pounds and inches.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by capesams

with fish being on the skinny side these days....a 40" fish sounds better then a 17lber.or racer as us old farts call them.I've caught 36" fish as low as 11 lb's...sad indeed.

I think that's a big part of it. If people don't press the issue, that 36" fish would be assumed to be 36# if a guy just says, "I got a 36".

Actual conversation I had on the Canal this summer:

"Hi xxxx, you guys do anything?"

"I got some shorts, but xxx got two nice fish".

"Really? How big?"

"Oh, 31, 32"

Stop the conversation right here, and who wouldn't believe the guy was talking pounds?

"He got a 32 pounder?"

"No, no, 32 inches".

That was the day I started asking when a 32" bass became a "nice fish".

[Karl F]

It's def. an age thing.. I cant' get over it, no matter how hard I try.. I hear the same thing Mike..
some guy will come in the shop and say,
"I got a 32 last night"..
I assume pounds right off..
the younger fellow (early 30's) that works part time with me, who is a serious fisherman,
he assumes inches..
Another "generational" issue...

[tattoobob]

Originally Posted by Karl F

It's def. an age thing.. I cant' get over it, no matter how hard I try.. I hear the same thing Mike..
some guy will come in the shop and say,
"I got a 32 last night"..
I assume pounds right off..
the younger fellow (early 30's) that works part time with me, who is a serious fisherman,
he assumes inches..
Another "generational" issue...

That's why I will always ask "are we talking pounds or inches" that thats the mystery away

[nightfighter]

I still think a 32" fish is a nice fish for table fare...... but not when trophy hunting. Some schoolies I've caught this year had more game during the fight than most mid twenty pound fish, so seeing those testosterone loaded schoolies swim away makes me think, nice fish, nice fight.
And wouldn't inches be a better measurement to gauge the age of a fish? While a fifty inch fish would definitely get my attention, a fifty pounder would be a lifetime accomplishment, which is why the weight measurement gets a lot of attention when it comes to records, I think, for what that's worth..... Worth noting is if you fish surf or boat on this subject too. I'm 90% surf.
Funny, can you imagine if we were debating inches vs. weight in 'measuring' up our female companions?????? If those numbers are right, I could care less about the weight!

[nightfighter]

good to know I'm not an old fart yet.....

[bloocrab]

To guys who don't always catch 30 pound fish on their outings, a 34 inch fish may be a nice fish to them...why ruin their day by saying..."oh, inches"? After catching some 30 pound fish, their mind-set will change and they will classify them differently. I always say "nice job" to someone proud of their catch, whatever size (legal).
People fish for different reasons, I'll leave it at that.

On a different note - I side with nightfighter
I fish for FOOD along with enjoyment. I LOVE eating fish. I have NEVER taken a bass home that didn't end up getting eaten. I have NEVER wasted fish...To this day, my father will NOT fillet a fish, he believes too much gets wasted. He scales them, guts them, and chops em up. The head goes into a large pot for stewing...he claims the cheeks on a bass's head are "to die for". One shouldn't judge another based on what they think is a nice fish. IMO -

[capesams]

bloo...I'll agree that a fish in the hand will always be a nice fish reguardless of it's size....But what is happening more and more these day's is the fact that history is being changed day by day...what once was alway's lb's is slowly going over to inches,why?.Plug shapes that always were called XX are being called something intirely different why?I havn't seen grass-trees-water getting a name change, why not?....If one doesn't correct a new person to the name game,,how are they going to learn what is and has always been??...I don't go to the lumberyard looking for scratch paper?[sandpaper]...does history mean nothing to the younger folks? who knows,,someday fish may be called scalers wtfit?

[Flaptail]

I abhor the word "keepah" in describing fish, in my little group it's small legal or legal and legal ain't no "keepah" in my book, 28 inches is a minnow, plain and straight.

I still use the terms we used when we sold everything over 16 inches, smalls, mediums, large..

36 inch fish would to 15 pounds for a fatty and average 20 back when ( and to all of you that are going to post about me bringing up the old days, put a sock in it. Most of you weren't there and aren't worthy enough to talk of those times.) 30 pounders were the norm and spring fish were called racers not cause they were skinny but because of the way they would rip the rod almost out of your hands when they nailed your plug in the first wave and take off like a frieght train from the Monomoy and Nauset shores. By the time they reached P-Town in force around July4th they were getting a little lethargic with all the food and warm water.

Best fishing ever though was not the good old 70s it was in the late 80's early nineties when the limit was 36 inches, the 70's had big fish and you could go anywhere by buggy or boat without a lot of restriction but for more 36 inch fish in areas they were not used to being seen in, like the B-Harbor flats. We could go there in the skiff and take several with surety each trip on the fly that would top 20 pounds in a tide while drifting the bars.

Ah, twas only like that again........(sigh)

[macojoe]

In July & Aug all I want to see is 34" then they go to market!

After that its just for fun and I could careless.

I might eat 2 fish a year, Bass isn't on top of the food chain here, I rather have some nice Fluke or Sea Bass even Scup

[bart]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

( and to all of you that are going to post about me bringing up the old days, put a sock in it. Most of you weren't there and aren't worthy enough to talk of those times.)

[shadow]

Originally Posted by capesams

bloo...I'll agree that a fish in the hand will always be a nice fish reguardless of it's size....But what is happening more and more these day's is the fact that history is being changed day by day...what once was alway's lb's is slowly going over to inches,why?.Plug shapes that always were called XX are being called something intirely different why?I havn't seen grass-trees-water getting a name change, why not?....If one doesn't correct a new person to the name game,,how are they going to learn what is and has always been??...I don't go to the lumberyard looking for scratch paper?[sandpaper]...does history mean nothing to the younger folks? who knows,,someday fish may be called scalers wtfit?

you hit it on the head with this statement as a "younger" angler bruoght into the game by older anglers I feel a need to keep some things the way they are RESPECT THE PAST learn from those who came before us. that being said I always carry a scale and only weigh afew fish that may be hard to guess their wieght.if its not #'s then it is a schoolie and a schoolie is a schoolie.

[baldwin]

I can't find a link to the study, but I think it was originally done by a couple of Australians. Just a knowledge of fish biology (I teach it), leads me to believe that their study has merit. Fish are adapted to a neutral-buoyancy habitat, and their bodys aren't designed to support a large amount of weight from their jaws. I think the study was done with snook, but the same could also apply to any larger fish.