stripers - length/weight

[Jamie M]

My last post generated a little debate about the reasonable relationship between length and weight of a striper. I had caught a fish last week that the captain told me was 41 inches and 36 pounds, exactly. Since I haven't seen too many fish in that size range, I didn't know how unusual it would be for a 41-inch fish to weigh 36 pounds.

I spoke to the captain again today, and he faxed me a chart which has, by inch of length, the age it takes for a striper to grow that size (my fish was 14 years old), and minimum, average, and maximum weights for stripers of that length.

This chart was put together by the captain, who has a master's in marine biology. He says that the maximum weight for a 41-inch fish is 38 pounds, which contradicts what #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& told me in my post about the fish. We didn't measure the girth of this monster, but I checked the accuracy of my scale last night, and it's perfect.

Any other info out there about the size/weight relationship? I'd be interested to learn more...

[eelman]

Thaty captain of yours is taking halucinagines!!!!! I have never seen a 40lb 41inch fish!! My most recent 40lber went a little over 47inches.....

I agree #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&. The only way a 41 inch fish can weigh 36 pounds is if it was caught on a 10 pound anchor! I recently caught a fish that was 41 inches long and shaped like a football, the fattest fish I ve ever caught. It still only weighed 28 pounds, I cant even imagine a 36 lbs fish with the same length, something has to be screwed up. 26 pounds is more realistic.

[JohnR]

Jamie - that does sound high on the inches/pounds. I had a 43" fish last year that weighed 24 pounds, skinny but not 12 pounds lighter than a fish that was 2 inches shorter. That's still a nice a fish but I can't see 36 pounds...

[Patrick]

Hey, I was told by a bunch of witnesses that my "big fish"(remember the eel thing?) was more like 40 to 45 inches. That was by more than one person too. I've been telling people that it was around the mid to upper teens. I was being conservative because as soon as you say you caught a huge fish, people begin to think it is just the fisherman's imagination.
So what do you think a fish that is 40-45 inches would way? It wasn't thin but it wasn't a fatty.

Patrick

[eelman]

The average size of a fish 36inches is somewhere in the vicinity of 18 to 20lbs now, its a huge jump to imagine a 40inch fish going close to 40lbs.A fish of 40 inches goes between 22and26lbs you dont start seeing 30lbs until you reach the 43 inch range and 40lbs between the 45 and 50inch range. Patricks fish could have been anywhere from a lean 20ish size fish up to a healthy 30or32lb fish.

I once caught a 47inch fish that weighed 32lbs!! That was a "racer" lean in the gut but a huge head!!

FYI,MY 52.5LB fish measured in at 51inches and, thats about right for that size fish.I would bet my life that jamies fish was 25 to 28lbs and, because he hasent seen many it looked huge!! Not to say this isnt a good fish but, no way it was 36lbs,I have seen to many fish in my time,so I know better.Im fairly accurate with guestimating fish and Im usually within a pound or two!!

I carry a scale with me and weigh most of my fish over 20 pounds. Stripers really arent heavy fish for their size which causes many fishermen to overestimate their weight. I even fool myself sometimes when I think I have a bona fide 30 pounder but it turns out to be about 27. Stripers tend to have large heads and broad shoulders even if they are thin which creates the illusion. What makes a heavy fish is a gut, and it will be round and plump all the way to the vent. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions I found this year, the fish tend to be getting lighter for their size. It seems like it takes a good 38 inch fish or so to break 20 pounds these days.

[Mike P]

Basically, I agree that a 41" bass that weighed 36 pounds would be maybe a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence--the shortest 30# fish I remember catching was right about 43", and it was a fatty. And that was 30 on the nose. Ever see the picture of the world record fish? 78-1/2 lbs, but "only" 53" long. It was a freak fish and it was stuffed with mullet. Ugliest striper I've ever seen, it had a girth of almost 3 feet. So it's not out of the question, but extremely unlikely that a 41 incher could run 36. Maybe, if it was March and this was the Chesapeake, or the Hudson, and that fish was full of roe and had been stuffing her face pre-spawn, it would a better candidate for that one-in-a-million category.

Just a point of reference - two of the fish that I have kept and weighed (actually, John has the pictures) First one was 40" weighed 27 lbs, weighed three hours after it was caught. Second one, my personal best, (need to improve on this! <img src="/Images/Wink.gif"><!--e3-->) was 48" and weighed 35 lbs 14 oz, weighed 45 minutes after it was caught.

[eelman]

Just proves wjat I said in my little unscientific chart above,right on the money

[Canalratt1]

I think that Captain has a degree in B.S. I can't see a 41 inche fish at that weight. I had a 40 inche that was 23 lbs. recently. To break 30 lbs. it seems the fish has to be around 44 inches or so.