Weight or length? What is a big fish?

As so many fanatic pike anglers we strive to catch the biggest fish out there. But how do we determine what BIG is? Does a pike need to be obese or have excellent genes to grow longer than average? Let’s dive in!

First of all, fishing is about having fun. That is the core of why we do it. I also want to make clear that I respect others opinion and difference in sizing up fish. There is no right or wrong when it comes to weight or centimeters. There is in how accurate anglers get those statistics measured, but that’s a whole different topic/ Short version: if you are going to get a big pike her statistics, do it right ;)

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Fish like these are unique: a 131cm pike on the 30cm line-thru trout!

I will cut to the chase. I prefer length over weight! Why? A few simple reasons:

Length tells more about the age of the fish! The older a pike gets, the longer it grows. It doesn’t grow fatter over time! The older the fish, the rarer they become and thus its more unique to catch them!

Length tells more about healthy genes.

Of course, other factors come into play like size of the water it lives in, the amount of food available and even the clarity of the water. But you will always see a different the shape fish in environments where the fish all compete under the same circumstances. Compare it to humans. There are way more people larger than 160cm than there are people larger than 200cm!

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Of course, a little obesity isn’t a problem at all

Weight is quite random

My final, and to me best argument, why length is the better statistic than weight. It takes time for a pike to grow in length. Weight can increase with a couple of kilograms over a single night. I’ve had multiple big pike hitting the 10kg mark only because they ate a big Burbot, Bream or even a smaller pike before the decided to slam my lure. A big baitfish like this can easily add a good 1 or 2kg to the fish.

Also, weight is heavily season depended. A fish at the end of winter weights so much more compared to the end of spring, right after spawning. Does that make that fish less special?   

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There is a good reason why pike are so into Burbots

Naturally I would prefer a long and heavy pike over a long and skinny pike - any day! In the end, it is all personal preference, but it is interesting to see why weight is so important in certain parts of the world versus length in other parts. I do see that we start to weigh pike more as an additional statistic on top of its length. I rarely weigh them in the summer due to the extra handling time and I want to get them back as soon as possible. Something that surprised some anglers outside the Netherlands, seeing us releasing fish without getting their weight.

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Can you spot the tail? That’s the tail of an extra 1,5kg added to the weight of the pike!

Whatever your preferred statistic is, get out there and keep on grinding! Your new personal best, either in weight or in length, could be just one cast away! Stay Savage my friends!