5/16/2008

Why Wait for Weight?

Find out the weight and size of your catch without the need of a scale

Timothy Kusherets

Here's a great looking steelhead that tail-walked and thrashed above the surface for most of the battle that it took to land him.
The correct way to measure any fish for International Game and Fish Association (I.G.F. A.) rules is from the middle of the tail in the fork to the tip of the nose, as illustrated in this photo. Use the length and width to figure out the weight of the fish, which is a great alternative to carrying around a scale all day.

Here are "three" great ways to measure size and weights of fish without the need of a scale. Calculate the size of this fish with the formula: length times girth squared, divided by eight hundred e.g. 33” x 21” x 21” /800 = 18.191 pounds. Anglers who don’t have a measuring device can use dollars for size comparison with photographs for later calculations. A dollar is almost exactly six inches long; take a photograph with the dollar bill in the same frame to get a near exact idea of how big the fish is.
Fishing Rods can be pre-measured and marked for size comparison prior to release of fish back to the water. The best way to mark off a rod is to measure the butt of it to the seat of the reel; this lenght is enough for any size and species of fish to get an accurate representation of the length and width of the fish.
Measure the length of one of your arms and then memorize it to figure out how large a fish is while in the field; doing it this way is a fine alternative to carrying around a measuring tape, and is also a great way to measure off leader lengths as river and lake levels change.