Why do people weigh their fish? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

numbskull · 09-07-2010, 07:40 AM

I like to brag. It helps to have a precise number so people don't question it....particularly when you can't hold the fish close to the camera. Unfortunately my scale has gotten too heavy and rusted from lack of use, so I quit carrying it and now make my best guess, add 10 lbs, and report that. It is all explained in the "Plug Fisherman's Code of Honor" book.

JohnR · 09-07-2010, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by numbskull

I like to brag. It helps to have a precise number so people don't question it....particularly when you can't hold the fish close to the camera. Unfortunately my scale has gotten too heavy and rusted from lack of use, so I quit carrying it and now make my best guess, add 10 lbs, and report that. It is all explained in the "Plug Fisherman's Code of Honor" book.

american spirit · 09-07-2010, 08:40 AM

it seems like the dream is to catch a 50 pounder, not a 50 incher. it feels cooler to quantify your fish by pounds rather than inches anyway.

Slipknot · 09-07-2010, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by american spirit

it seems like the dream is to catch a 50 pounder, not a 50 incher. it feels cooler to quantify your fish by pounds rather than inches anyway.

great point

Rob Rockcrawler · 09-07-2010, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by american spirit

it seems like the dream is to catch a 50 pounder, not a 50 incher. it feels cooler to quantify your fish by pounds rather than inches anyway.

I got a 49" a couple years ago and really wish i had a scale to weigh her on. So i carry a boga 30 which doesn't do much good. Gotta grab a 60. I can eyeball a fish up to about 30 or so, after that my guesses are just that.

Plus don't all the cool guys talk about pounds not inches?

tattoobob · 09-07-2010, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Rockcrawler

I got a 49" a couple years ago and really wish i had a scale to weigh her on. So i carry a boga 30 which doesn't do much good. Gotta grab a 60. I can eyeball a fish up to about 30 or so, after that my guesses are just that.

Plus don't all the cool guys talk about pounds not inches?

No it just means your old

afterhours · 09-07-2010, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tattoobob

No it just means your old

thanks bob...and i thought i was cool

now i know i'm old

DZ · 09-08-2010, 10:44 AM

Chris,
Before the 1980s I also sold every legal bass I could. During the early 1980s I realized the fish I loved to chase stood a real chance of disappearing. I "saw the light", changed my ways and vowed I would do all I could to keep that from happening.

Started carrying a Chatillon brass scale in 1984 - the year of the RI striper moratorium. Damn thing must have weighed three pounds. Tried other scales through the years and finally settled on a Cardoza "No rust" 60 lb spring scale. Carry it with me most of the time. I'm a pretty good judge of size - when/if I'm fortunate enough to land one that takes two hands to lift I weigh and release her.

Let's face it - any surfcaster worth his salt wants to know how large his fish is. Dyed in the wool striped bass fishermen (especially surf casters) have that "50" pound pinnacle always in their sights. Those that say otherwise...

The scale, in small part, allows me to continue what I love to do, and allows me to see if I've reached another pinnacle without killing the largest of the species I love to pursue.

DZ

stiff tip · 09-08-2010, 05:07 AM

self glory.... most of u girls have nrver caught a 40lber or bigger so u go nuts when it happens . its called look at me i.m great. if u get one set it free to breed be a man . it takes more guts to let the big ones go....btw if its selling season i kill m all

BigFish · 09-08-2010, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiff tip

self glory.... most of u girls have nrver caught a 40lber or bigger so u go nuts when it happens . its called look at me i.m great. if u get one set it free to breed be a man . it takes more guts to let the big ones go....btw if its selling season i kill m all

I love ya Dave but I always enjoy these comments from the former commercial fisherman who "Got Theirs" and had a hand in depleting the stocks back when! Those were the days when almost anyone could get a 40.....cause they were there!!! Not so many now for various reasons......but so what if someone wants to weigh it and release it or if they have the legal option to keep it as is the law?? Guys like you begrudge many of us the same opportunities you had in "your day". The day comes when I "Get Mine"......I hope to get a picture of it, boga the weight and get her back in the water.....I hope I can be that selfless....easy to do when you already spent a lifetime selling trophy bass. Damn right I will go nuts when I do.....it will be the accomplishment I hope for every time I go out there.....just like every other fisherman!

Still love ya Dave....don't hate me cause I am beautiful!!

Back Beach · 09-08-2010, 08:52 AM

When I first started out I was like many others in that I wanted to continually raise the bar on my "PB". Given the fishing climate at the time, everyone kept and sold most of their catch, thus everything got weighed as a part of doing business....you got a "slip" with the "official" weight on it.

I always carried a brass chatillion in my vehicle because many of my fish went into the back doors of restaurants and they relied on my scale (for better or worse) to determine the weight.

Once I stopped selling fish to restaurants (early 90's) the scale stayed at home as most of my fish were released if I couldn't sell them. The commercial fish were coming in bigger numbers for me by then because I had my own boat. It became impractical to unload big numbers of fish at restaurants(also illegal

) thus I took everyting to Chatham fish and lobster and got paid wholesale.

Past experience has given me the ability to guesstimate pretty well, and if its a really large fish I might keep it for bragging rights, documentation, tournaments, or consumption. I have no problem killing one big fish here and there.

Guys who made claims without producing weight slips were often looked at with suspicion, and in most cases (even today) its still the case.

I do carry a scale in my vehicle just to save me a long ride to an official weigh station if I get lucky enough to land a substantial fish. If the scale says its close to a weight I might want to get certified, I will then go to a shop and get it officially weighed.

Sundowner · 09-08-2010, 11:37 PM

I need to weigh my fish to make myself feel good....women eat Hagen Daaz......I weigh fish. Really sad I know, but I can't help it.
f me, I just scrolled past sooooo many articles and %$%$%$%$, dont you pils go nowhere

Sundowner · 09-08-2010, 11:47 PM

appearently my eyeballs suck. if it wasnt for 3 prongs in a fishes mouth tonight, I would've said I released a 28" son bitch ended up being 36"

timmah · 09-09-2010, 12:15 AM

I weigh them if they are heavy. Otherwise I eat them.

Mr. Sandman · 09-09-2010, 02:20 PM

Length means nothing anymore a 50" fish can weigh 35-65# nowadays.

I never heard about anyone ever measuring a bass until the Gen X arrived on the scene. I remember weigh people started telling me how long their fish was...huh? who cares, what does it weigh? You weigh fish to know how big it is, period. Records are based on weight, not length. I am old school when it comes to fish size, weigh it.

That said, I rarely weigh a fish under 35#...whats the point? (unless it is an albi or bone, they I weigh the big ones)

Pete F. · 09-07-2010, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by numbskull

I like to brag. It helps to have a precise number so people don't question it....particularly when you can't hold the fish close to the camera. Unfortunately my scale has gotten too heavy and rusted from lack of use, so I quit carrying it and now make my best guess, add 10 lbs, and report that. It is all explained in the "Plug Fisherman's Code of Honor" book.

How much do you subtract if you are fishing with eels?