5lbs Brookie

Now that i have your attention i want to shed some light on a sketchy topic, Over estimation of fish, especially Brookies and Smallmouth. If i had a dollar for every time someone said they caught a 5lbs brookie or bronzeback, and when i asked them how long the fish was, they tell me 17" or 18". Usually that is a 2.5 to 3 lbs fish at best.

So my question to you is how long is a 5 lbs speck or smallie in your eyes? There is an exception to every rule i know, BUT to many times this number has been tossed around with zero accuracy.

the biggest i have caught was a hair over 5 lbs and was 26 inches. edit: brookie that is.

Yup my biggest speck weighed just under 3 and was 18", so it would take a fat speck to be that length...

Not super accurate what you are saying here Kevers. I have caught 18" footballs that were 5 lbs, and I have caught 22" coasters that were 5 lbs. All Specks are not built the same, get a small deep lake with fresh water shrimp and they will football. Get one in Superior and he will be built more like a laker.
I know nothing about Bass.

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Originally Posted by woody1948

Not super accurate what you are saying here Kevers. I have caught 18" footballs that were 5 lbs, and I have caught 22" coasters that were 5 lbs. All Specks are not built the same, get a small deep lake with fresh water shrimp and they will football. Get one in Superior and he will be built more like a laker.
I know nothing about Bass.

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That is why i said there is the exception to every rule Woody, i know that short fat fish can be caught and long slender fish also. But what is more common the 18" 5 lbs or the 21" to 22" 5 lbs? Pikeattack 26" is a MONSTER length for 5 and a bit LBS and super skinny. I would love to see a pic if you could provide one.

Just saying that brookie's seem to be # 1 for exaggeration, at least in my area. Smallmouth are as close comparison to brookies. A 3 lbs brook trout and a 3 lbs Smallmouth are around the same length.

Id trust what woody says about specks. He's caught more specks than most people dream about in their life time.

As for bass, If there is anything I've learned from bass fishing is that all bass are 6lbers, no exceptions, ever... Unless there is a scale around. lol

But seriously, Woody makes a good point which is applicable to all species. There is a no magic length and it is very hard to generalize when it comes to biological entities due to all the variables. I've pulled lots of long bass out of lakes that looked to be 5 or 6 only to find them falling short on the scale and vise versa with short fatties.

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Originally Posted by KEVERS

That is why i said there is the exception to every rule Woody, i know that short fat fish can be caught and long slender fish also. But what is more common the 18" 5 lbs or the 21" to 22" 5 lbs? Pikeattack 26" is a MONSTER length for 5 and a bit LBS and super skinny. I would love to see a pic if you could provide one.

Just saying that brookie's seem to be # 1 for exaggeration, at least in my area. Smallmouth are as close comparison to brookies. A 3 lbs brook trout and a 3 lbs Smallmouth are around the same length.

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i don't have a pic of the ones that were long and skinny, (the 20-26 inchers), as they were caught long ago, in lake superior, when i had a really crappy camera and no camera on my, however i do have a pic of a 21 incher that was caught not even 10 minutes from my house, that i am holding up and a smaller 17 or 18 incher that was pretty fat, too bad i can't find the pic of the 21 incher near a tape-measure but you can tell from the pic its a lot bigger then the others, others have seen me post some with lengths not eh i think but i can't dig up all of the photos now, anyways, here ya go:[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/rainbow256/media/photo-91_zpscb0a5c68.jpg.html]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/a...pscb0a5c68.jpg[/URL[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/rainbow256/media/photo-90_zps500a6b22.jpg.html]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps500a6b22.jpg[/http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/a...psa941fc0f.jpg

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Originally Posted by captain cotton

Id trust what woody says about specks. He's caught more specks than most people dream about in their life time.

As for bass, If there is anything I've learned from bass fishing is that all bass are 6lbers, no exceptions, ever... Unless there is a scale around. lol

But seriously, Woody makes a good point which is applicable to all species. There is a no magic length and it is very hard to generalize when it comes to biological entities due to all the variables. I've pulled lots of long bass out of lakes that looked to be 5 or 6 only to find them falling short on the scale and vise versa with short fatties.

