weighing your catch

Neneman Nick · Jun 10, 2005

who remembers a passion for angling and seeing bob and chris weighing roach and a barbel in carrier bags???
i admit that i have weighed fish in a large bag with holes punched out in the bottom for drainage.my train of thought was,if its good enough for them then its good enough for me and surely the only difference between that and a weigh sling is only some advertising on the bag.
in this age of political correctness and trying to portray the right image, is this the right thing to do???
or am i okay to use one when carrying my bag of bits and single rod around my local boating lake or when walking up and down the river???

NottmDon · Jun 10, 2005

Weigh slings are far more fish friendly than a Tesco bag, for one you wet the sling before you put the fish in it you cant do that with a plastic carrier bag.The modern weigh sling is made of fish friendly materials and so it doesnt (in theory) cause fin or scale damage, Weigh slings are bigger than the average carrier bag and so the fish is less stressed. Just my personal view and I dont give a toss about being PC lol.Just had a giggle about the adds on the sides of weigh slings/carrier bags... errm carrier bags from tesco, sainsburys, Morrisssons all advertising maybe you ought to ask for sponsorship

If you get it I want half though ok?

EC · Jun 10, 2005

I have a 'proper' weigh sling, but can't see how using a damp plazzy bag would cause the fish any more harm?

Neneman Nick · Jun 10, 2005

i think eddie has just raised a fair point there....
don,the plastic bag weighs next to nothing,perhaps a gram or two so you dont really need to zero your scales....surely thats a pro???

Bill Maitland · Jun 10, 2005

I use a large carrier bag for weiging my chub and perch, and I wet it first.

I think its the best and easiest way, you can't use it for anything bigger though and there is nothing more fish friendly than soft wet plastic.

I have good Trakker weigh slings in two sizes but dont use them for chub or perch and don't believe they are any better.

EC · Jun 10, 2005

You can get really long plazzy bags from BandQ, wilkinsons etc, they even have reinforced handles, and are probably long enough for carp to low twenties!

Ron 'The Hat' Clay · Jun 10, 2005

The best device ever invented for weighing the smaller fish like roach is an ordinary plastic supermarket bag, wetted and with a hole or two in the bottom.

Wolfman Woody · Jun 10, 2005

Just go along the bottom seem and nick it a few times with a small pair of scissors.

Being a tackle tart though, I have 4 weigh slings, one sadly never been used. It's that b****y big.

Frothey · Jun 10, 2005

use it for air drying boilies!

Michael Townsend 3 · Jun 10, 2005

I always use a plastic bag for weighing the smaller species as it takes less slime off the fish.
I tried using a small weigh sling a few weeks ago for roach and crucians and no matter how wet the sling was the fish came back out of it dry and slimeless.
It would be an idea if the tackle manufacturers came up with a small plastic coated weigh sling like the ones they make for larger species.

Baz · Jun 10, 2005

I use a tesco bag for smaller fish and a Harrods bag for my more specimen sized fish.

Ron 'The Hat' Clay · Jun 11, 2005

Only a Harrods Bag Baz.

I use one from Fortnum & Mason so there!!!

)

Graham Whatmore · Jun 11, 2005

I have one of those connectors for my 24 inch spoon net permanently on that and the landing net handle. On the rare occasions that I have to weigh a fish it takes but two seconds to release the net, weigh the fish and return it without the need to handle the fish at all.

Joskin · Jun 11, 2005

Considering that most carrier bags split and drop the contence all over the floor if you so much as put more than a pound of mince in them I would think that you would want to be rather careful if you chose to weigh your fish in one.

Mark Hodson · Jun 11, 2005

As has already been said carrier bags are far less abrasive than weighslings and take less slime off the fish. Due to their minumum weight they make weighing smaller species far quicker and easier which puts less stress on the fish. Just choose a good quality bag and you'll have no probs. Obviously anything bigger than 5 lb in weight calls for a weigh sling as fish safety must come first. But for roach, crucians, perch and the like you can't go wrong with a good carrier bag. (and their free)

Steve Hammatt · Jun 11, 2005

If the carrier bag doesn't really weigh anything (which is usual), then you won't be able to zero your scales properly, since you need a bit of weight for proper zeroing.

Baz · Jun 11, 2005

Good heavy duty plastic bags are quite easy to come by. They would take a 10lb carp easily, and cause no damage whatsoever.

The Digital Monkey · Jun 11, 2005

I find plastic bags are far more fish friendly than weight slings

Neneman Nick · Jun 12, 2005

well if everyone else does it,then i`m gonna carry on doing it.

NottmDon · Jun 14, 2005

so how do you wet a plastic carrier bag, doesnt plastic repel water anymore? I go along with Joskin regarding the strength of carrier bags which is at best questionable. I did use them myself for a short while but honestly think the weigh slings are far more fish friendly. Its each to his own I guess and if your happy with the carrier bags then use em, after all they cost nowt as such lol! I always have a couple(carrier bags) with me for collecting other peoples dross that they leave at the bankside. The weirdest thing is on one stretch of the Trent I fish you can regularly (every session) hook into a carrier bag. Youd think it was a barbel bite too when the rod wraps around!I'm wondering now if other anglers are using them as disposable weigh slings lmao!!

weighing your catch

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