Measure or Weigh, What do you prefer ?

A few friends of mine who are Pikers say i am old fashioned, Because i still Weigh my fish, But apparently you can get the weight just by useing a tape, There is a chart That tells you How heavy a Pike is by the length of the fish from mouth to tail, I have tried it in the past And i dont think its that accurate, Summer Pike are Heavyer Than winter Pike of the same length, What do you prefer to do, Measure or Weigh, Or even both

I must be old fashioned as I always weigh fish. Never been interested in measuring length and girth. When I catch a fifty pound pike the BRFC will want to know which set of scales I used and not which tape measure.

Andy

That is a very good point Andy,

definately weigh - too many variables in measuring length

I just measure them, without the correct material weighing the pike can be fatal for the fish, I don´t have the correct tools so I prefer that system.

Esox Fever wrote:I just measure them, without the correct material weighing the pike can be fatal for the fish, I don´t have the correct tools so I prefer that system.

hi Andoni, Do you have a scale that tells you how heavy the Pike should be for the length And is there a Summer weight scale and a winter weight scale

I prefer to weigh (if I have remembered my scales) rather than measure length. The thing is, a river fish at 12lbs can be 40" long & a Pit fish of that weight 35" long..

weigh everytime only if the fish is in my guess 20lb plus you cant get the weight of a fish by its length i once caught a 17lb pike that was as thin as a pencil 4 weeks later it came out again the guy measured its length and it was 45 inches

Thanks Bazz for the info, And to you essox_lucius1, Its a strange thing this measuring of fish, None of the pikers weigh every Pike, But if you had caught specimin fish, The first thing the authorities check are your scales, But If i said to Gordy Burton i have had a Pike 47" long, He can tell me strait away the weight of that pike, And he could be a couple of ounces either way, Just amazes me, But then again he probably knows every Pike in our waters by name haha

this may be of use then

http://www.pacgb.co.uk/aboutpike/weightforlength.html

PAC as ever coming up with the stuff you need, who'd have thought it

This is one such table, A better picture of this is HERE

Length
(inches) Probable
common
variations
(pounds) Average of
probable
common variations
(pounds) Probable
mean
weight
(pounds) Extreme
expectation
of weight
(pounds)
39 16.5 to 24.5 20.5 22 27
40 18 to 28.5 23.25 24.5 32.75
41 19 to 31.5 25.25 27.25 36
42 20.5 to 34 27.25 29.5 39
43 21.5 to 36.5 29 32.25 41.25
44 23 to 39 31 34.5 43.75
45 24.5 to 41.5 33 37 46
46 26 - 44 35 39.5 48.5
47 27.75 - 46.25 37 42 50.75
48 29.5 to 48.75 39.125 44.5 53.25
49 32.5 to 51.25 41.875 47 55.5
50 33.75 to 53.75 43.75 49.5 58
51 36 to 56.25 46.125 53 60.25
52 38.5 to 58.75 48.625 54.5 62.75
53 41 to 61 51 56.75 65



The table above is based on that compiled by Fred Buller to cover a range of possible condition variations. Length measurements are tip of snout to fork of tail. To convert extreme length (snout to tip of tail) to fork length divide by 1.055. To convert fork length to extreme length multiply by 1.055.HERE

Sorry noodle i must have been typing my last post when you had posted yours,

I do both... I measure them all (it's v quick), and only weight them if they measure more than 70cm. I come from continental Europe and people there tend to measure pike more I think - but at the end of the day we all agree that weight is what matters for specimen fish.

I've kept records and created my own chart of lengths and weights (sad or what???). Got about 140 data points in it, up to only 9.5kg (21lb) sadly . And yes, it varies quite a bit, we've all caught the odd pencil-thin fish who is probably diseased or else very bad at finding its food. But on the chart you can see the trend pretty well, I'd say it's something like
60 cm = 1.4kg
70cm = 2.5kg
80cm = 4kg
90cm = 6kg - 13lb, but I've had as low as 9 and as high as almost 16
100cm = 9kg

Forgive the metric units!
Olly

Great reply Olly, And thanks for the measurments I think this year i will measure & weigh the pike of every size, Just to see how accurate a chart can be Must be somthing in it, As most Pikers have not slagged it off, But prefer to weigh the bigger fish for the more accurate weight

Bazz wrote:I prefer to weigh (if I have remembered my scales) rather than measure length. The thing is, a river fish at 12lbs can be 40" long & a Pit fish of that weight 35" long..

35" = 12lb
try trout water pike,
my first 20+ pike from a trout water was only 36"

There is nodoubt that trout water pike grows bigger, fatter and stronger. The fatty meat of the trout is a really good item in pike diet. Fishing in the tundra lakes of Lapland, where both species are cohabiting in many spots but not all, you can see that the medium groth of both, not only pike, is much higer than in waters where truot and pike are not neighbours.

In a well balancen ecosystem is one of the best combination possible, pike has a perfect fatty complement in its diet, and the genetic quality of the trourt is improved by the pike predation over those weak, sick, or wee fishes.

As Bazz and Andoni have said, The trout water pike is commonly of a bigger size, I think it is a Mixture of trout in the same water as pike for quality food, To allow Pike to put on good weight, But also one of the best things for Pike is neglect, All low stressed pike in lakes or rivers will most sertainly grow to greater sizes,

paddy pike wrote:This is one such table, A better picture of this is HERE

Length
(inches) Probable
common
variations
(pounds) Average of
probable
common variations
(pounds) Probable
mean
weight
(pounds) Extreme
expectation
of weight
(pounds)
39 16.5 to 24.5 20.5 22 27
40 18 to 28.5 23.25 24.5 32.75
41 19 to 31.5 25.25 27.25 36
42 20.5 to 34 27.25 29.5 39
43 21.5 to 36.5 29 32.25 41.25
44 23 to 39 31 34.5 43.75
45 24.5 to 41.5 33 37 46
46 26 - 44 35 39.5 48.5
47 27.75 - 46.25 37 42 50.75
48 29.5 to 48.75 39.125 44.5 53.25
49 32.5 to 51.25 41.875 47 55.5
50 33.75 to 53.75 43.75 49.5 58
51 36 to 56.25 46.125 53 60.25
52 38.5 to 58.75 48.625 54.5 62.75
53 41 to 61 51 56.75 65



The table above is based on that compiled by Fred Buller to cover a range of possible condition variations. Length measurements are tip of snout to fork of tail. To convert extreme length (snout to tip of tail) to fork length divide by 1.055. To convert fork length to extreme length multiply by 1.055.HERE

jesus

Just click where it says HERE, On that post

paddy pike wrote: Just click where it says HERE, On that post

are you like me paddy if it looks over twenty i will weight it not being blarsei here

Nooooooooo If it looks over at me i'll weigh it haha

paddy pike wrote: Nooooooooo If it looks over at me i'll weigh it haha

what you like paddy

Well there are not many over 20Lb in our local waters, So if i weigh them or guestimate the weight this will be because they look over 10Lb, If i actualy weigh a pike it will be because it is going on my blog, But normaly it depends how long the Pike is out of the water, If i think its been out long enough, then i dont bother weighing it or taking pictures at all

i normally weigh pike if they look to be over 10lb but otherwise i wont normally bother... the only exception to this being if i've took a newbie to piking with me and its them that have caught the fish i.e. it may be a new best for them

I'll stick to weighing them. I'd rather have a short, stout 20lber, than a long, emaciated 16lber.

....Andy....