FISHING SCALE

[Guest]

HEY GUY'S
I'VE BEEN READING THIS FORUM FOR A COUPLE OF MONTH'S NOW, AND NOTICED, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT FISH WEIGHT, YOU USE A LOT OF ACCURACY,
I NOW IN TOURNEY'S THEY HAVE THOSE FANCY SCALES WITH THE BIG RED NUMBER'S ON THEM,
DO THEY SELL A DIGATAL HAND HELD SCALE THAT I'M UNAWARE OF,ALL I HAVE IS ONE OF THOSE OLD ZEBCO DEAL'S WITH THE TAPE MEASURE BUILD IN IT. SORTA HARD TO TELL THE OUNCES ON IT,

THANK'S CAL

[Guest]

There are a few digital scales on the market. Berkely makes a couple different models and I've seen others but can't recall the names. I own a berkely scale and it is pretty accurate. It will give a good reading on the ounces.
Good Fishing, Matt.

[Guest]

A top quality spring scale is still the best bet for anglers. It will give you a close enough weight to decide whether to get to a certified scale, or to continue fishing.

After buying two hand-held digitals, I've given up on them. They bounce all over the map.

For general purposes, a length to weight ratio chart works well. Simply measure the length of the fish, release it, check the chart, tell the fish stories.

[hunt4food]

I have a digital scale that I am pretty happy with. I am pretty sure it is made by Stren. I have had it for three years now and it is still running the same 9 volt battery. I use it mostly for ice fishing but occasionally in the summer. I would buy again.

[ricbak]

I would have to agrea with clayton on this one, a more $$ spring scale will give you a more accurat weight, i had one of those scales with the tape on it & after awhile seems the spring was kinda sticky from moisture, i do have a berkley digital scale now & seems to work pretty good for me.

[TNT4ME]

HI CAL,the old scale you are referring to could be the DELIAR, and like the others said when they are new they work ok, but later they get sticky and only give an idea on weight.I have had a Normark digital for years and am very pleased with the way it works. A buddy has a Berkley and have fished side by side with him and both units are very close on weights. The only problems I have seen is with fish moving when trying to weigh them. If you want go to a store and check them out for yourself. Bring in an object or several of different weights that you know the exact weight of and check and see how close the different units are.I would but another if this one gives out.

[Guest]

I also have a Berkley scale, but it reads in tenths of a pound. It is accurate but I agree that a nice certified spring scale seems more accurate...especially during a derby....

[Guest]

THANX FOR THE TIP'S FOLK'S, GOING TO DEVIL'S LAKE ON THE 10TH, BEEN SHOPPING ALL WEEK FOR STUFF, A SCALE IS ABOUT THE ONLY THING I HAVEN'T BOUGHT YET..BESIDES A GOOD LAWYER FOR THE DIVORCE..YUK YUK ..
HEY KEVIN LOOK FOR ME I;LL BE THE GUY WITH THE NEW SCALE....

CAL

[Guest]

Three new scales last season, broke 2 in 2 days.

So, I spent the $$$ for a heavy-duty brass saltwater scale, that one in now on the bottom of the Red River.

I have a 50# cheaply built brass scale with its guts hanging out of it up on my wall, as a trophy. It just couldn't take the punishment and the twisting of a bunch of piggy cats.

I recommend going with a scare with a heavy ball chain, not a straight clip.

The new Normark digital is built very well and can store weights to keep a guy fairly honest. It turns itself off too; a good feature or you burn up the batteries fast.

If anyone has a good scale they need to field test, send one my way, I'll give it a go.

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Backwater Eddy.......><,sUMo,>

Backwater Guiding
Ed Carlson
(701)-281-2300

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[icemaster]

Hey Cal, get yourself a normark digital scale. They come in 5, 10 15 and, 50 pound models.They tell weight digitally in pounds and ounces. I have the 15 pound model and have found it to be very accurate.
Good fishin, Icemaster

[Guest]

