Digital Scale

[Cudz]

People really need to pony-up and get a digital scale to weigh their fish.

 

And no, I will not buy you one.

 

Done my rant.

enough said

[purekgw]

i agree

[hoot33]

I may be the worst offender here lol

[Lunatic]

People really need to pony-up and get a digital scale to weigh their fish.

 

And no, I will not buy you one.

 

Done my rant.

enough said

And then we can just accuse them of putting lead in the fish.

[solopaddler]

People really need to pony-up and get a digital scale to weigh their fish.

 

And no, I will not buy you one.

 

Done my rant.

enough said

 

Why? I've got 2 of them and they're never used.

[singingdog]

I agree.....IF it's important for someone to have their posted weights taken seriously. Spring scales are notoriously inaccurate....more so the older they are. I don't know how many folks locally have told me about the 18" LMouth they caught off the dock that weighed "7 lbs easy"

 

If you don't want to fork out for a digital scale, I believe that length/girth measurements are the next best thing.

[craigdritchie]

Spring scales are notoriously inaccurate....

 

I have news for you, the vast majority of the digital scales out there are no better.

 

It is important to understand that when we're talking about fish scales, the term "digital scale" simply means the weight is displayed as numerals on an LCD panel instead of by a needle going up and down a little index or around a dial, and has nothing to do with how the weight is actually calculated. In fact, many "digital" fish scales still use the same type of internal mechanism to determine the weight of the fish that we first saw 50 years ago on the old Zebco De-Liar. In other words, some sort of cheap spring mechanism. They just display it on an LCD (i.e. digital) display. Hence, digital scale.

 

At Real Fishing we once weighed a five pound weight with a bunch of different digital scales and spring scales. None of them were right. We even gathered up three identical digital scales - all the same make and model - and all three gave different weights. Precision? Pffft.

 

Tackle manufacturers love digital scales because they are one of the biggest profit grabbers out there. Made in China, 50 cents worth of parts, $44.95 retail price. And people line up to buy them. Talk about money for nothing.

 

Bottom line is, if you want an accurate weight you need a very high quality scale, and those cost serious money. One of the best (Chatillon) is a traditional spring scale that shows the weight with a metal pin, not an LCD panel. You can have it IGFA-certified. Of course, they start at about $100 and go up to about $180 depending on size. Cost for IGFA certification is, of course, extra. Or you can get a Boga Grip - another $100 to $150 spring scale that can also be IGFA-certified.

[MCTFisher9120]

Meh, my little Rapala digi seems to be correct almost all of the time. I am starting to get good at guessing fish weights now also lol. Take your digital and weigh something that is a pound or two and of it shows up as the same reading then your set.

[Roy]

I'm sorry but unless you're buying your fish by the pound, I see no use in weighing a fish. You caught a nice fish, you had a wonderful outing.....what else is there?

Most are hellbent on CPR, Catch, photo and release. So now it should be catch, measure length, girth, weigh, photograph then release?

Folks show pics of fish with the bait still in their mouth (usually for the sponsor's benefit). Due diligence to me would be to get that bait out of there first, then if the fish is still strong....take a pic.

 

Maybe I'm just getting old eh?

[dheitzner]

I have news for you, the vast majority of the digital scales out there are no better.

 

It is important to understand that when we're talking about fish scales, the term "digital scale" simply means the weight is displayed as numerals on an LCD panel instead of by a needle going up and down a little index or around a dial, and has nothing to do with how the weight is actually calculated. In fact, many "digital" fish scales still use the same type of internal mechanism to determine the weight of the fish that we first saw 50 years ago on the old Zebco De-Liar. In other words, some sort of cheap spring mechanism. They just display it on an LCD (i.e. digital) display. Hence, digital scale.

 

At Real Fishing we once weighed a five pound weight with a bunch of different digital scales and spring scales. None of them were right. We even gathered up three identical digital scales - all the same make and model - and all three gave different weights. Precision? Pffft.

 

Tackle manufacturers love digital scales because they are one of the biggest profit grabbers out there. Made in China, 50 cents worth of parts, $44.95 retail price. And people line up to buy them. Talk about money for nothing.

 

Bottom line is, if you want an accurate weight you need a very high quality scale, and those cost serious money. One of the best (Chatillon) is a traditional spring scale that shows the weight with a metal pin, not an LCD panel. You can have it IGFA-certified. Of course, they start at about $100 and go up to about $180 depending on size. Cost for IGFA certification is, of course, extra. Or you can get a Boga Grip - another $100 to $150 spring scale that can also be IGFA-certified.