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I agree with Woody 100%, he is in brook trout heaven, and he knows what he is talking about. But im just talking about those guys that are always catching big fish, weather it is a walleye, muskie or brookie. When you ask about length because you doubt them it dose not add up.

Those Specks in Pikeattacks last picture, to me would be around 10 inches long. I have seen 10,000 like that, and would bet you a fly in trip I am right.
Not sure where you are on the map Kevers, but your personality comes across on here as being a nice guy. So if you ever get up this way, late summer to early fall, I will take you out and get one of each.

That there is no rule for weight to length with bass too. As the time of the season makes a difference too when it comes to bass. I've landed baaa that were in the 19" range and were around 2.5lbs to 3lbs. But fish for them in the fall, that same length fish can be double the size as they go on an eating frenzy to get through the winter months as they will eat less.

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Originally Posted by woody1948

Those Specks in Pikeattacks last picture, to me would be around 10 inches long. I have seen 10,000 like that, and would bet you a fly in trip I am right.
Not sure where you are on the map Kevers, but your personality comes across on here as being a nice guy. So if you ever get up this way, late summer to early fall, I will take you out and get one of each.

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for an experienced brook trout fishermen you would be terribly off, the one in the pic that reads 17 inches is one of those fish from the sink pic, except on a different side, that is why it looks different, the sink is 26" in length, ask anyone who has it, or search online for yourself, the pond i fish in was stocked by the university of toronto back in 2003 with 4 pound brook trout for research experiments, they abandoned it a few years ago and i fish it now, there used to be no fishing signs posted everywhere before, there is not much left in there, i have overfished it a bit, you owe me a fly in trip, when you gonna pay up? i proved that these fish were 4+ pounder back in the summer and i have friends who fish there too, even a couple forum embers that i told the spots too, who promised to keep their lips sealed.

http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0a01c683.jpg

I've only caught one 19lb speck and one 25lb smallmouth (if I'm gonna lie might as well do it right) lol

the brookies in my last pic are all solid 16-17 inchers and not one less then 3 lbs, you can see what a 10 incher looks like in my 2nd photo.

To me those specks in PAs sink(2nd photo) look like 1-3lbers... That is a wide laundry room sink and you can see both sides. The first pic they are hard to tell, but I've had many photos were the fish looked a lot smaller than the were, specially sitting out like that... They don't look 5 to me, but could be...

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Originally Posted by intothedeep

To me those specks in PAs sink look like 1-3lbers... That is a wide laundry room sink and you can see both sides. The first pic they are hard to tell, but I've had many photos were the fish looked a lot smaller than the were, specially sitting out like that... They don't look 5 to me, but could be...

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maybe in the last pic, those were a bit smaller then average, not 10 inchers that i can guarantee, I feel ashamed that a seasoned speck angler was off by so much woody "cough cough", the one i am holding up is a solid 5 pounder though you can bet on that, id like my fly-in trip this spring woody:thumbup:

Caught a small mouth bass once that was over 22 inches in length and had a girth over 18 inches. Any guesses on weight? If I can find the photos, I'll scan and share. They're from 98 or earlier. Before I owned a digital camera.

My personal best speck is 18.5" and 2 3/4 lbs. It's actually mounted on the wall of my man cave. I did catch several arctic char while on a caribou hunt to the Ungava that were over 20" but we didn't have a scale with us and we ate them for breakfast every day :silly:

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Originally Posted by Alex Bass Man

That there is no rule for weight to length with bass too. As the time of the season makes a difference too when it comes to bass. I've landed baaa that were in the 19" range and were around 2.5lbs to 3lbs. But fish for them in the fall, that same length fish can be double the size as they go on an eating frenzy to get through the winter months as they will eat less.

