Scales for fishing – Buying guide, Reviews & Comparison
If you want to find the best fishing gear, but you don’t have time to go through the buying tips and reviews prepared by our research team, this short paragraph should tell you everything you need to know about the best fishing scales. After analyzing a lot of feedback coming from both amateur and professional fishermen, we have concluded that the Rapala RTDS-15 is the best because of its touchscreen display that ensures ease of use and convenience. Simply give the screen a glance to know how much the fish you’re weighing measures up against your opponents’ catch. This large portable digital fishing scale comes with features that facilitate intuitive use. It shows you the weight in different denominations including decimal pounds, kilograms and pounds and ounces, helping you know easily who brings home the bacon during fishing tournaments. The heavy-duty composite clamp allows you to hang the catch easily for weighing. If the Rapala RTDS-15 is unavailable, you should consider the Rapala RSDS-50 as it is a reliable alternative both in terms of performance and quality.
Comparison table
Our Top Choice
The large touchscreen on this fishing scale enables you to easily view the measured values for convenient recording and comparison. Made to help you keep track of your catch, this large model provides measured values in different weighing formats including decimal pounds, kilograms and pounds and ounces for effortless totaling and accuracy. Enjoy easy determination of the position of every catch with the multi-unit measurement capability.
More than one buyer has commented on the included balls and clips being made of flimsy material but the composite clamp is the exact opposite, with its heavy-duty composite build.
If you’re looking for a superbly functional fishing scale, grab this product now while it’s still available. It comes with superior features including a heavy-duty composite clamp, stainless steel hook, multi-unit weighing and more.
2nd Best
Engineered with original Rapala components, this model can be used to weigh larger species of fish. It tells you the exact weight of the fish either in kilograms or pounds so you can select your preferred measurement unit. The on/off tare facilitates weighing of multiple fish or small catches. It allows you to use a receptacle to hold the catch without incorporating the container’s weight into the measured value. Hang the catch easily using the hook system.
According to one user, the buttons on this device can be easily pressed so customers have to take care that it is properly stored among other pieces of fishing equipment in your tackle box.
Enabling you to finish weighing your catch in a jiffy, this model comes with a looped top to enable effortless hanging onto a stand. If you want accuracy and authenticity in fish weight, this is definitely the device to get.
Also To Consider
Made using premium quality components, this fishing scale offers superior craftsmanship. Facilitating easy weighing and convenient weight recording, this fishing scale comes with an auto-save function that stores the weight automatically into the memory of the device for easy recall and recording. The ergonomic body design ensures easy and comfortable handling or holding during the weighing process, while the water-resistant build ensures many seasons of use.
One user has commented that the hook mechanism to hold the fish tends to slip easily out of the fish’s mouth, but putting a fish clamp into the mechanism can fix this issue easily.
Boasting innovative and essential features, this fishing scale facilitates effortless weighing and recording of the catch one fishing season after another. Easy to store in your tackle box, this model offers accuracy for weighing large fish species up to 50 lbs.
3 Best Fishing Scales (Reviews) in 2023
1. Rapala 181592-SSI Touch Screen 15 pound Tourney Scale
Equipped with a large touchscreen, the Rapala RTDS-15 offers convenient functionality and ease of use for weighing and tracking your catch, which is pretty important when you are a participant in a fishing tournament or doing commercial fishing as a livelihood.
This large portable digital fishing scale comes with plenty of features while offering intuitive use so you can easily figure out what its various features are for. This fishing scale displays weight in a variety of weighing formats including pounds and ounces, kilograms and decimal pounds, making it easy to read in any tournament setting. This feature also facilitates easy adding up of measured values.
This exceptional digital fish scale allows effortless recording and position determination of the current catch in your weight total. The heavy-duty composite clamp allows you to simply hang the catch. You can also opt to utilize the supplied hook to enable viewing of the measured weight.
You simply tap on any of the 8 storage locations to enter the fish into the memory of the device and then obtain the accumulated catch weight. Running up to 400 hours on 2 double-A batteries, this model even comes with backup memory that retains stored data in the event of battery power loss. This 15-pound portable digital scale enables you to easily manage your catch. Other convenient features include a Culling System for easy fish identification, and a storage bag with the usage instructions sewn in.
Pros
Fishing tournament contestants will find this touchscreen scale an excellent option for weighing their catch, due to the large display the product comes equipped with.
Figuring out all the functionalities of this scale is easy, and puts the product on top for the most convenient fishing accessories to buy at the moment.
You can choose from various ways of having the information displayed so that you can jot down, with maximum accuracy, how much your catch weighs.
Another advantage offered by this digital scale is that it can record the weight of your catch and store it along with other values so that you can have a clear picture of all your fishing trophies.
Working on two AA batteries, the scale will function for up to 400 hours, before needing to have its batteries replaced.
Cons
You will need to hold the buttons down for clearing the info on the screen, so it may not be for people who like to have the weight of their catch measured quickly.
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2. Rapala 50lb Digital Scale
Geared with high quality exclusive Rapala components, this fishing scale comes with the ability to measure the weight of larger fish species. Perfect for both commercial and tourney purposes, the Rapala RSDS-50 is a compact yet accurate fishing tool that enables you to keep track of your catch and see how you measure up with your tournament opponents.