 

Well said Craig, I couldn't agree more.

Darcy

[cranks bait]

I have one but never use it. The batteries go dead between fish that are worth weighing?

[LucG]

I wish this thread would have appeared one day earlier....I just forked out $30 and bought one last night .. lol

[MJL]

I have news for you, the vast majority of the digital scales out there are no better.

 

Agreed. I remember fishing a carp tournament one year and the digital scales, even of the same brand and model, weighed differently when we had to check them before the start. Some were off by just over a pound. The spring scales that some of the anglers brought with them were more accurate on average – They were high-end spring scales though not readily available in North America. I found out my digital scale has been weighing 4oz too light for all these years

 

In Europe and the UK, the gold standard scale to use are made by Reuben Heaten (spring scale). They are used in a lot of the carp and match fishing tournaments. The last few world record carp have been weighed and verified on a set. For my own recreational, pleasure fishing, my 50lb Berkley digital (when combined with a dampened weigh sling for bigger fish or shopping bag for small fish – I hate weighing fish by the gills) gives me a good enough ball-park estimate of how heavy a fish is that I might want to know the weight of (I just subtract the weight of the sling at the end). I've caught thousands of carp and steelhead over the years that I really don't weigh very many unless they're approaching Leviathan status

[BillM]

I bought one and it never worked..

 

I use a good ole manual scale, it's been pretty good so far...

 

I've also started to take lengths of fish a lot more then weighing them (Except when I'm out with Mike and he is catching monsters, lol)

 

Roy, you aren't getting older, you are just becoming wiser

 

We did the same up in Nipigon.. Leave the fish in the net, pop the hook, if it seemed ok a few pics then off they went back in the drink.

Edited September 10, 2009 by BillM

[craigdritchie]

I'm sorry but unless you're buying your fish by the pound, I see no use in weighing a fish. You caught a nice fish, you had a wonderful outing.....what else is there?

 

Couldn't agree with you more, Roy. Well said.

[charlesn]

Bottom line is, if you want an accurate weight you need a very high quality scale, and those cost serious money. One of the best (Chatillon) is a traditional spring scale that shows the weight with a metal pin, not an LCD panel. You can have it IGFA-certified. Of course, they start at about $100 and go up to about $180 depending on size. Cost for IGFA certification is, of course, extra. Or you can get a Boga Grip - another $100 to $150 spring scale that can also be IGFA-certified.

 

A lot of the tourney guys use Chatillion scales now. The precision and accuracy is amazing. The 6 lb scale goes to the oz and is bang on with the calibrated weigh-in scales. In fact, they are so bang on and accurate, that when they are off, it is the weigh-in scale that is usually assumed to be off.

 

They are $66 US a pop, but most guys I know have at least 1 and some have a spare.

 

I have had Berkley, Rapala and X-Tools scales, including the 50+ models and all of them were next to useless as you could weigh the same fish three different times and get three different weights. With the Chatillion it is always bang on.

 

Charles

[charlesn]

I'm sorry but unless you're buying your fish by the pound, I see no use in weighing a fish. You caught a nice fish, you had a wonderful outing.....what else is there?

 

I wish my fellow competitors in a tournament would feel the same way and give me my entry fee back at the end of a day.

 

hahaha

 

Can't speak for all, but for most of us tourney nuts, every oz. makes a difference and there are some fish that look heavy but weigh hollow and vice versa, so without the scale, you'd be guessing and guessing wrong by an oz could mean the difference between winning and losing. Even when only pride is on the line, nobody wants to be a loser.

[Roy]

I understand, Charles. Your's is a different kettle of fish... as it were.

[dada2727]

I have the rapalo digi scale that goes to 50 lbs and its dead accurate. I test it out every so often and its never more than an ounce out. even if it was a couple ounces out once in a while, who cares? I use it for my small tournaments that I do and as long as they're all getting weighed on the same scale it doesn't matter if it's out a couple ounces, which it's never been. Don't we all just round to the nearest quarter pound anyways? And if your worried about accurate weights for culling in a tournament, get a culling beam, nothing is more accurate and they're only $15.

Edited September 10, 2009 by Daryl Cameron

[richyb]

I know my berkley digital scale approx. 1 pound light at 20 pounds. Found that out while weighing a turkey and then taking it for a contest and having it weighed on a certified scale.

[Greencoachdog]

I'm sorry but unless you're buying your fish by the pound, I see no use in weighing a fish. You caught a nice fish, you had a wonderful outing.....what else is there?