Ok, let me help you out. I own 5 different digital scales. I fish tourneys, and always weigh everything I catch. I have the Berkley 50 pound, and the smaller Berkley 20 pound scale. Both of these scales are dead on, although they weigh in tenths, not ounces. So you need to do some figuring, to get your exact weight. Each tenth is 1.6 ounces, so if you have a weight of 3.6 pounds that is actually 3 pounds 9.6 ounces. I also have the Normark 15 pound scale. ***HERE IS MY HELP*** WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT BUY THE NORMARK SCALE, THE 15 POUND ONE, OR THE 50 POUND ONE. Those scales are absolute junk; I had the old one with the switch on the side, that one worked great, until I dropped it in the live well. I got a new one, and it was over-weighing everything. 2 pounds was weighing like 8 ounces heavy. 10 pounds was weighing like a pound heavy. So I sent it back, they sent me TWO new ones, and both of them weighed the same, totally inaccurate pieces of junk. My friend had the 50 pound one, and it was even worse, like 8 ounces worse than my 15-pound model. Ok, now I also have the Stren 50 pound scale, this one is the best one I have used. I have had it for three years, and it is dead on accurate, to the ounce. I need to say, I know these scales are accurate, or not accurate, by using a certified scale as reference. My buddy works at a local bait shop, and they have a very expensive certified scale, that they send in every month, to check it's accuracy and recertify it. With that said the Stren scale was dead on to the ounce, so were the two Berkley scales, (after you figure the tenths to ounces), the Normark was junk, all three of them, so far off it was pathetic. This year, I bought the new 50 pound Rapala Pro Guide digital scale, the more expensive one, like $30.00, not the $18.00 one. So far I have not tested it with the certified scale, but it seems to weigh the same as my Stren scale. Plus it has a backlight, 10 fish memory, and big fish memory. I am pleased with it thus far, but have not used it in the field. So my recommendation would be to go with the Stren, or the Rapala, they both are like $30.00. One last note, the Berkley 50 pound scale is nice because it is waterproof, has a lithium battery, and floats. It is just as accurate, if you can deal with converting tenths to ounces. Well, I know this is really long, sorry for rambling on, but I hope this helps. Post if you have any other questions.

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<<<BigBassFreak: The Man Of A Million Casts, and that still isn't enough, KEEP CASTING>>>

[Guest]

The new Rapala scale was the one I was thinking of, Normark owns Rapala, but they are distinctly different scales. The Rapala 50# model was by far the best value even at the higher price.

I can manage to waist a brass heavy-duty scale fairly quickly. So an electronic one may not stand much of a chance either, rain or shine.

The best scale I have used was completely waterproof, had multi point averaging with electronic stabilizing, a species data log, and even in waves it read 100% accurate. Very cool unit!

We used them at the Cats on the Red Cats Classic tournament in Canada (100% C&R Event) but I do not know the name of the Co. off hand.

They ran about $250 Canadian funds each and came from a Canadian electronics firm in Winnipeg. With one phone call I could find out where to find them if anyone has a wad of cash burning a hole in their pocket. With the US/Canadian exchange rate difference they would run about $190 US funds +/-.

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Backwater Eddy.......><,sUMo,>

Backwater Guiding
Ed Carlson
(701)-281-2300

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[Guest]

I would recommend a good spring scale. I bought one from Cabelas 10 years ago that still is great. In fact I measured a state record fish on it in the boat, had it re-weighed on shore and it was right on.

It is gold in color.

I have used the stren scale and it is pain in the arse to get it to zero out and get up and running quickly when you want to get a quick weight and the fish back in the water ASAP.

The read out button stay at the weight and will not slide back when you take the fish off to get her back into the water. You can read the weight after the dust has cleared. When the fish shakes her head you can just slide the button up to wear the springs have bottomed out and get an acurate measurement with out all the electronic back and forth who ah readout.

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Kevin Neve's Devils Lake Guide Service
fishingminnesota.com/kevin-neve-guiding/
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 701-473-5411 or 701-351-4989
Minnewaukan ND

[fishfearme]

Bibbassfreak, why does that scale your buddy has get certified every month? And he sends it out. Come on now, Thats not how it works. Stren scale is pretty accurate and the new normarks are nice, but dead on! I don't think so. Just my opinion.

[Guest]

Kevin do you know what brand scale that is and does it have a swivel ball chain?

Was it the Chatillon percision by chance?

