Fish weights and identification

john step · May 13, 2016

I had an interesting conversation today on a club lake. Now we all have been told of wildly optimistic guessed fish weights. The 5lb tench that wouldn't make 4lb. The 3lb roach etc.

Well a new member who is a returning angler now he is retired showed me a photo on his mobile of a TENCH he had caught earlier this morning.
A good 3 or 4 pound he said.

Well, looking at the picture of the fish in his very modest landing net I could see a very modest BREAM that would never make 3 or 4 lb.

I didn't have the heart to break his bubble as he was an elderly chap ( my age

mg: or thereabouts) and very pleased with his catch.

I don't know whether that was right not to say anything.

Anyone else had experience of this sort of thing?
Not just the weight but the entirely wrong species.?

Lord Paul of Sheffield · May 13, 2016

There was an ide that was identified as a 2lb roach once by someone who used to post on here

binka · May 14, 2016

I think you did right John, if he was happy why burst his bubble?

I would have done the same and agreed what a fine perch it was

lambert1 · May 14, 2016

Have to agree, why spoil someone's day? He had enjoyed catching it and that is all that matters really imho.

mikench · May 14, 2016

I think you should correct a wrong identification. The guy whoever he is or whatever his age needs to know his tench from his bream! I caught a fish on a commercial and thought it was a roach only to be told it was a roach bream hybrid!

We all need to be continually educated but in a nice way!

no-one in particular · May 14, 2016

I agree, better to be educated in a nice way than left ignorant. he would have accepted it being "new" to angling after a long time. And it might save him looking a bigger chump later on. I would have said I think that might be a bream not a tench, put the doubt in his mind and he would have looked it up in a book or interent when he got home. I would have left the weight though, that's part of the anglers fantasy we all share. My two pound roach etc are all in the best part of my mind and I like to visit it often, our own realities are often better than reality..

steve2 · May 14, 2016

I have seen 10lb bream shrink to 6lb when put on scales, the same goes for 20lb carp and pike when weighed. I was once told my scales were wrong when I weighed someone 2lb roach, it weighed in at barely a pound. If you haven’t caught many big fish anything bigger then your normal looks massive.
I have overestimated the weight of fish, especially bream and said to myself my scales must be wrong, till I checked them.
Apart from hybrids I do find it strange that species can get confused.
Mind you a few years down the line with a bit of dementia who know what we might be thinking we are catching and we could all be in the same boat.

john step · May 14, 2016

mixed opinions here then. Which is good for forums. I am still not sure if I did the right thing.

mg:

mikench · May 14, 2016

What you did ,you did with the best of motives and that is what matters!

Wish I could catch a tench!!!

thecrow · May 14, 2016

I think that you did the right thing John, the chap sounds as if he would have been happy with the fish no matter what the species, it really only mattered that he enjoyed the fish and was happy enough to share it with you.

tigger · May 14, 2016

I would have told him to go to speck savers and get a set of scales....silly old coffin dodger lol.

Mithrandir · May 15, 2016

What does it matter he was not taking anything away from anyone else's achievements. If he was not asking for your opinion they no need to ruin his day. The I told you so know it alls do get tedious for the pleasure angler.

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mightyboosh · May 15, 2016

Let the old timer enjoy his catch, where's the harm? As a young boy, I caught a perch from the Thames at Old Windsor. Looking back it may have just been 2.5lb, but was probably smaller in reality. It looked huge to my eyes and my dad told me it was the British record. I believed that for a long time and so did all my school chums. It was great

rayner · May 15, 2016

Fishing a small pond last Thursday a chap opposite me caught a Carp no more than three or four pound I though.
So he landed his fish and walked around the corner four pegs to arrive in my little corner and asked is that six or seven pounds, It was with a good guess no more than three pound.
I just said I have no idea but if Tony (he's the bailiff) sees you walking round the pond with a fish in the landing net you will get banned. Tony by the way is a good bloke and he would just put him right that his actions were wrong.
He just said OK.
But it was a Carp. I don't mind if folk over estimate but some things need pointing out.

sam vimes · May 15, 2016

If anybody is actually that bothered by the weight of something, I don't really understand why they guesstimate. Even the most experienced can often be way out. I'd rather be out due to bad scales or poor weighing technique than dodgy estimation. However, I very much doubt that I'd have said anything to the OP's old timer about the weight. I doubt I could keep quiet about the misidentification though.

Things could be a bit more difficult if you were talking hybrids, small chub and dace, roach and rudd, crucians and brown goldfish, etc etc. I don't think there are any good excuses for anyone of sound mind confusing bream and tench. If you know enough to know the names of fish, it should be easy enough to distinguish between the two.

barbelboi · May 15, 2016

I really can't see a problem with that - as long as he didn't try to enter a snotty into the FM tench challenge..............

bullet · May 16, 2016

I would have told him it was a cracking fish but actually a Bream.

robtherake · May 16, 2016

I think I'd have told him, but I'm as subtle as a flying mallet.

Fish weights and identification

john step

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Lord Paul of Sheffield

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binka

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lambert1

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mikench

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no-one in particular

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steve2

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john step

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mikench

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thecrow

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tigger

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Mithrandir

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mightyboosh

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rayner

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sam vimes

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barbelboi

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bullet

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robtherake

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