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It dose apply to bass, just take the fish in that particular season and it works out. Example: If you go fishing in July and catch a 2.5 lbs bass that is 19" and i catch a 19" bass same body of water in the same day and i say its 5 lbs. Guess who is full of it. Just like Woody's two brookie examples. He knows that an 18" out of the shrimp fed lake is around 5 lbs. Then Pikeattack comes along and catches a 15" out of the same lake claiming it to be 5 lbs. ( not picking on you pikeattack just using you as an example). Its all about anglers guessing and making up stories that drives me crazy, like guys on Nip catching 3 lbs walleyes all day long that are only 14".

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Originally Posted by woody1948

Those Specks in Pikeattacks last picture, to me would be around 10 inches long. I have seen 10,000 like that, and would bet you a fly in trip I am right.
Not sure where you are on the map Kevers, but your personality comes across on here as being a nice guy. So if you ever get up this way, late summer to early fall, I will take you out and get one of each.

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Well thanks Woody, i worked a MNR contact out of Dorion and would LOVE to return someday, had a blast on the Nipigon, the Wolf and cypress. Working at the hatchery put me in touch with alot of hot spots.

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Originally Posted by KEVERS

It dose apply to bass, just take the fish in that particular season and it works out. Example: If you go fishing in July and catch a 2.5 lbs bass that is 19" and i catch a 19" bass same body of water in the same day and i say its 5 lbs. Guess who is full of it. Just like Woody's two brookie examples. He knows that an 18" out of the shrimp fed lake is around 5 lbs. Then Pikeattack comes along and catches a 15" out of the same lake claiming it to be 5 lbs. ( not picking on you pikeattack just using you as an example). Its all about anglers guessing and making up stories that drives me crazy, like guys on Nip catching 3 lbs walleyes all day long that are only 14".

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I don't guess on the size of a fish anyways. I always have a scale with me. If I don't I will estimate if need be but general don't. Weight can't not be determined by length alone. You have all factors to look at. Another thing I should have also said that what determines growth which also affect weight in bass is water temperatures.

The longer the water stays in the 70 deg range the larger and heavier the bass will get as this is the optimum temp range bass grow and feed in heavy in. This also triggers their spawning.

Bass can vary, to me it depends on the lake and food supply. I've caught 5 lb smallies ie. 20" long, 14" girth that weighed 5 lb. 2 oz. on a commercial scale. I caught one out of the same lake at 21" long, 14 " girth that I guesstimated at 5 lbs as well. I caught another smallie out of a different that was 19" long, but only weighed in at 3.5 lbs. on a commercial scale I never measured the girth on that one, but it was less than the previous fish mentioned.. I have digital fish scale that my daughter got me as a present (Rapala) but I don't trust it as a spring is never accurate in all ranges because the spring tension is not consistent throughout the distance of travel (proven scientific fact) they are proned to having stiffer sections. Some measure more accurately at the high while others are better at the low end and unless you do a calibration test, there is no way of knowing. When it told me that a 19.5" largemouth with a 12" girth was 2.5 lbs. I became suspicious.

With, girth makes all of the difference. I've had 18" bass weighed and if they are filled out will go around 3 lb., 19" -20" 4lb, 20"-21" 5lb. but this is all girth dependent. It does however give you a starting point. These are smallies I'm talking about. I'm sure a guy like Woody has noticed similar patterns in speckles.

The lake where my cottage is contains mostly largemouth, with some smallmouth. I'm more used to smallmouth, but am by no means new to largemouth. I'm just wondering if the basic assumptions I've made above for smallmouth would hold for largemouth?

Roe+

I always feel that largies weigh more than a allies of the same length, the smallies just get more air.
i have a buddy who always catches 3 lb specks. The ones he looses break his 6 lb line so they must be over six.....

Lol should I get in on this :)

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Originally Posted by KEVERS

Well thanks Woody, i worked a MNR contact out of Dorion and would LOVE to return someday, had a blast on the Nipigon, the Wolf and cypress. Working at the hatchery put me in touch with alot of hot spots.

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Best speck fishing anywhere.

