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Posts: 743
| in case measuring down the 1/4 inch isnt enough for us musky ego manics..everyone seems to girth thier fish now too. i'm not against girthing fish...it's a way to get a accurate guess of how much a fish might weigh...but, do many of you notice, as you surf the web on all the musky sites we are all so lucky to have access to, that many people are exaggerting griths?
Girth seems to be new "fad" that everyone wants to measure and take public...but it appears there is as much over estimating of girths as there is over estimating lenghts of fish...
Maybe no one else cares? maybe i'm wrong....but i think i see over estimating girths all the time...any thoughts?
tomcat |
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Posts: 32954
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | It's fishing, so some folks will always add just a smidgen. If the fish wasn't a record, or of some significant measure, I don't pay any attention. |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | To quote my girlfriend....."John, you may not be able to hit the bottom of a tuna can, but you can scrape the sides."
Everybody loves fat fish, and I think in some cases it's harder to get an good girth measurment (especially when a piece of cut line isn't used) than length....I agree, some girths are more of a guess than exact measurment. |
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Posts: 743
| steve worrell, you are right. that seems to just go hand and hand with fishing.
sometimes it's most obvious that is hardest for me to see.
slamr...just zap this!
tomcat |
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| Wait! Don't zap this. I have something I believe worthy of discussing re: girth.
I wonder how much a fish's girth changes during the CPR process? What I mean is this. When muscles are strained, the body pumps more blood to them, thus increasing their size. Does this same effect happen to fish? Can a fish that is xx.5 inches in girth at be x.75 inches after settling down?
Not that it matters much but it's an interesting question to me. |
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| Just like length, unless the fish is big, it doesn't make sense to measure girth. However, an accurate length and girth measurement is important on really large fish to estimate what they weigh approximately. The estimation formulas are not precise, because some fish have big bellies versus the real girthy monsters that are thick from head to tail. Those really heavy fish are rarely caught.  |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | I have only girthed two fish in my life. Never think to before I release them. Both fish I girthed were on the recommendation of my boat partner, they were both fat fish. Girthing is much easier on the fish than a length measurement, you can do it very accurately while the fish is in the water during the release. I carry a sewing tape in my boat for this purpose, but like I said I rarely use it.
Usually about ten casts after a release I smack my forehead and wonder why I didn't girth that one. That is why when people ask me about the girth on any of my fish I usually reply with an "average", or "fat" or "it was a slob." |
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Posts: 152
| I have only girthed one fish, and that was a 46 that was like a oxygen bottle. It was 22.5. I think that if you want to know the weight a digital scale and a cradle is the way to go. It would be a lot better for the fish becouse it would not be flopping around while you try to tape it and as was mentioned, lenght and girth is not accurate. Later |
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| Only measure girth with the fish in the water using a sewing tape or similar measurement device! |
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| where is girth supposed to be measured?
behind the head? around the fattest point of the belly?
it makes for significantly different sizes.
also, accurate girthing is much harder than length (and we know how much that gets smudged!).
if your top point and bottom point are not vertical on the fish, say a 1" offset from front to back of fish between the top point and bottom point, you're adding a significant increase to the girth! that's not "bad" because it's so easy to do with the fish in the water.
it just shows that girth is an estimate. i like "skinny" "nice" and "slob" myself... |
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Posts: 1023
Location: Lafayette, IN | Getting back to Tommy's point about "exageration."....
As I've stated to many people before (and I can't take credit for this), "The only time a fisherman is telling the truth is when he's calling another fisherman a "Liar!"
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Posts: 1086
| Fishwater1 - 1/26/2005 4:48 PM
Wait! Don't zap this. I have something I believe worthy of discussing re: girth.
I wonder how much a fish's girth changes during the CPR process? What I mean is this. When muscles are strained, the body pumps more blood to them, thus increasing their size. Does this same effect happen to fish? Can a fish that is xx.5 inches in girth at be x.75 inches after settling down?
I think that is an interesting way to look at this. It's just like when a person walks into a gym to workout with weights. When they leave the gym after a workout, their muscles are larger than normal due to them being full of lactic acid from the workout. I think this could apply to the fish as well. I think after the fish calms down though, the size could be smaller. Just as us humans, after we calm down after the workout, the muscles will return to their "normal" size and shape...for the most part. Interesting.
I know that we've had fish over the years that have expelled their "waste" through the catching process too...and that too can eliminate size and weight of the fish after it's been caught and settled down. Not that that little bit would make much of a difference...but...when we're talking about every little bit can help....
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| whats's girth? |
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Posts: 1291
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | Don't forget the different personalities in fish. The beer gut males may be pushing out to get a better profile. The vain males and most females will probably be sucking it in so your readings will probably be shy. Depending on your personality profile assessment, you can add or subtract accordingly. |
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| This is a weird post, any thoughts on "why" this is an issue? |
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Posts: 743
| Ben, i started this post, so i'll post "why" i started it...1. i dont think it's a real issue. all the real issues in musky fishing have been covered SO many times..this is just me venting...as far as this being a wierd post...SURE IS! thanks! it's a weird post, but not as weird as the supposedly 30 fish over 40 pounds people wanted to show me last year...
Like many guys on this site, i email and get emails from musky anglers accross North American with pics of thier recent catch or their big one of the month or year...alot of these emails come w/ a girth estimate (or maybe that is the measurement the came up with) and mostly seem quite inflated. In 2004, it seemed like EVERYONE was flirting with 40 pounders. i just don't believe it so when i see the pics. there has to be around 50-200 "musky" websites and there are SO many captions to fish that are " Here's my 50" by 26" fish..."..blah blah.. or 54" by 25" and these fish are 19-21 inches around. So..why is this an issue..it's not really an issue. it's just me bored at working and venting about lies and exaggerations instead of just calling guys out on thier lies. that's it.
Hell, i see guys who girth 41" fish and try to say they are "well over 25 pounds"...probably 30 pounds...1. people dont know how to girth thier fish (maybe) 2. people feel like they need to give a girth measurement since it's the fad these day. 3. with all the over exaggerating of girths, i think people just guess what the girth is..now it's a 40 pounder.
to all the new guys..if you do catcha 40 pounder, it's a GREAT BIG FISH. of the 15-30 "40 pounders" i have seen in the past 7 months..i'd say 5 of them are 40 pounders.
I didnt mean to offend you ben or anyone else.
this site has brought to me many cyber friends, and hell, in 2005 a cyber friend is true a friend. this site has brought me some new fishing partners too. which is great. i enjoy EVERY email i get and i email many guys/gals on this site too. it's the best "musky" hang out there to meet someone to fish with or become cyber friends with. i'm not discouraging sharing of photos or girthing of muskies....i just don't believe so many fish with girths over 25" are being caught...especailly when the measures are beside the pics...
it's all good. in the hood. with tiger wood.
tomcat |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | Why ask why?
Anyway, never girthed one. I'm happy saying "that thing was a pig".....or lately, "I wish I could get one of those pigs to eat!"
Anyone know how to girth a fish that just follows to the boat? Now that is a topic worthy of discussion. |
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| I only girth a fish in spring or fall, seems to be when they are heaviest anyhow, and the water is cooler allowing a tad longer handling time. I too girth em in the water. Glad we did girth a couple fish this fall to give us an idea. We then could make educated 'guesses' on subsequent fish on the same body of water in the same size ranges. That said, we don't girth anything unless it is 49" or better, or something over 45 that has an extaordinary girth for its length. Not even sure if I do it right. |
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