What's more important? Weight or length

[Slyster]

So.... When it comes to braggin rights, and possible replicas etc.. what is more important.. Lbs or inches?

[bassNspear]

i believe its weight. And the reason that i say that is becuase everything that we do in the bass fihsing world is about lbs. IMO

[HUNTFISH69]

Definatley the weight. That's what thr tounraments are avout

[Central Bassman]

lbs, when you talk to guys from down south they dont talk about length they always ask about weight. I agree 100% with what Bass N Spear said also

[fischer69]

Ask your woman

[Slyster]

lol! I knew that one was coming!

[BassProAddict]

IMO it should be about length.Weight is situational IMO.A fish that gorged on food isn't carrying its own weight.Likewise with a pregnant mother-lunker.

[Superduty]

It's all about the lb's when your fishing for money! I've caught some really long skinny bass with large heads/mouths and no girth. A fish like this is not healthy and probably going to die soon. Definitely not a trophy in my book.

[Deitz Dittrich]

ok.. I am going to be the nerd in this post.. If I am fishing during a tournament... weight is king..

However.. when I catch a fish for fun.. its all about my own doing.. was the cast great, did I play the fish well... From there I really dont care I dont think as long as its a quality fish.

[grab the net]

weight for sure. I have caught some short stout fish, fish with shoulders that weighed a ton compared to a fish even a couple inches longer from a different lake. Funny how some lakes have fish that are just footballs and the next lakes bass characteristics are longer and more slender. But then again, if you catch one of those fish with a 5lb head and a 2.5lb body, I would tell my buds about it in inches. Depends on the situation.

[bassNspear]

i agree with you as well dietz. When i am just out fishing, its not about what im caughting, well alittle bit, but its all the other things that your really are not looking at in a tournament.

Thats a great point.

[Dan Brelje]

2 years ago i would have agreed with deitz being a nerd w/ his post. However, after fishing more seriously last year i would agree with his post. I like the fact of going to a spot you have never been too thinking there are fish there and actually catching them. And if those fish are quality it just adds to the enjoyment.

[Steve Eddicus]

 Originally Posted By: BassProAddict

IMO it should be about length.Weight is situational IMO.A fish that gorged on food isn't carrying its own weight.Likewise with a pregnant mother-lunker.

That's exactly why I think it should be about lb's. If it's over 13" it goes to the scale baby.

[zepman]

Comming from someone who doesn't fish tournaments and has never actually put a scale to a bass, I would fall into the length department. I've been chasing that elusive 23" momma for a couple of years now and when I catch her I won't care what she weighs either. Couple of quick photos and a nice long look and back in the water she'll go. A replica and a guesstimate on her weight will be good enough for me.

[Fluker]

I had to think about this one a bit first. The first thought that pops in my head was "who cares"? But I wasn't sure how to state that and make sense. Deitz I think did that for me. Normally, I'm just happy to ge out learning and as long as they are quality fish, I'm happy.

However, what about a "tropy". I'd have to say weight. The fish in my avatar was 22.5" in length, and 16.5" in girth. It weighed 7-6 on my scale both times I weighed it. (Couldn't believe my eyes the first time). I've always said I would have to catch one that was 8LBs (weight again) before I got a replica. After I release this fish I thought long and hard on it. I had set 8Lbs as my goal when I live back in Missouri. So I thought 7-6 was good enough for my first replica.

Now going back to what zepman said about 23".... I ran my fish's measurement through weight formula calculators on the internet. What a joke! There are tons of them out there and my fish weighed anywhere from 6.9 lbs to 8.2 lbs on each. So my first comment on only measuring a trophy is which weight do you use? I would have used the 8.2 of course, but would have never felt I really knew. The second comment is that I had a replica made of a 22.5" fish that was 7-6. I'f I'd have caught a skinny 23" fish that weighed 6-14, I"d have never had the replica made.

[EBass]

For tourneys - weight.

For pics - length.

Exception - I'm in a bass club where we have digital camera tourneys and everything is length with a pic on a measuring board, then bass is release thus no live well stress.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I havnt fished any Tourneys yet but I still think weight trumps length as far as trophies or bragging rights go.

When Im out fishing for the most part I only measure fish instead of putting them through more stress of weighing them. There are occasions where I look at true pig and am curious about the weight. I caught lots of bass last year 19-20.5" and didnt weigh a single fish.

[BigGrassBass]

For me it's not about how long the fish is or how much it weighs but rather how cool the pic looks. A great pic can make a 2lbr look like a 6lbr. Likewise a poor pic can make that 6lbr look like a 2lbr.

Like a few of you guys said, it's all about the situation. If I can skip my worm 30' under that dock and catch a fish, that's what it's all about!

[Fluker]

So what you're saying is it's not about weight or length of the fish, it's about how long your arms are? ;o) ha ha I'll second that!

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Fluker where's your stiff arm? That fish in your avatar could have been a state record!

[Fluker]

Ha ha. It was so cold that I could straighten my arm out!!! Err, I mean the fish was so heavy I couldn't straighten my arm out!

[BigGrassBass]

That's more like it!

There's a lot of guys on TV making a living telling us that 2lbr. is a 6 or 7!

[Fluker]

Or as Roland says... "That's a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 lber!"

[Stick in Mud]

I guess I prefer length because it is much more objective than weight. Yes, some guys carry accurate scales, but most (I assume) have a ruler, tape measure, or a sticker on the side of the boat that gives both an accurate and objective measure of the fish. Now obviously long fish can be skinny and short fish can be fat, but I have come to doubt most (almost all) fishermen's guesstimates when it comes to weight.

I also fish smallies more than largies, and I think most people grossly overestimate the weight of a smallmouth bass. I don't know how many times I've asked someone how big his fish was and he said 4 or 5 lbs, only to then ask how long and he said 17''.

So, for simplicity's sake, I say length!

[Deitz Dittrich]

part of the problem with length... People dont measure the same... The exact same fish can be easily 1-2" different depending on who measure is.. mouth open, mouth closed.. with a tape measure or bump board? I think scales are more accurate than measurements.