It can also be used to record catch for small-scale commercial fishing. Get the most value for your catch with this accurate device that tells you the exact weight of the catch in different denominations namely, pounds and kilograms, thus enabling you to weigh the fish according to your desired measuring unit.
The on/off tare function offers easy measuring of small catches placed in a container so you only get the exact weight of what you’ve caught and not that of the receptacle. This feature resets the scale to zero regardless of the fish container. Thus, when you put the fish to be weighed into the container, the display shows the weight of your catch only.
This ensures accuracy when using a container to weigh the fish in. The hook mechanism provides a good way to hang the catch while the loop on top enables hanging of the scale on a stand.
Pros
Whether you want the weight of your catch to be displayed in pounds or kilos, this unit will be able to accommodate you with ease.
Mostly designed for measuring sizable fish species, it can also be used for small-scale commercial fishing with decent accuracy.
You can switch the tare function on or off, which can be quite handy when you need to measure the weight of small fish placed in a container, but without having the container weight affect the total value.
The unit comes with a hook, so you can attach it to a stand, something useful when measuring the weight of sizable fish specimens.
Its compact design recommends it for people who value convenience and ease of use.
Cons
You cannot count on its construction to be particularly durable, so be aware of how you store it, to avoid mishaps.
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3. Berkley Tec Tool 50 lb Digital Fish Scale
Made using nothing less than top quality materials, the Berkley BTDFS50-1 comes from a trusted manufacturer of fishing gear. Geared to help anglers catch more fish, this model ensures that your catch is easily weighed and the measurements recorded conveniently for easy evaluation and comparison.
It features a revolutionary Auto-save function that stores the measured weight automatically into memory. This makes the weighing scale perfect for use in fishing tournaments as well as for commercial fishing applications. You can easily record your catch of the day to maintain easy accounting of what you can sell to customers at the market.
An indispensable tool for the angler who wants to keep an authentic record of their season’s catch, this digital weighing scale comes with an ergonomic body design that makes the unit comfortable to hold in the hand while weighing the catch. Its water resistant construction ensures that the sensitive weighing components inside do not get damaged even after repeated exposure to water.
To enable you to obtain the combined weight of multiple fish, this model comes with a tare button that accommodates weight recording applications. Easy to transport and store, this model has a lightweight and compact design that makes it easily fit into your gear box.
Pros
An excellent tool for anglers who love to participate in tournaments, the Berkley BTDFS50-1 allows you to record the weight of your catch for later evaluation.
Its tare function is an excellent addition that offers the possibility to work with weight recording applications without a glitch.
Many buyers appreciate the compact design that makes it easy to carry around; you will have no trouble with finding a place for it in your tackle box.
Holding the fish scale in your hand is convenient and comfortable, and you will have no trouble with using it.
Obtaining the combined weight of all the fish you caught is possible, and you will be able to use this in tournaments, as well as for commercial purposes.
Cons
You might have to consider protecting it from too much exposure to water, as it does not seem to be waterproof; using it in saltwater conditions without proper care may cause it to malfunction and even break.
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Buyer’s guide
The best fish scales to buy provide ample weighing capacity for the size of your intended catch
Your friends are not easily going to believe you bagged this season’s catch with just a photo. A picture can be photoshopped, fake or taken just too close to the camera to make the fish appear huge when it’s actually not. Every electronic fishing scale has an internal component or device called a load cell.
This element is responsible for sensing and measuring the weight of the fish hung on the fish scale’s clip. Make sure to avoid getting a fishing scale that has an overly large weighing range. For instance, why invest more money in a fish scale that measures up to 40 pounds fish if all you really intend on catching is primarily largemouth bass weighing just 10 pounds or less? What’s the point of spending money on all that extra measuring capacity if it’s not even going to be used at all? A 15-pound handheld digital fish scale is more than enough for bass.
The best digital fishing scales have a heavy-duty attachment mechanism for the fish
If you look into the attachment mechanism of plenty of cheap fish scales, what you will find is a basic circle-shaped hook that only works by sliding under the gill plate of the fish.
This might be able to provide fish weighing at its most practical but if you consider how fish tend to flap around in a clumsy manner, you may want to rethink your options on weighing scales for fishing. The simple hook mechanism can easily allow feisty fish such as smallmouth bass to easily slip off the hook attachment and land in the water, making you lose your prize. In addition, fish species with toothed jaws can easily cut your hands when they slip off the hook. Do look for portable digital fish weighing scales that feature a fish grip style or closed hook attachment system.
The top rated products in the best fishing scale reviews come with durability and quality
You may save money when you go for cheap fishing scales, but once the load cell starts to act up and not function properly or when the unit breaks at the attachment point, you may regret making such a foolish purchase in the first place. Premium quality fish scales are equipped with better load cells that deliver genuinely accurate and thus reliable readings (and they’re also easy to read). A decent quality fish scale also boasts a stainless steel construction for every component of the unit, which ensures resistance to corrosion and chipping that can result from exposure to water.
Fishing scales have created a market all their own, which can overwhelm the consumer because of the sheer number of choices. We urge you to check out the information in the above guide to help you make a more informed shopping decision.
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