Weight ?

I left my camera home on purpose last night.

5 hours, 6 spots, 47 degrees, 1 bite and my leader broke 1.5 seconds after the hookset.

I am gonna say that fish was 43.25″ and 39 pounds and 4 ounces.

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Fishing is supposed to be fun. Who gives a $hit? 36 pounds or 40 pounds, I am a happy guy!

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From this quote…. I’m gathering that your due for a big one… Just remember to leave the scale and tape measure and……. camera at home…. We love fish stories..

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I’ve got a camera, tape, and 72″ ruler in the boat. I get measurements and photos–good enough for me.

You guys can have your competitions and inflate your egos all you want, that’s not for me.

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Omg you guys are totally missing the whole point of my argument. I’ve alrerady said that a good scale cannot be beat….period

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So if it’s “us guys” missing the point..that would mean you are arguing with yourself?

<ego inflated by .5 pounds>

…I’m still here!

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I think that they both serve a purpose.
The measurements have been found to be very helpful in 98% of the instances concerning contests or league where people are competing on their catches…. It gives a measure of standard that removes any doubt about which fish is the larger…
That being said the next thing is “How Much does that Hog weigh” That is where a scale and in many instances multiple scales are used to “Double Check” in effort to remove any shadow of a doubt.

Both forms of measurement are completely valid its just that guys that do more competitive fishing have seen a few but serious discrepecies on the weighing of fish compared to measuring.
As far as what is better for the fish…… It comes down to the fisherman… and I think that most of us have the respect to treat the fish as gentle as possible.

I hope this made sense.

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Well said!

Ryan, I have no EGO but do enjoy an occasional competition…

You do not have to calibrate a tape measure.

That being said, I typically just get total length and weight via scale. All are acceptable means, but a soft tape measure (or string for that matter) can be thrown in your pocket. After one year my Rapala 60# (also $60) scale has a 10# variance. I am sure my tape measure still reads accurately……..

Ego aside…it’s great to have new, fresh and out of the box ideas posted.

Case in point, Larry’s video of his bait tank. Certainly something that might be called “extreme”, but it gets people thinking of new and different ways of over coming problems and in his bait tank video, how to keep bait longer/fresher without having a mega water bill.

We all know there isn’t a company out there that looks at helping the cat guy, so we devise our own way to tackle problems or make our tools better.

Steve D is fantastic at looking at situations and coming up with inexpensive out of the box cures and ways to make his trips more pleasurable.

It’s these people that will keep the gears of the mind moving and eventually will benefit all cat folk and maybe some will spill over to other fish too.

I applaud the Darren and Matt for compiling numbers for weights. It’s people like them, Steve D and MANY others that have the passion for the sport that going to move it ahead!

Call it ego’s if you will…I call it passion.

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I am sure my tape measure still reads accurately

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Don’t leave the soft ones out in the sun!

Hey Kid,

Your scale really has that much difference? Mine is like 15 years old and is still really accurate. The light died but the scale works and I test mine by weighing an anchor or two. I like the scale because the length ones are never accurate here with lake fish. add two pounds to the infisherman one and you are about right here.

Geez, I was just looking for an estimate,its all good info,didn’t mean to start an argument,by the way the battery was good the scale is broke.Not sure what the pic. weighed either.

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didn’t mean to start an argument

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Outdraft, you’re good!

Dtro’s a good guy and a friend. I debate with my FW too and I love here!

Now I have an off topic question for you. How many times a summer does someone tie up their boat when going down stream in the locks?

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Fishing is supposed to be fun. Who gives a $hit? 36 pounds or 40 pounds, I am a happy guy!

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From this quote…. I’m gathering that your due for a big one… Just remember to leave the scale and tape measure and……. camera at home…. We love fish stories..

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I’ve got a camera, tape, and 72″ ruler in the boat. I get measurements and photos–good enough for me.

You guys can have your competitions and inflate your egos all you want, that’s not for me.

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I think your EGO is getting in the way and not allowing you to see my point…..
1. We love fish stories.
2. You increase your odds of catching a big fish if you forget important items. Like mentioned above.
3. When you get a fish worth measuring, we love to hear the story…. its easy to fudge a 36 to a 40 especially when your ego is of no concern and your not fishing a contest.

Good decision

I do both and use a soft retractable 60″ tape from Heartland Payment Systems??

Neat little deal. Wish I had two.

Since we can’t drop this even though everyone agrees, I’ll add a new wrinkle.

If you really care about something more than “my fish is bigger than yours” (for which I’ll take weight over length any day), then you should do both a length measurement and the weight.

The weight and length gives you something to go on if you want to know the health of the fish. Generally the heavier it is at a given length, the better it’s doing. If you compare the weights for each length of all the fish you catch against some average or some formula, you’ll see variation, but you’ll also get some kind of handle on the health of your population in a given year (you’ll also notice seasonal trends).

I’ve caught some really long fish with big heads that were in the low 40s, and to me that indicated they were old fish on their way out – already losing weight. Length is irreversable – it always increases with age (although the rate of increase certainly isn’t), but weight can be added and dropped, so having both gives you a better picture.

The numbers really can mean more than bragging rights…

Good point trouble maker.

MMMMM EGGO’s…… IM HUNGRY!!!

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Since we can’t drop this even though everyone agrees, I’ll add a new wrinkle.

If you really care about something more than “my fish is bigger than yours” (for which I’ll take weight over length any day), then you should do both a length measurement and the weight.

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We do both…. BUT once you realize after hundreds of Fish that Length X Length X Girth Divided by 1275 is accurate to within a pound or two you realize its not necessary to weigh every big fish.
I used to do both EVERY time just out of the amazement of the accuracy of the formula hoping it would be substantially off… it’s not.

Different strokes for different folks! …

I have always like weighing the fish myself. I can do that faster than using a tape measure. Perhaps I am just not as proficient in measuring fish but it always seems to be a wrestling match so its a quick weigh, pic, snap and release. I do always have a measuring tape along… It helps me boost my ego when fishing in league.

We can have a battle of ego’s next week Rob.

Looking forward to it!

The day I pose for a picture wearing a speedo is the day I know I can quit fishing competitively as I know I’ve peaked (egotistically speaking)

Hugs and kisses, it’s Friday…….let’s go fishing!!!!!

You guys are mighty sensitive. I’ll crawl back under my rock now.

Is there room for two under the rock…wait…you’re not wearing your speedo are you?

WAIT! That didn’t come out right.

Fishing time!!!

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We can have a battle of ego’s next week Rob.

Looking forward to it!

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I’m lookin forward to it too. I cant do much worse than last league night. This spring has not been kind to me(fish wise).

Many try but we inform them not to, i haven’t had any incidents but i’ve talked to others that have had to use the ax to cut the line, sounds like the boaters had quite a ride. If your tied off and the waters a droppin you and your boat will be a rockin