I have fished for barbel for many years now, about 15 I'd say, mainly on the Teme which is five miles from my house. Apart from a well known stretch of
that river doubles are hard to come by and I have still to net one. Some weeks ago I thought it best to calibrate my ageing Avons. With a NAMAS traceable 11lb
weight they were reading 11lbs 2oz. Fished the river three weeks ago and weighed a decent fish at 9-14 less the two ounces over reading = a 9-12. The following
week a 10lb fish was landed. Less two ounces = 9-14 equalling my PB. The moral of this story. Don't get your scales calibrated.
0 Kudo
Scales. How accurate?
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 Tarquin the Unforgiven |
Scales. How accurate? |
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Posts: 15 07/08/2008 21:20:30 |
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David Redfearn |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 523 08/08/2008 10:40:30 |
Hi for me it's all down to the Angler and living with himself. When you see some of the barbel catches and their supposed weights you have to laugh [see this weeks Anglers Mail beautifully edited].
But hey these anglers are not doing any harm to anyone they are just kidding themselves; there are bigger problems than that in the world.
I think the average scales sold within tackle shops would have discrepancies, and as long as we are not recording the weight of record fish, I personally would not dislike an angler if his scales were 2 d out, good post though best DR
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PJ Martin |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 247 10/08/2008 14:55:18 |
Hang on a minute, your scales weighed two ounces over when loaded with 11lb. Seeing as your Avon scales work on a spring which is essentially elastic in its
working, its stretch is not uniform. So you weighing a fish at say 7lb will not stretch the spring as much and therefore the scales may in fact read more or
less acurately at lower and higher weighs. This is why when you catch a fish, you should have your scales checked at the weight that the fish weighed and not
simply against a 'fixed' known ambiguous weight.
So what I'm trying to say is that you may have a new PB as your scales could possibly only weigh an ounce out at that range. Hope you see my point? |
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Tarquin the Unforgiven |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 16 11/08/2008 11:51:40 |
Pj.
The scales are showing two ounces heavy at 11lbs therefore at 10lbs they are still going to be about the same error. If anything then my PB is now 9lb-14oz-4dr. If the fish had been showing let's say 14lbs then I would feel the need to get them checked against that weight. I see your point but the difference is minimal and I'm not claiming a record. The whole point is, I still ain't had a dub. 
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Jonny Fairweather |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 3 12/08/2008 07:44:12 |
Avon's generally weigh a couple of ounces heavy. I know as me and some friends got a 10lb weight (proven to weight 10lb) and weighed it on several sets,
and there were several around the 10lb 2oz mark. The most accurate sclaes we found were small digi devices that I think berekely do, but can be bought branded
under several different companies.
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CookiesDaughtersDad |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 1 12/08/2008 08:02:42 |
Ahhh Raymundo, you two timer! I see your looking for sympathy over here now, well don't give him any fellas, he'll just have to start fishing properly
for Barbel rather than fluking splashers while after his beloved Dace (had a biggy me self the other day Ray, must have been over 8inches long, and no I
didn't use it for bait!)
I checked my Avon scales years ago ago and at 10lb they were spot on, so I sent them off to be (adjusted) calabrated. 
Heres a question, if you weighed a fish and it went 9lb 15oz with the needle flickering to 10lb exactly, and then re weighed it again but only this time it went 10lb with the needle flickering to 10lb 01oz, what weight would you call it? Happened to me, and the fish was a double in my books. Enjoy your site and try to keep the egos out of it unlike that other place. Cookie, I'll be back. |
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harry chubb |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 1 12/08/2008 09:10:58 |
I,d have called it 10lb and had done with it. You obviously are a man of great integrity. ATB Harold.
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David Redfearn |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 525 12/08/2008 09:32:40 |
Welcome Cookie ,, in answer to your question I would round it up to 11lb and carry on fishing best DR
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Tarquin the Unforgiven |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 17 12/08/2008 11:46:25 |
Cookie, you need to drink less then the needle wouldn't flicker.
Johnny Fairweather. Don't be fooled into thinking digital scales are more accurate than analogue. They aren't. They are also harder to read unless fitted with a damping device to stop the numbers jumping around. Analogue gauges of all types are far easier to read. You can see where the needle is flickering to in both directions so are able to take a middle reading. (if you drink like Cookie) To do that is very difficult with digis. Just try it with a watch. A quick glimpse at an analogue is enough but with digital you have to think for a second to translate the numbers. (or is that just me?)
