Why length and not pounds

[mabr]

Just curious on something I have noticed sense moving up here from the south. Why do the majority of people talk length when talking bass instead of weight?

Its not a big deal but when someone tells me they caught a bass that was -- inches long. It just dont compute in my pea size brain i guess. I wanna know pounds, I dont even know how long the 1 I have mounted is but I do know it weighted 10,2. I guess i should as thats how taxidermist charge. I cant ever remembering measuring a bass with the exception to make sure it was long enough to weigh in under tough conditions.

Again I was just curious.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Im guessing because its easier/better for the fish to put it up to a ruler quick and get it back in the water sooner.

I usually save the scale for extra long or fatter fish. I dont need to weigh all my fish, heck I can usually get within an inch without even measuring. Also you can guesstimate a fish's weight pretty well by length.

If a fish is over 20" I might be curious enough to weigh it but usually not until its in the 21" range. Im not fishing tournaments so its not a big deal to me whether that 20" fish is 4lbs. 14oz or 5lb 4oz.

[Nick Kuhn]

I don't even own a scale...

[Comit 2]

As TurnUpTheFishing said. If I think it may be over 8lb I'll weight it. Other wise whats the point.

[tritonman]

I think we got into the measuring thing because of the walleye guys. I still look at people funny when they ask how many inches long that fish was. I tell them it was so many pounds instead.

[bassfshin24]

I was wondering the same thing when i moved here from SD last April. Us south dakota boys always used pounds.

[Stick in Mud]

I also think it's easier (on both the fish and the fisherman) and quicker to get an "objective" measurement when you're measuring length. And I know that I'm slightly less skeptical when someone gives the length of a catch than the weight, but that's just me.

[PerchJerker]

I agree with carmike ---- it's a lot easier for me to believe someone when they give a measurement in inches instead of lbs. There seems to me to be a lot more exaggeration with lbs. And it's so quick and easy to get a length measurement, but weighing a fish can be a lot more stressful.

[Dr Thunder]

It all changed to inches when the slots started. Nobody ever measured lenght prior to that.

[Duffman]

You catch enough bass in the 17"-20" range, you get pretty good at guessing the length. And from there you can make an edjucated guess on the weight depending on body type.

I've pretty much went from weighing fish to measuring fish. When I catch a nice bass I usually guess the length while it's in the water, then measure to see how the guess was, then toss it back. I'll only weigh bass that seem 5+ lbs. I can get another cast or two in in the time it would take to scale up a 19" bass. And I'd be pretty accurate in my guess that that 19" bass is about 4 lbs.

[zepman]

Im guessing because its easier/better for the fish to put it up to a ruler quick and get it back in the water sooner.

I usually save the scale for extra long or fatter fish. I dont need to weigh all my fish, heck I can usually get within an inch without even measuring. Also you can guesstimate a fish's weight pretty well by length.

If a fish is over 20" I might be curious enough to weigh it but usually not until its in the 21" range. Im not fishing tournaments so its not a big deal to me whether that 20" fish is 4lbs. 14oz or 5lb 4oz.

My thoughts exactly!

[jwmiller33]

1) slots

2) most people dont have a scale

3) most people have a ruler of some type on the boat

4) easier on the fish to measure length, not weight

5) can easily estimate weight based on length measurement taken

6) who wants to take the time to weigh a fish when the fish are biting? just toss her back and catch another one. in all reality, what difference does it make if it was 4 lbs or 5 lbs or 6 lbs or ??? unless its a really big one.

[RK]

Hiya -

Easier and less open to error and guesswork, I think. Lots easier to drop a fish on a ruler quick than mess with a scale. I don't think I've had a scale in my boat since I dropped my Zebco De-Liar over the side when I was about 8.

I've never even really thought about it. Muskie guys have used length over weight for years, and I just do the same with bass. With muskies I'm rarely off by more than 1/2" eyeballing them, but with bass I don't even think about it unless I actually measure one. Who cares...

A friend of mine used to say "fish come in four sizes: small, medium, large, and Holy ****"

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[fishinfey8]

A friend of mine used to say "fish come in four sizes: small, medium, large, and Holy ****"

HA - thats great...I don't weigh fish unless the fish is in that last category!

[grab the net]

If I think a fish is five or better, I weigh it. Scale is always on the front deck, takes about 10 seconds and its back in the water. My experiences have shown that some lakes have footballs and a 19 inch fish will weigh over 5 and other lakes that a 20 inch fish will struggle to make five. For me, 5 is the benchmark of a good fish and I like to keep track of them, checking moon phase, time of day etc... Good scale is less than $30 these days. I like pounds over length. You don't hear the Elite boys talking inches at Gville, they are talking 5's and better.

[hhguide]

Like many of you have said inches is more accurate. People always talk about how many 4 and 5 pound fish they catch (supposedly). Many or some dont realize how big of fish that really is! My next question to them is how many inches long was it? Then you see if their telling the truth or stretching the truth. For the most part if they give me lentgh I can then guess if it was a true 4 or 5 pounder or not. Its always interesting listening to people.

[gritsnham]

I will agree with most that its just way easier to measure fish by shoving their head against the front of a fishing ruler then tossing them back. Since we usually dont get to fish spawn, a weight guess is usually close enough to the actual weight. Bought a scale last year to see how close the guess usually was and it was always within a couple ounces.

I do like to wigh those 19" plus fish just to see what they go but otherwise right back in the water for the rest. Just another of those south vs north kind of preference kind of things.

If your in a tourney just use a pendulum style scale and get you bait back in the water ASAP...weight dont matter till the weigh in anyways...