Walleye weight vrs measurment

THEREAPER · #1 02-07-2015, 07:21 AM

Hi everyone. I was curious to see some feedback on measurement vrs weight of fish. I never used to measure my walleye i just took a weight. I see some people on the net people to catch a 13 pound walleye according to measurement when you can tell its about 7-8 pounds max. Is this how the tourneys work out west? Am i missing something?

huntsfurfish · #2 02-07-2015, 07:54 AM

SAWT uses length to determine weight.

Same for everyone. No problems.

Quick and easier on the fish.

THEREAPER · #3 02-07-2015, 08:05 AM

Roger 10-4!

Hunter Trav · #4 02-07-2015, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

SAWT uses length to determine weight.

Same for everyone. No problems.

Quick and easier on the fish.

Having run a "weigh boat" at a SAWT tourney I would disagree that its quicker and easier on the fish. Fish coming out of a good livewell are super feisty and its hard to get them to settle down and get a good measurement on them. Especially if the guys right over your shoulder saying "I saw more then that". This leads to the fish being handled more and having more slime come off of it which I'm sure isn't good for the fish. Not a lot different when they're being actually weighed, they come out of the live well into a basket, quickly weighed on the scale and then dumped back into the water. IMO this is much easier on the fish as they aren't being handled individually as much...

bobalong · #5 02-07-2015, 10:24 AM

I have fished in both weigh and measure tournaments and IMO measure tournaments are much faster. When in a measure tournament, there can be much less transporting of fish, which when the water is really rough, can be a factor.

Our measure tournament was on a fairly small lake, with only about 45 boats, and there was about 4 measure boats who continually paroled the lake. All the contestants were given flags, and if you wanted a fish measured you just waved your flag and the measure boat came right to you. There was also one measure station that never moved, so if you wanted to go there, you always had that option.

I will agree that fish can be really feisty, when coming out of a livewell, and in a weigh tournament the fish have to settle down also, before they can be weighed, so this time can be about the same depending on the fish. From my observation is also a bit easier to control a fish in a weigh tube, compared to a weigh tub.

huntsfurfish · #6 02-07-2015, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunter Trav

Having run a "weigh boat" at a SAWT tourney I would disagree that its quicker and easier on the fish. Fish coming out of a good livewell are super feisty and its hard to get them to settle down and get a good measurement on them. Especially if the guys right over your shoulder saying "I saw more then that". This leads to the fish being handled more and having more slime come off of it which I'm sure isn't good for the fish. Not a lot different when they're being actually weighed, they come out of the live well into a basket, quickly weighed on the scale and then dumped back into the water. IMO this is much easier on the fish as they aren't being handled individually as much...

I have also been in the weigh boats, and yes, it is better for the fish.

fishunt · #7 02-07-2015, 06:04 PM

length size /weight makes sure legal for that lake

Hunter Trav · #8 02-07-2015, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobalong

I have fished in both weigh and measure tournaments and IMO measure tournaments are much faster. When in a measure tournament, there can be much less transporting of fish, which when the water is really rough, can be a factor.

Our measure tournament was on a fairly small lake, with only about 45 boats, and there was about 4 measure boats who continually paroled the lake. All the contestants were given flags, and if you wanted a fish measured you just waved your flag and the measure boat came right to you. There was also one measure station that never moved, so if you wanted to go there, you always had that option.

I will agree that fish can be really feisty, when coming out of a livewell, and in a weigh tournament the fish have to settle down also, before they can be weighed, so this time can be about the same depending on the fish. From my observation is also a bit easier to control a fish in a weigh tube, compared to a weigh tub.

Yeah I guess once you factor in everything else that can happen in between catching the fish and getting to the weigh boat I could agree that it would be better for them. I didn't think to consider having to plow across rough water to get to the weigh in which definitely can be tough on the fish...

wellpastcold · #9 02-08-2015, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hunter Trav

Yeah I guess once you factor in everything else that can happen in between catching the fish and getting to the weigh boat I could agree that it would be better for them. I didn't think to consider having to plow across rough water to get to the weigh in which definitely can be tough on the fish...

Except that not all measure tournaments have roving measure boats. The difference is zero.

bobalong · #10 02-08-2015, 09:59 AM

With the additional "pressure" that SRD was/is putting on tournaments a few years ago we tried to devise a way to just take pics of the fish that were to be "weighed" in, and then turn your SD card in at the end of the day, when you passed the check in boat on the way in.

This would have eliminated "line ups" at the weigh in, having to keep fish in the livewell, or transporting fish. This would have removed almost all of the conditions that can cause stress for the fish, and significantly decreased the time, equipment, and personnel required for weigh/measure process.

It would have required the purchase of a measure board for each boat, so that everyone used the same one, almost everyone has a camera, so that was not really a concern. This was before the smart phone era.

We did not spend a lot of time working on this, as it became evident fairly quick that ensuring the integrity of the photo, would be impossible. Unfortunate, as I believe that this process would have removed most if not all the concerns that SRD had, and would have ensured a 100% or very close, survival rate for the fish, regardless of conditions.

I have fished walleye tournaments for almost 25 years on the south, north, and Sk trails, and have witnessed the evolution of the weigh/measure systems in that time. Survival rates are excellent and have been for many years, and I must commend the tournament organizers for their diligence in implementing systems and procedures to achieve that, and ensure they remain that way.