Weight Or Length? How To Measure Your Fish Catch

Whether you weigh or measure your catch depends on how hard or easy it is to handle that fish. I am a catch and release advocate so I try to get my catch back in the water as quickly as possible without handling it too much. I have learned over the years that some fish species such as bass are easier to handle and hardier than other fish such as trout that are slippery and delicate.

It Depends On The Fish

The ease of handling a bass and its hardiness allows you to weigh the fish nearly effortlessly without harming it. On the other hand, it’s much easier to lay a slippery, delicate trout on a measuring board or a yardstick to avoid squeezing the fish too hard or dropping it while trying to weigh it.

The mouth sizes of a bass and a trout is also a factor in deciding whether to measure or weigh your catch. A bass has a large mouth making it easier to insert a weigh scale into its mouth, whereas the opening for a trout’s mouth is smaller making it difficult to get a good grip with a weigh scale.

Bass anglers do have to measure some of their catches, especially when they are fishing on bodies of water with minimum length restrictions. Most places have between 12-15 inch minimum length regulations most tournament anglers measure their fish.

It Depends On The Derby

Most bass tournaments determine the order of finish with a weigh-in system; however, kayak bass tournaments mainly use a measuring system to determine the contestant standings.

Trout anglers have largely turned to measuring the length of their catches before releasing the fish. Various length-to-weight conversion tables are available on the internet to help trout and salmon anglers measure their catches and then estimate the weight of their released fish. Similar conversion tables are also available for bass anglers who might not have a weigh scale available but have a way to measure their fish.