eating the fish I catch, I enjoy the whole process from the cast to the plate.

[Bill L]

I guess I'm in it for the sport-- I release 99% of my fish, and I use inches as a unit of measure because I don't carry a scale or camera. I usually measure on the rod if I'm surf casting, or with a tape in the boat. Then back they go. If I did get a truly huge fish, honestly not sure what I'd do with it -- my best fish a couple of weeks ago at 44" (and fat) was released, and I still wonder what she may have weighed - I plan to get a digital scale sooner or later.
To me, a Cow is over 40" (30# plus?), nice fish over 36" (20# range?), and all the rest are fun.
I also like fishing in the Pond or lbeach in the late season with lighter tackle, at which time they're all fun.

[bassmaster]

trophy

[bassmaster]

schoolie.....

[bassmaster]

twinkie

[bassmaster]

nice fish