Thanks,

Ed

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Backwater Eddy.......><,sUMo,>

Backwater Guiding
Ed Carlson
(701)-281-2300

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[fishfearme]

Hey man first things first. Scales are not sent out to check accuracy. The dept. of weights and measures will come to your place of business and certify any scale that needs certification. This is good for a whole calendar year. Its not free either. It costs about $100 get each scale certified. His scale must not be certified by the state of Minnesota. Sounds far fetched and anal to me. I did't mean to snap at you, but it just sounded like a bunch of talk.
ffm

[Guest]

First off, weather a scale is 100% dead on the arse accurate shouldn't matter. If a fish weighs 8.2 or 7.9 who cares! If you are using it to cull fish shame. In a tourney, the official weigh in scale is the only one that counts and your on board scale will only give you the relative weight between the individual fish in your own boat which is all you need to know until you step up to the weighmasters scale. Measure em with a tape measure and get em back in the water alive. Convert that with one of the many lenght to weight conversion charts available in publications and on the market.

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Kevin Neve's Devils Lake Guide Service
fishingminnesota.com/kevin-neve-guiding/
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 701-473-5411 or 701-351-4989
Minnewaukan ND

[Guest]

Eddy I don't see the scale in my Cabelas catalog any more. I believe it was made my Chatillon for Cabelas. It looks a lot like the Shimano scale with the straight hook. I think I paid $29 for it 10 years ago. In my opinion, as with anything, you get what you pay for. I'd by the Chatillon and use it for twenty years.

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Kevin Neve's Devils Lake Guide Service
fishingminnesota.com/kevin-neve-guiding/
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 701-473-5411 or 701-351-4989
Minnewaukan ND

[Guest]

The Chatillon is a very good spring scale and well worth the bucks.

The one that ended up on the bottom of the Red last fall was a Chatillon, a slippery bugger, but it was a great scale.

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Backwater Eddy.......><,sUMo,>

Backwater Guiding
Ed Carlson
(701)-281-2300

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[Guest]

To fishfearme: First of all, you don't know what you are talking about. Second of all, the Stren scale that I personally own is DEAD ON ACCURATE, with a certified scale. You’re right, I don’t know if all Stren scales are as accurate as mine. In fact, they probably aren’t. It isn't my friend's scale, it's the scale at the bait shop, and yes during the summer, they send it in every month to check its accuracy. Well, now that I think about it, it might not be dead on accurate. My scale weighed a test weight at 5 pounds 7 ounces. The certified scale weighed it at 5 pounds 6.75 ounces, so it was off by a quarter of an ounce. The reason I even brought it in, to check it in the first place, was because I thought it was under weighing fish. I caught a Bass that was 21-1/8 inches long, and it only weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces. Now that same bass, on my Normark scale, would have weighed like 5 and a half pounds. The fish was kind of skinny, but it still seemed bigger than that. Goes to show you that measuring fish for weight, is not always very accurate either. I'm sorry for snapping at you, but I felt you snapped at me, so I had to reply. I apologize in advance.

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<<<BigBassFreak: The Man Of A Million Casts, and that still isn't enough, KEEP CASTING>>>

[Guest]

To fishfearme: Ok I am sorry. What a headache, all I wanted to do was help out a fellow fisherman, and this is what I get. Far fetched and anal, Christ! I’m sorry, but I don't work in a bait shop, and didn't know that someone comes to "the place of business", and certifies your scale for you. When I went in, he said we just got the scale in this last week. I then asked him if it was certified, and he said yes. He also said that, during the summer, they get it checked, like once a month. Remember this was just a one-time conversation, like eight months ago. It’s not like I even remember everything he said. I just assumed that they send it in every month. I spent all day trying to get a hold of him, to get the story straight. So I was wrong, they don't send it out. What actually happened was they just got that scale (new) and had it certified. Well turns out YOU WERE RIGHT, they don't send it out; they have someone come to the shop and certify it for them. I don't know who does it, but it’s probably who you say it is. By the way, what is the big deal? I was just trying to make the point that the Stren and Berkley scales, in my experience, and opinion, were better, and more accurate than the Normark scale. Why would I waste my time writing up a reply if I was just going to make up some talk story? I felt I had some insight, and I just wanted to share it. I didn’t think I was on trial, and needed to research the many intricacies of scale certifying. So can we just end this silly little argument and start talking about fishing?