Most are hellbent on CPR, Catch, photo and release. So now it should be catch, measure length, girth, weigh, photograph then release?

Folks show pics of fish with the bait still in their mouth (usually for the sponsor's benefit). Due diligence to me would be to get that bait out of there first, then if the fish is still strong....take a pic.

 

Maybe I'm just getting old eh?

 

 

I agree on all counts!

 

Weighing fish is so yesteryear!

 

A measurement in inches and a pic is a lot better to me.

 

I do have a digital scale that I sometimes weigh my really large fish with, but I don't post their weights in my report... it's better to let folks guess, seems like they always guess heavier than the actual weight if it's a substantial fish!

[JPD]

Bottom line is, if you want an accurate weight you need a very high quality scale, and those cost serious money. One of the best (Chatillon) is a traditional spring scale that shows the weight with a metal pin, not an LCD panel.

 

Truer words have never been spoken! I'm like Charles with the weighing but I have also been running a Chatillion for the last 3 years and have never been more than .2 lbs off on my entire bag of fish! They work out to $80 Canadian by the time they get here but you will never have to buy batteries, never worry about getting them wet and best of all never have to guess how big the fish actually is.

 

Mine looks like a dog has used it for a chew toy and still works perfectly... sold brass and well designed. I have a 50 pounder for Carp and Salmon, a 10 for mid sized fish and my tournament one is the 6 lb version which measures in 1 ounce increments...if I'm culling 6 pounders I'm pretty sure I'm going to win that event!

 

Best money I ever spent!

JP

[johnnyb]

My fishing buddy STILL refuses to believe that his PB Musky is only 14lbs...he keeps tellign me my digital scale is wrong...which it probably is...but it's the scale that's in the boat, so what it says goes! Now I remember the length...weights are just a generality

 

Just read JP's post about the Chatillon....once again, you get what you pay for...I know what I just added to my Christmas list

Edited September 10, 2009 by johnnyb

[Cudz]

Why? I've got 2 of them and they're never used.

True, but you don't post weights either

 

I'm sorry but unless you're buying your fish by the pound, I see no use in weighing a fish. You caught a nice fish, you had a wonderful outing.....what else is there?

Most are hellbent on CPR, Catch, photo and release. So now it should be catch, measure length, girth, weigh, photograph then release?

Folks show pics of fish with the bait still in their mouth (usually for the sponsor's benefit). Due diligence to me would be to get that bait out of there first, then if the fish is still strong....take a pic.

 

Maybe I'm just getting old eh?

I agree with the measurement thing but if you start posting weights it shouldn't be a radom guess. I am pretty good at guessing fish weights and I bet I don't miss them by more than 5% but I do use a scale.

 

Don't know what kind of digital scales you guys are using but mine is pretty accurate.

 

I guess my point is that if you want to post the weight of a fish then have a scale. If you want to post the length of a fish have a tape measure. If you just want to post a thread saying you caught a big fish you need neither scale or tape. I guess I just don't like guessing.

 

It might be old to weigh fish but most tournament and records are kept by doing so.

[Devious]

I have news for you, the vast majority of the digital scales out there are no better.

 

It is important to understand that when we're talking about fish scales, the term "digital scale" simply means the weight is displayed as numerals on an LCD panel instead of by a needle going up and down a little index or around a dial, and has nothing to do with how the weight is actually calculated. In fact, many "digital" fish scales still use the same type of internal mechanism to determine the weight of the fish that we first saw 50 years ago on the old Zebco De-Liar. In other words, some sort of cheap spring mechanism. They just display it on an LCD (i.e. digital) display. Hence, digital scale.

 

At Real Fishing we once weighed a five pound weight with a bunch of different digital scales and spring scales. None of them were right. We even gathered up three identical digital scales - all the same make and model - and all three gave different weights. Precision? Pffft.

 

Tackle manufacturers love digital scales because they are one of the biggest profit grabbers out there. Made in China, 50 cents worth of parts, $44.95 retail price. And people line up to buy them. Talk about money for nothing.

 

Bottom line is, if you want an accurate weight you need a very high quality scale, and those cost serious money. One of the best (Chatillon) is a traditional spring scale that shows the weight with a metal pin, not an LCD panel. You can have it IGFA-certified. Of course, they start at about $100 and go up to about $180 depending on size. Cost for IGFA certification is, of course, extra. Or you can get a Boga Grip - another $100 to $150 spring scale that can also be IGFA-certified.

 

I disagree....I got my rapala scale for $20 and have weighed numerous weights to check for accuracy and its usually bang on and if not close to within 1 oz......