Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Besides maybe toadfish and sea robins, there’s not too many fish caught around here that don’t have some kind of minimum size limit on them. Therefore, along with hooks, weights and bait, most anglers are going to consider some sort of measuring device, a very important piece of equipment to have close at hand whenever they’re fishing. One way or the other, not having a ruler will come back to haunt fishermen, because just as no one wants to get a fine for keeping a fish that’s undersize, they also don’t want to lose an opportunity to bring home a great tasting, legal size fish for dinner.
Measuring tools can be as simple as a pencil mark on the seat or gunwale of a boat, or as elaborate as the vinyl stick-on rulers that not only show the inches but also have notes that show what the legal size for local species are; 12.5-inches for black sea bass, 16-inches for flounder, 28-inches for striped bass, and so forth. Depending upon what they are likely to catch, some anglers make out fine by just using the measuring tools that are often molded into the lid of their coolers, but be careful because these measurements can sometimes be off.
Depending upon the species, the regulations will stipulate either a fork-length or a total length measurement and anglers need to know which one is applicable. Measuring a fish is usually as simple as bringing it aboard and laying it out over the ruler or laying a tape measure over the fish. Usually the hardest part of the process is getting the fish to lay still long enough to get the reading.
The most problematic fish to measure are those that are quite large because the measuring must be just as accurate as when dealing with small fish, but they are so much more difficult to handle. Compounding the problem is the fact that big fish must usually be measured in the water because if it’s not a “keeper” it will have to be released and it can sometimes be impossible to bring a big fish aboard and release it without banging it up so much that it dies after being turned loose. It shouldn’t be hard to imagine the hassles and hazards associated with trying to hang over the side of a rocking boat to accurately measure a big tuna, marlin or shark.
Over the years fishermen have come up with clever ways to measure large fish in the water including affixing measuring devices to the outside of their hull along the waterline, putting marks on a pole that they can hold down close to the fish, or attaching a pre-measured string to a pole that is held at the fish’s nose whereby if the end of the line clears the fish’s tail it’s too small. Any of these methods might work but none are without their inaccuracies and inherent problems.
Which brings me to some news about a new product known as the “Release Ruler” which is essentially a jumbo vinyl tape measure designed to be used for very large fish. Such a description, however, doesn’t do justice to this product, which is certainly more than just a big strip of calibrated vinyl. The Release Ruler is made specifically for measuring big fish. In fact, there are currently five models designed to measure specific fish; mako sharks, marlin, swordfish, Atlantic sailfish and tarpon. This measuring device is calibrated not only in inches but also with colored blocks that indicate the estimated weight of the fish being measured.
Using the Release Ruler requires that fishermen first mount one end to some sort of rigid pole such as a tag stick, gaff or mop handle. The company suggests that anglers attach a tennis ball to the other end. While the boat is slowly moving forward, the fish is brought to the side of the vessel and the end of the pole holding the Release Ruler is placed down in the water close to the front of its head. The ruler is allowed to trail back alongside of the fish with the tennis ball providing just the right amount of drag in the water to keep the ruler straight. From the deck, anglers should be able to read the inches and get a length, or at the very least, see the colored block that indicates the weight of the fish. Either way they come away with a pretty close estimate of the exact size of their catch.
Measuring a fish in this fashion will quickly tell anglers if their fish meets or exceeds minimum size limits set forth in fishery regulations or under tournament rules. No more guessing if a fish is big enough to keep, anglers who use the Release Ruler will see for themselves before they bring it aboard if their catch qualifies to be brought home. And as anyone who has ever fished a big money tournament knows, a few inches or a couple pounds one way or the other can be all it takes to end up in the winner’s circle.
Even though Release Rulers are designed to be used for the aforementioned species, they can certainly be used to measure other types of fish as well as used to get the length and girth of fish that have been brought into the boat or up on a beach. More information on the Release Ruler can be found at www.releaseruler.com
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