And I agree with your original post about sizes. Most specks down this way at least always get a few pounds added to the story. There's an old pic on here of one woody and I got the fillets where 24 inches no head and tail and that fish was only about 8 lbs.

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Originally Posted by pikeattack

for an experienced brook trout fishermen you would be terribly off, the one in the pic that reads 17 inches is one of those fish from the sink pic, except on a different side, that is why it looks different, the sink is 26" in length, ask anyone who has it, or search online for yourself, the pond i fish in was stocked by the university of toronto back in 2003 with 4 pound brook trout for research experiments, they abandoned it a few years ago and i fish it now, there used to be no fishing signs posted everywhere before, there is not much left in there, i have overfished it a bit, you owe me a fly in trip, when you gonna pay up? i proved that these fish were 4+ pounder back in the summer and i have friends who fish there too, even a couple forum embers that i told the spots too, who promised to keep their lips sealed.

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I imagine woody was talking about the smaller fish in that picture.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/22/a2y2upu7.jpg

This girl was a monster and personal best. She inhaled a 4" popper and you can see my hand in her mouth. She was 26" and 6.5 lbs post spawn. I didn't get a girth because I wanted to get er back in the water. She was tired. And it was a Georgian bay bass

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/22/a4ygyser.jpg

I wasn't holding these rite to show the size. They were from a local tourney last year. The one on the left of the pic was 5.5 on the scale (didnt get a length) and the other was 4 something.

Over the years I've fished from coast to coast chasing after that elusive Brook Trout Record that was caught by a DR James Cook back in 1912 that weighed in at over 14lbs. Fish do range in size and weight as per what Woody had said, but in and around the Haliburton area, normally a 19" fish will weigh very close to 4lbs. My personal best out of the Haliburton Highlands area was 8 1/4 lbs and was 27 1/2" in length. It did have some shoulders on it...

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Originally Posted by Bo D

Over the years I've fished from coast to coast chasing after that elusive Brook Trout Record that was caught by a DR James Cook back in 1912 that weighed in at over 14lbs. Fish do range in size and weight as per what Woody had said, but in and around the Haliburton area, normally a 19" fish will weigh very close to 4lbs. My personal best out of the Haliburton Highlands area was 8 1/4 lbs and was 27 1/2" in length. It did have some shoulders on it...

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That is almost unheard of its so big... Biggest I've heard of is 6 in the highlands, nice fish:)

It can really very I have seen 18" smallies push 5lb in the fall on erie... that being said I hit a 23" smallie last summer up north and it was just an old relic I doubt it would have went 5... that same like I boated a 22 1/2" that was 6.38

I worked in a tackle shop... the vast majority of people just dont understand how big a fish has to be to be a certain weight... be it a 5lb spec, 20lb pike or 40lb musky these are all MONSTER fish.. unless it hits a legit scale just dont talk weight.

I do length measurements for all my fish that way I can just discuss the real numbers, sure some may be heavier than others but theres no questioning that the bass was over 20" or the musky over 50" when there is a pic on the bump board.

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Originally Posted by Alex Bass Man

I don't guess on the size of a fish anyways. I always have a scale with me. If I don't I will estimate if need be but general don't. Weight can't not be determined by length alone. You have all factors to look at. Another thing I should have also said that what determines growth which also affect weight in bass is water temperatures.

The longer the water stays in the 70 deg range the larger and heavier the bass will get as this is the optimum temp range bass grow and feed in heavy in. This also triggers their spawning.

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Scale Tales i always say, a tape never lies. Exact weight can not be determined by length alone you are right, but with the length and enough experience you can get almost bang on with a weight estimation. I do not doubt what you are saying about water temps at all, i never knew the prime water temp was 70 so that is a bonus for me. In my area which is basically your area Alex, in July a 17" bass is around 2.25 and a 21 is a 5 lb on average but there is always a few exceptions to what i am saying.

