For fishers and the people involved in the business, weighing fish is a critical task. Whether you are spot fishing, fishing for commercial purposes, or just for fun, you will need a proper scale to weigh your hunt. In sports fishing, scales are used to determine the winner.
If you consider the level of its importance, a very accurate and reliable scale is always chosen in such cases. A digital scale is known to have these qualities, and that is why they are commonly used in these situations. Keep reading to find out how to weigh a fish with a digital scale.
Benefits of Digital scale
The digital fish scale has revolutionized how people weight fish, making the process easier and faster and more accurate. Using this equipment makes reading weight easier too. A digital scale features a screen where the weight reading is displayed once you hook the catch on the device. Digital scales are slowly taking over as they are becoming more and more common.
They are replacing many other traditionally used scales. However, many people still lack the proper knowledge on how to use a digital scale to weigh fish. With just these few steps, you can achieve the best results or accurate readings without risking anything or going through much stress.
Steps to Follow to Weigh Fish with a Digital Scale
Preparing the scale
The first step you are required to take before everything else is to switch on the digital scale. Once you have verified that the scale is on and showing digits, you are ready to go. To ensure you get correct measurements, it is advisable to always reset the scale to zero before starting the weighing process.
Some weight scales may have a reset button that will switch the scale to zero upon pressing it. Other scales will require you to dial the button until it gets back to zero. Once you do this, switch between the units to always get the desired unit in grams, kilograms, ounces, or pounds. If you do this correctly, you should read or see the number zero, followed by the unit of measurement that you chose.
Placing your fish correctly
After preparing the scale, you have to hook the fish on it. You will either use the scale’s hook or a slightly damp sling. Stick the fish in the gill plate of the fish and ensure it is stuck so that it does not fall off the hook.
Preferably, you can decide to put the hook on the lure if the lips of the fish are stuck there. The fish should be able to hang freely from the hook. In case you want to measure the weight of several fish, you can use as many hooks as you find necessary.
Similarly, you can align them on the sling then attach it to the hook of the scale. Always make sure you are using something like a bucket or basin for this part to prevent the fish from falling in dirt.
Get Accurate Readings
The next thing to do is to lift the scale so that the fish are off the bucket. The main purpose of doing this is to make sure you get accurate results from the scale. This step needs you to be a little more careful. You have to hold the scale in a fixed position to give the scale ample time to analyze the measurements.
Avoid shaking or moving while going through this procedure. Results come quickly; within two seconds, the weight of the fish will be displayed on the screen display. You should note that the results will only be accurate if you do not shake the scale while the weight is analyzed.
Saving the records is amazing on this digital scale because it is equipped with a memory to store data such as the total weight and the approximated average weight of fish. This way, you do not need to be keeping written records of measurements made.
Storing the data can be done separately or jointly. You can store weights of each fish or rather get the total weight of all fish at once. Then you can go ahead and divide to get the average weight of each fish. You will, however, realize that the latter may give slightly inaccurate weights due to averaging.
A few more tips
You always have to reset the scale measurements to zero for accurate measurements. Digital scale measures fish in grams, kilograms, ounces, or pounds. Drain water from the fish before hooking it to minimize errors.
While weighing the fish, ensure you are in calm weather because if the fish keeps swaying due to windy conditions, results may be faulty. And since accuracy is the most important part of the whole activity, you should try as much as you can to avoid anything that can compromise it.
Unlike the analog fish scales that were common in the past, the digital fish scale is more innovative. Therefore, it not only makes your work easier but also makes the weighing process more fun.
However, it would help if you always took the necessary precautions when using these weighing scales. It would be best if you were gentle whenever you are hooking the fish onto the scale, and when you take it off to make sure you do not damage the gills.
Also, just like with any other gadget, you should know how to take good care of your digital scale if you want it to continue serving you well by giving you accurate readings when you need them.
Mishandling of your gadget may interfere with its functionally at the time of use or even the next time you use it. However, digital fish scales have improved even in this area as compared to other types of scales.
Final Verdict
Fishing is important to many people across the globe. It is also an existing activity that many people seek to take part in not only for recreational but also for commercial purposes. Once you learn How to weigh a fish with a digital scale, you will never leave your scale behind.