What Does It Weigh?

We've all heard the excited guy on the radio, who has just boated his first 40 inch rockfish. "It must weigh 40 or 50 pounds!", he says. What does the fish really weigh? Short of putting the fish on a set of scales, there are several ways to get a good estimate of a fish's weight. One is to have weighed similar fish in the past and estimate the weight based on experience. This works well for some "old salts".

Another way is to use a formula to calculate weight. One formula is: Length(inches) times Girth(inches) times Girth(inches) divided by 800 equals weight(pounds). LxGxG/800=W This works well for "bass" shaped fish. For long "pike" shaped fish, divide by 900 instead of 800. For billfish, use lower jaw fork length (inches) instead of total length and divide by 800. LJFLxGxG/800=W

An easy way to estimate a fish's weight is to use a length versus weight chart based on fish weighed in the past. The following is one based on striped bass weighed in New England.

Other charts exist for billfish.

Blue Marlin

White Marlin

Sailfish

Now we know that 40 inch rockfish weighs about 26 pounds.

Thanks to Marlin Magazine, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, and Claude Bain, Director of the VA Saltwater Fishing Tournament for being sources of information.