Its the stories you here of anglers catching 6 to 7 lbs bass in lakes i would catch at biggest a 5 lbs 21" and they tell you it was 20". I believe that from Simcoe, but not from the lakes that i personally fish. Once you get to know a body of water, and catch enough fish, you are never far off with guessing weight from length, bass or brookie.

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Originally Posted by fiftyquest

It can really very I have seen 18" smallies push 5lb in the fall on erie... that being said I hit a 23" smallie last summer up north and it was just an old relic I doubt it would have went 5... that same like I boated a 22 1/2" that was 6.38

I worked in a tackle shop... the vast majority of people just dont understand how big a fish has to be to be a certain weight... be it a 5lb spec, 20lb pike or 40lb musky these are all MONSTER fish.. unless it hits a legit scale just dont talk weight.

I do length measurements for all my fish that way I can just discuss the real numbers, sure some may be heavier than others but theres no questioning that the bass was over 20" or the musky over 50" when there is a pic on the bump board.

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You nailed it

Thanks Leavon, I was referring to the last picture. let me dig up the old hard drive and I will show you what 5 pounders look like. I know you have seen them, but my 5 pounders look a little different than yours. Maybe it is a north south thing.

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Originally Posted by KEVERS

Scale Tales i always say, a tape never lies. Exact weight can not be determined by length alone you are right, but with the length and enough experience you can get almost bang on with a weight estimation. I do not doubt what you are saying about water temps at all, i never knew the prime water temp was 70 so that is a bonus for me. In my area which is basically your area Alex, in July a 17" bass is around 2.25 and a 21 is a 5 lb on average but there is always a few exceptions to what i am saying.

Its the stories you here of anglers catching 6 to 7 lbs bass in lakes i would catch at biggest a 5 lbs 21" and they tell you it was 20". I believe that from Simcoe, but not from the lakes that i personally fish. Once you get to know a body of water, and catch enough fish, you are never far off with guessing weight from length, bass or brookie.

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I have done a lot of reading on bass and have books on them. Water temps are really important to bass. That is way they get so big in southern US and in Mexico. But when it comes to stories guys say....well you get to a point where guys let them think what they think and just worry about yourself.

That is what I do now.

Fish to me are measured in three categories.

Too small

Eater

Too big

This is a purely subjective scale of measure based on any number of factors (whats on the stringer, if I feel like cleaning fish, incoming weather blah blah blah).

Ive literally measured thousands of fish, both on a board for length and on a scale for weight, theres no clear cut answer to how much a fish weighs based off of length. I personally find measuring fish based on length pretty uselss in any regard. A 20" smallmouth doesnt mean squat to me. Say "five pounder!" and I'll get excited though.

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Originally Posted by Alex Bass Man

I have done a lot of reading on bass and have books on them. Water temps are really important to bass. That is way they get so big in southern US and in Mexico. But when it comes to stories guys say....well you get to a point where guys let them think what they think and just worry about yourself.

That is what I do now.

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I guess that is why the record smallie is from dale hollow river, longer growing season. Makes total sense. I do let guys think what they want to think, but sometimes you gotta call them out on it.

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Originally Posted by blasted_saber

Fish to me are measured in three categories.

Too small

Eater

Too big

This is a purely subjective scale of measure based on any number of factors (whats on the stringer, if I feel like cleaning fish, incoming weather blah blah blah).

Ive literally measured thousands of fish, both on a board for length and on a scale for weight, theres no clear cut answer to how much a fish weighs based off of length. I personally find measuring fish based on length pretty uselss in any regard. A 20" smallmouth doesnt mean squat to me. Say "five pounder!" and I'll get excited though.

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I guess i am the opposite because when i hear 5 pounder i automatically ask the length so i know for sure. Show me a pic beside a tape then i will believe, a pic of a scale could be totally bogus.

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Originally Posted by KEVERS

I guess i am the opposite because when i hear 5 pounder i automatically ask the length so i know for sure. Show me a pic beside a tape then i will believe, a pic of a scale could be totally bogus.

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I'm the exact same way, hard to get excited when someone says 5lber because they are usually 3's! Lol