Measuring fish

[melk]

Okay, I admit to maybe oversizing my fish in estimating length. What do you use to quickly and safely measure fish before release?
Thanks,
Mike

[Marco]

Very easy and seldom questioned. I usually measure carefully from the tip if the nose to the nearest tree and then divide by 3.1715.


Mark

[rainbowchaser]

Measure the length of your rods grip and the length from the end of the reel seat to the end of the grip. measure the end of your grip to the first guide or maybe to the hook holder. That should give you a pair of known distances, probably about 7 and 12 inches. You can use those numbers as a reference measure fish against your rod. Another useful length is the opening of your net and handle length. If you want to get a more accurate measurement try finding a pair of guides the right distance apart and measure the gap when you get home. Or you can just say it was nice fish and let it go at that.

[redietz]

I measure a couple of ways:

1) I've marked my net in inches as a ruler.
2) I know the distance between my thumb in pinky when my hand is fully outstretched to be 9 inches (this was standard measure back in the day call a "span".) I've measured this.
3) Add to the "span" inches measure by thumb: the top joint of the thumb is about an inch, and the full thumb about 2 (This where the expression "rule of thumb" comes from.)
4) My booted foot is about -- wait for it -- a foot long.
5) For larger fish, I lay the along my rod with the tail even with the butt, and mark where the nose is. After releasing the fish, I then measure the distance to the mark with the tape I carry on a zinger.

(I'll sometimes use more than one of those methods, just to quality control my measurement. They usually agree within a 1/2 inch.)

[bgreer]

I have a small tape measure that is attached by velcro to the handle of my net. It is attached right at the opening of the net.
The opening of my net is 18 inches long.
If I am fishing a rod that I have made, then there are likely trim wraps on the butt section set at certain distances.
If I feel like measuring a fish, I use what's handy and convenient at the time.

[ScottP]

Anything in double digits is "20-inch class" to me; cuts down on fish-gasping-for-water time. Anything smaller is aggregated into multiples of 24, as in "I caught a 24-inch trout, in 8-inch increments".

Regards,
Scott

[NJTroutbum]

I know the span of my net hoop and handle, as well as the span of my rod from butt to hook keeper.

[johnstoeckel]

I use a MeasureNet for larger fish -- http://measurefish.com/. The MeasureNet is a pretty good, inexpensive net, but also has a measurement system in the net bag. The Medium size will handle a pretty large trout. The net bag measurement accounts for the curvature of the fish in the net bag so that you get the equivalent of a straight line measurement without removing the fish from the net bag.

[bikebum]

Been using the MeasureNet for years and the newer rubberized bag is fish friendly. I got my first one because I couldn't afford a Brodin or other "good" net but now I have a hard time seeing why I would need to spend more and don't see any benefit of the more expensive nets other than fashion and Bent wood is real Pretty.

Bikebum

[spinner1]

inside dimensions of my nets are 15.5 inches by 19.5