Sunfish Weight

[jcfishr]

How much should an 11-12" sunfish weigh? Those "weigh your fish with a ruler" charts never seem right to me. Are there more accurate ways to estimate weight?

[jcfishr]

I'm considering having a fiber mount done and want to get the measurements right. {[please, no stringer or dead fish pics]

[Matt Johnson]

It can have a pretty big variance depending on the time of year and body of water. Some bodies of water grow thicker and taller sunfish. A 10 inch sunfish in one lake might be a 1/4 pound off from a 10 inch sunfish from another lake. And when you start getting into the 11-12 inch fish it can be even more fluctuated. A 11-12 inch sunfish is going to be heavy no matter the lake, but the weights can still vary quite a bit. I've seen a 10.5 inch sunfish that was thicker than a 11.75 inch sunfish. But I've also seen a 11.5 inch sunfish that was thicker than most 11.5 inch bass

Forage also plays a huge role in this, as does overall quality of life. Some sunfish are reaching the end of their rope when they get into that 11 inch range, and they will lose weight and thickness, much like a human does (ok, I'm not comparing a fish to a human, but you get what I mean ). A 12 inch sunfish is a true monster and regardless of weight it's a trophy no matter where it's caught. Most often than not, anything over 10 inches is going to be a decently thick and hefty fish.

Some lakes and bodies of water also have an outstanding forage base. Freshwater scuds, insects, minnows, plankton, frogs and all the other goodies that sunfish favor. Sunfish will rely heavily on a minnow diet at times, even though many anglers don't equate minnows with sunfish. Yes, sunfish will also consume a lot of insects and other organisms too, probably more so than minnows. Having a strong and available forage base is very crucial in growing large sunfish. It's no wonder why those extremely fertile lakes grow monster sunfish, it's because the food base is exceptional.

Weights can also depend on the sunfish species. Pumkinseeds are typically very thick fish to begin with. We've all seen those 6-7 inch pumkinseeds that are shaped like footballs, all plump full of insects and whatnot. And then we've also seen those potato-chip-thin 6-7 inch bluegills that can't weigh more than 1/4 pound. I think there is definitely something to be said about the variance in weight depending on sunfish species as well.

I would have to agree, using a length-to-weight measurement chart of somesort is not always accurate, and in most cases I'd go as far to say they're not very accurate at all (when it comes to sunfish). To me, a couple ounces is a big difference when referring to sunfish, and those charts don't give leeway to the different factors that can change the weight of a fish.

My longest sunfish to date measured 11.75 inches and weighed roughly 1 pound 9 ounces. But my heaviest sunfish weighed about 1 pound 12 ounces but was only 11.5 inches in length. So I would guess a sunfish in the 11-12 inch range would weigh anything from about 1 1/4 pound to 2 pounds...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[jcfishr]

apologies, I mis-read Rick's post in "photo sharing" about stringer pics.

[Matt Johnson]

John,

That was a nice fish. I got the chance to see it before it got deleted. Congrats on that pig!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Pig_sticka]

Matt my dad was just up north catching a bunch of 11.5" sunfish. The scale he was using was saying they were only 11-12 ounces. What would a normal 11.5" sunfish weigh? I would guess it would have to be over a pound, and these fish were still in their spawn I believe so they had a belly full.

Little brother also caught a crappie at 15.5" that weighed in at 1lb 11oz., he has outfished me on almost every species and he is only 10, very scary.

[Matt Johnson]

My first guess would be that you dad's scale is broken and my second guess would be that your dad is off on his measurements (I'm not saying either one is the case, they are just guesses). A 11.5 inch Sunfish is going to weigh well over 3/4 pound. A lot of the 9 - 9.5 inch bedding Sunfish I've been weighing lately are in that 3/4 pound range, or maybe even a tad bit heavier. A 11.5 inch is going to be in the 1 1/2 pound range most often than not, so it would almost double the weights your dad is getting. I would have him check the scale he's using to see if it's accurate, but I'd say it's pretty safe to say a 11.5 inch Sunfish is not going to only weigh 3/4 pound (12 ounces), especially if they have full bellies...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[united jigsticker]

What's up homies?

A formula for Sunfish is (LxLxL) / 1050 = fish weight in pounds.

So an 11.5 inch gill would weigh 1.44 pounds or 1 pound 7.04 oz.

This, of course, is subject to health, condition, and other variances in the fish.

Like Matt said, some chubby buddies come into the boat and will out-weigh fish that are 10% greater in length then others just because they can't stay out of Mama's kitchen.

Also, that 15.5" Crappie should have been in the 2 pound range, with a speculatory weight of about 2 pounds 3 oz.

Lets not go writing this stuff in stone now, but I'm just saying, like Matty "J" Dawg said above, the scale is either crunk, or the ruler is measuring in some foreign unit other then inches.

Hey, I don't make the rules!

[jimh874]

hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!! crunk! hahahahahaha.

jim

[Matt Johnson]

Gotta love UJ's sense of humor Nice to hear from you again buddy. I hope you're having a good summer and that the crappie fishing is getting a workout...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Pig_sticka]

The inches were right on. Most of the sunfish they caught were in the 10.5"-11.5" range I heard. I belive the scale they were using was at one of the older resorts they were staying at. We never carry scales just measure the fish. I would think that crappie would weight more than the 1lb 11oz. if it was on the same scale as the sunnies were weighed on. Either way they hit the bite pretty good up north, I wish I could have been up there to fish with them. Haven't been getting out much this year.

I enjoy reading alot of your posts Matt. I just wish I could get out a quarter the times you get out.

[Matt Johnson]

10.5-11.5 inch sunfish are awesome fish, no doubt about that. Congrats to your father on getting into those brutes! No matter the weight, they are still very nice fish...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[nofishfisherman]

I have had the good fortune to catch a Sunfish in the 2 lb range. I swore the scale was broken but it turned out to be almoste exactly two pounds, I had to estimate the lenght of fish at 12-13 inches or so. Massive fish, I have caught pike and bass that didn't put up the fight that this thing did.

[sloopjont]

Matt-

This is pigsticka's dad.

I'll try to send you a picture of my son's 15 1/2 inch crappie that he kept to mount. It was only weighed on a resorts digital Zebco de-liar scale so the weight seems too low. What address should I send it to?

thanks!

[Matt Johnson]

You can send it to the e-mail address in my signature...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[sloopjont]

Hi Matt!

You have mail

Sloopjont

[Matt Johnson]

Here's the picture of sloopjont's son (and Pig Sticka's lil' bro) with a monster crappie!...

Congrats to your son (and bro), that's a nice fish!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[united jigsticker]

To quote a great man, "If it doesn't weigh 2 pounds, we can always think it should have."

"If it doesn't measure...

nevermind

[Pig_sticka]

My brother caught just the opposite 2 days ago on a local spot, the crappie must have been a young of the year, at about 2 inches long

My dad and brother are up fishing again trying to beat out that monster crappie. Sounds like the fishing has been pretty good on the lakes they have tried so far, but the muskies aren't around yet.