Size Matters

Like me it seems many of you are bemused with reports and pictures in fishing publications with anglers holding up fish reported to be 50lbs plus held at full arms length?

Unless you’re built like a gorilla and been pumping weights for years the chances are you’ll struggle to keep 30lbs plus in front of you at arms length for more than a few seconds. Shots of rays, bass and pollack also seem to be, shall we say, less reliable and look small compared to the angler for their quoted size.

I recently caught and weighed a 38lb cod and struggled to lift it up vertically never mind horizontally and no way could I push it away from my body for more than a couple of seconds, and I’m no lightweight.

I think the anglers, and in some cases charter skippers, are not weighing the fish and are just guessing weights ad lib and getting it way wrong. I don’t think, at least I hope not, that it’s a deliberate attempt to deceive people. You can’t blame the mags and newspapers either as they can only report the facts they are given.

Inevitably though, the anglers that mistake the true weight of their own caught fish are just deceiving themselves which is the ultimate deception. Anglers with big fish experience can tell at a glance that the fish in the photo is nowhere near its quoted weight. In fact recent shots of tope I’ve seen look like 35lbs fish in comparison to the angler holding it but quoted as 50lb fish. Rays and bass often look small for the size given too. Sorry guys, it doesn’t wash!

Average sized sea fish can easily be weighed in mesh bags or slings to give an accurate weight before release. Even aboard moving boats the same applies and at least you have a weight reading between the lowest and highest shown weight to gauge the weight accurately enough for Personal Best’s and to quote in catch report pictures with a good degree of honesty.

The capture of a big fish is a special experience and a memory for life, so let’s not spoil it by giving inaccurate descriptions that are obviously just plain guess work!