Sick of not knowing how much your prize catch weighs?
There aren’t many sports like fishing where you want to weigh your catch to see if you’ve hit a personal best or have to because you’re in a tournament.
You’ll probably even want to weigh it while it’s still alive and release it safely.
To be able to do this properly and with accuracy, you need one of the best fish scales around which we go into in depth below.
The Best From The Review
Our Best Fishing Scales
What Is A Fishing Scale?
A fishing scale is a scale that is purposely designed to make weighing any fish you catch easy.
They come with special features that hook on to fish easily and survive any conditions they live in, like wet salty water.
Who Should Buy A Fishing Scale?
If you want to know how much a fish you catch weighs then it’s worth owning a fishing scale. In case you forgot to bring one to your fishing trip, this fish weight calculator tool can help.
There is no other way to know, and it’ll save some arguments at the bar when someone describes a fish as 20 lbs and you can weigh it and show them it’s actually 15lbs.
Believe me, it happens often.
They are also useful if you’re fishing in an area that has a catch limit like 10lbs per day, or if you’re in a tournament and have to record and prove the heaviness of your fish in order to compete fairly.
Types Of Fishing Scales & Grips
To find the best fishing scale, you must be familiar with the types available.
Digital
There are two main types of fishing scales, digital or mechanical scales.
Digital scales give you a more accurate reading and can measure down to a tenth of a pound and a hundredth of a kilo.
Most digital scales also have features that allow you to store weights which is useful when fishing a tournament.
The downside is they require batteries and if they get wet, this can cause them to break, even if they are water-resistant.
Mechanical
Mechanical scales, analog scales, or spring scales measure down to ¼ lb and/or kilo. An example would be a handheld fish scale or a hanging fish scale.
Mechanical or analog scales are ideal for weighing fish when you’re wading, as there are no electronics or digital components to get wet and break.
They are made from corrosion resistant materials like stainless and will survive a long time without any worry.
Grips
Scales come with one of two types of fish grips, lip or hook.
Hook grips are designed to go under the gills of a fish to weigh them, and lip grips clasp on to the fish’s lip.
Lip grips are by far the best for weighing fish that are still alive, as putting a hook under the gills is going to cause a lot of damage to fish.
How To Weigh A Fish Without Hurting It
No matter what you see on social media, the top way to weigh a fish without hurting it is by weighing it in a net which you can add to a hook or lip grip.
This ensures the grip does no damage to the fish, and you just have to deduct the mass of the net afterward in order to know how much the fish weighs.
Weighing Up
Thanks for reading the article and I hope you found the best fish scales for you.
Finding the best fishing scale depends on if you’re fishing in tournaments or not and how accurate you want them to be.
I personally don’t mind being out by ½ a pound here and there and would always go with a lip-grip style as they are easier to use, carry around, and there is way less to break, unlike with a digital scale.
If you’re still undecided, here are the ones I would buy.
Top Pick
The top non-digital scale is the Eastaboga Tackle BogaGrip Scale.
It’s easy to use, has a high max of 60 lbs, is pretty accurate, and can handle being submerged and being covered in saltwater, so you should have it for life.
Best Digital Fish Scale
If you’re after a digital scale go with the Dr Meter Scale.
It’s accurate, portable, simple to use, and has a great weight range.
Plus this compact fishing scale has a measuring tape and it’s highly affordable.
Happy Fishing!
I hope you found the article useful and got what you needed out of it.
Please share it around with your friends and family on social media, and check out some of my other articles too.
I cover almost everything you could need for fishing from depth sounders to rods, reels, and sunglasses.