Last Edited By: Tarquin the Unforgiven 12/08/2008 11:54:37.
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David Redfearn |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 526 12/08/2008 21:20:28 |
I got it wrong round it up 12.6 why not everyone else does
 DR
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Tarquin the Unforgiven |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 18 12/08/2008 21:34:04 |
David Redfearn wrote: Cheers David...................a new PB for me then.
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EXTEST |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 1249 12/08/2008 21:35:46 Moderator |
Ray you are quite right about digital scales, they bounce about all over the place.
I have got two sets of digital scales and a waymaster flyweight set of spring scales. One day, when I was at a loose end ,I borrowed some weights off our local butcher. I then screwed 3 hooks into our kitchen ceiling and suspended the scales. Hanging them from this static position the most accurate were the fly weights, (only 1 ounce difference) between them all. When 'Wifey, walked across the upstairs room, (she only weighs 9 stone), the digital scales went from 3-4 ounces under to same over. The fly weights just flickered and returned to a spot on reading. I then realised that not only would I have to repair the holes in the ceiling but, I had become a sad old 'anorak' .. In future if my flyweights tell me I have a double, that's good enough for me. Cookie, welcome, and we don't do egos on this site. Put your head politely over the wall and you won't get it shot off  .
Harry, welcome to you too and we look forward to your input. Best wishes,-----John.
Last Edited By: EXTEST 12/08/2008 21:44:49.
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Roy Young |
#12 | |||
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Posts: 1399 14/08/2008 06:31:58 Moderator |
My first double actually went half an ounce under 10lb on my Avon scales. I said "That'll do" but I just couldn't lie to myself and conceded
that it wasn't a double.
However, on visiting Tadley Angling the next day, I weighed a seat on a brand new set of calibrated scales in the shop and then did the same with my Avon's. It turned out that my scales were short by one ounce so in fact the fish I caught was half an ounce over 10lb! Looking back it seems all rather silly, but it was really important at the time because it was my first double. It could even be argued that the scales can give a different reading at different temperatures. Who knows? Roy |
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Simon Moxley.barbelfishingworld |
Waymaster Flkyweights | #13 | ||
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Posts: 6 14/08/2008 08:39:01 |
John,
That's good to know about the flyweights. I have 2 sets of these now, having bought (a long time ago) the 12lb pair, thinking "I'll never get barbel over 12lbs.." - well, how wrong was I? - I then had to invest in the 25lb version. Good to know they are accurate though...puts my mind at rest... Cheers |
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Tarquin the Unforgiven |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 19 14/08/2008 17:07:14 |
I weighed a seat on a brand new set of calibrated
scales in the shop
Roy, rarely are new scales calibrated. Calibration involves checking the scales against a NAMAS traceable weight then issuing a certificate with the results. I'm pretty damn sure fishing scale manufacturers ain't gonna bother with that. Don't trust even new scales to be accurate. Simon, just because one particular scale is good doesn't mean the rest of the brand are. Think about how well tempered the springs are. Did they come from the same batch? Or even the same manufacturer. Makes you think, huh?
Last Edited By: Tarquin the Unforgiven 14/08/2008 17:10:12.
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EXTEST |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 1252 15/08/2008 22:19:08 Moderator |
I still say that unless you are on a mission to catch a record Barbel, a small variation wont matter, (1oz over or 1oz under) .
If I caught a Barbel that weighed dead on 10lb on my scales but, unbeknown to me, they were weighing 1oz over making the fish 9-15, so what!, One more mouthful of free offerings would have made it 10-1. One ounce is so minute on a double figure fish. My fly weights are not officially calibrated but I've checked them myself to the best of my ability. If they read 10lb., that is good enough for my records and my peace of mind. I certainly would not lose sleep worrying about it.----Best wishes,---John. PS. Saying this I do carry a small set of digitals to double check a real 'clonker'
Last Edited By: EXTEST 15/08/2008 22:23:30.
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Tarquin the Unforgiven |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 21 16/08/2008 21:43:39 |
Exactly John. That's why I said in my original post, "The moral of this story. Don't get your scales
calibrated."
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