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| Weight Ratio Chart |
| Measure and Compare YOUR FISH! |
www.pondboss.com
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“Relative weight.” One of those fisheries terms you’ve heard, but maybe not quite understood.
It’s simple. A fish so long should weigh so much. In the fisheries management business, biologists have scientifically calculated tables to compare your fish. These tables give an idea of the status of your fish population. More specifically, “relative weight” is figured as a ratio of what a fish actually weighs compared to its length, further compared to what it should weigh, if it were a normal, fast growing fish of the same length. Skinny fish have lower relative weights than do football-shaped fish.
For example, if you want to figure out how well your largemouth bass are doing, catch some, measure and weigh them and then compare to the chart in this article. If they are underweight, your bass are most likely under-fed. Remember this, if a fish has a relative weight below the standard weight, that means it has lost weight.
For example, a sixteen inch bass must weigh 2 lbs, 4 ounces to get to sixteen inches. If your sixteen inch bass weighs less than two pounds, it lost weight.
A fisheries pro will weigh and measure fish, compare to the charts and calculate the relative weight of your fish to make recommendations.
You can do the same thing by regularly catching, weighing and measuring your own fish and compare to the charts in this article. Keep good records, including the date fish were caught. Over a period of months (which become years) you will see how well your fish are progressing…or not.
Here’s how to calculate “relative weight” so you can see how your fish compare. Catch a fish, weigh and measure it and do the following…
1. From the chart, look up the standard weight of the length fish you caught.
| Length (inches) |
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Standard Weight |
|
| 10 |
|
10 oz |
| 11 |
|
11 oz |
| 12 |
|
12 oz |
| 13 |
|
1 lb 2 oz |
| 14 |
|
1 lb 7 oz |
| 15 |
|
1 lb 13 oz |
| 16 |
|
2 lb 4 oz |
| 17 |
|
2 lb 13 oz |
| 18 |
|
3 lb 4 oz |
| 19 |
|
3 lb 14 oz |
| 20 |
|
4 lb 8 oz |
| 21 |
|
5 lb 5 oz |
| 22 |
|
6 lb 3 oz |
| 23 |
|
7 lb 2 oz |
| 24 |
|
8 lb 3 oz |
|
| Length (inches) |
|
Standard Weight |
 |
| 6 |
|
4 oz |
| 7 |
|
4 oz |
| 8 |
|
6 oz |
| 9 |
|
10 oz |
| 10 |
|
14 oz |
| 11 |
|
1 lb 3 oz |
| 12 |
|
1 lb 10 oz |
| 13 |
|
2 lb 2 oz |
| 14 |
|
2 lb 11oz |
| 15 |
|
3 lb 6 oz |
|
| Length (inches) |
|
Standard Weight |
 |
| 6 |
|
3 oz |
| 7 |
|
5 oz |
| 8 |
|
7 oz |
| 9 |
|
8 oz |
| 10 |
|
11 oz |
| 11 |
|
1 lb |
| 12 |
|
1 lb 5 oz |
| 13 |
|
1 lb 10 oz |
| 14 |
|
2 lb 2 oz |
| 15 |
|
2 lb 8 oz |
|
| Length (inches) |
|
Standard Weight |
 |
| 6 |
|
2 oz |
| 7 |
|
4 oz |
| 8 |
|
5 oz |
| 9 |
|
6 oz |
| 10 |
|
8 oz |
| 11 |
|
11 oz |
| 12 |
|
1 lb |
| 13 |
|
1 lb 5 oz |
| 14 |
|
1 lb 11 oz |
| 15 |
|
2 lb 2 oz |
| 16 |
|
2 lb 10 oz |
| 17 |
|
3 lb 3 oz |
| 18 |
|
3 lb 14 oz |
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2. Divide the weight of your fish by the standard weight from the chart.
For example, say you caught a 16” bass which weighs 2 lbs 2 oz. The standard weight of a 16” bass is 2 lbs 4 oz. For ease of calculating, convert to ounces. Your fish is 34 oz, divided by standard weight of 36 oz, so the relative weight of your fish is 94. The goal is for your fish to be a relative weight of 100 or larger.
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