I had just checked my Berkley scale with a combo of Steel weights. I used one 10 lb weight, one 7 and two 1 1/2 weights and two 5 lb weights. The best I can get with a small cable to lift them was from 9.4 to 9.8 I could not get 10 lbs. This makes a deference of a 9.8 being a 10. I do get up to 1 1/2 to 2 lbs more in the tourneys from the scale I have and this is not a bad thing LOL!

My question is what is the best true hand scale out there right now? Or are they all a oz or two off one way or the other?

Thanks!
Don.

I wouldn't trust the 'weight' stamped on a 'weight'. Just how close to "10 lbs" might they be...........not very close I'd bet.

For a quick and I think more accurate way to test my Berkely scale, I put one 5 lb bag of sugar or flour in a grocery store( or Kmart) plastic bag and hang it from the scale. Then I put two bags in for a 10 lb indidcation. IMO, those bags of sugar/flour are going to be 'right on' as their content/weight is controlled by the US Dept. of Commerce(I think?) or some other agency.


Dan

I have the rapala scale and it is accurate to the oz I have 2 of these scales and both are very accurate. But if you want the best a cull em' right is accurate in measuring fractions of an oz but costs like 200.00 I dont know if it's the best scale but should be for 200.00

I have two of the Rapala 15 lb. scales. One was certified by IGFA for up to 25 lbs. The second they would not certify because it was too inconsistent.
I always double-check the digital scale (the good one!) with a spring scale.

Please practice CPR (Catch, Photograph, and Release)

RogerB

What I have done was go to the store and buy 2 gallons of water in 1 gallon jugs. Then on check out have the cashier weigh each jug individually on the certified scale they have (it helps when you know them too, doesnt seem as weird). With a sharpie write the weight on each jug. Then use one or both jugs to test the accuracy of your scale. If I remember correctly the Arrowhead gallons weighed in about 8.75 pounds.

Well, I dont buy anything. I go get 3 one gallon jugs of water then walk over to the produce section. Then, weigh the gallon(s) on the produce scale, then weigh it on my scale. This is the best, easiest way I know of. However, you do look a little silly but ya just need to get over that.

There are only a few handheld scales that can be IGFA certified. The two that come to mind are the Boga Grip and the Salter Digital Scale. The reason IGFA won't certify other hand held digital scales like the Berkley, Stren or Rapala type scales is because they do not always weigh consistently. On one weighing, they might weigh 10.0 and on another 10.1 and another 9.9. This isn't to say that there aren't very accurate Berkley, Stren or Rapala scales out there, it's just that not all of them are consistent.

For bass fishing, I would recommend the salter scale. It can weigh in pounds and ounes or decimal. It will weigh in increments to 1/2oz in ounces or .05lbs in decimal. It will weigh consistently every time. Nico, Fish Chris and I all have this scale and I have gotten mine IGFA certified successfully (They weigh a wide range of weights on the scale and check the scale against each weight). Just go to www.cabelas.com and type in salter scale in the search box and you will find it.

What's kind of funny is that when I started weighing fish on this scale in tournaments, I found that the scales at most tournaments weigh heavy. I don't know if they do this to boost up the weights or because people complain if the fish weigh less on the tournament scales than on their handhelds or what, but it's very noticeable, like typically several ounces.

I had the rapala scale and it was to the ounce perfect for two weeks and then out of nowhere would way randomly 2 or 3 lbs off the real weight. I went to an old fashioned spring scale now. Atleast I know I'm within an ounce or two.

Jeremy did you try Taring yoru rapala scale like 2x before you used it? I had that problem before but once it traes liek 2 times it weighs perfect again. If not try returning it to rapala I am sure they will replace it.

I have a CCI Model HS-30 that is certified 'legal for trade'. It is a hanging/hand-held and is guaranteed accurate by certification plus/minus .02 lb.. they can be purchased at Pacific Scale, ph 503-657-7500. I'm guessing you guys are needing to be prepared....'just in case'.....Me too. I would hate to pull a State record and blow it out of the tub with an inaccurate scale,

Bud

~$300 holy crap... that's an expensive scale...

not sure if thats a common price but the one place I found online had that listed as the price for the CCI-HS-30

I bought mine from Pacific Scale. It cost $185.37. This included freight and handling. Talk to Lee Offield; Project Manager. He's been a fisherman for sixty years and understands the dilemma of accurate trophy weighing.

You don't want or need the 'pan' that is an accessory. The scale has a hook at the bottom...Maybe the pan is what jacked up the price. The scale hook is smaller than I would like. I hang a long shanked shark hook(barb filed off) from the scale hook and hit the 'zero' button. I use a small rubber plug on the scale hook to keep the shark hook from falling off. It works great....and it can be certified yearly.

Bud

Ok $185 seems a little more reasonable. Thats the best price I have seen most of the places online were around $300 and the hanging portion at one site was $95 extra. I'm not in the market for a new scale but will definately have to keep this one in mind. Looks to be a good deal for anyone who wants certifiable weights of their trophys.

Ok, this question applies only to Cali. What is the advantage to having a certifiable scale? In Cali, I know you have to have a DFG employee verify your fish in person as a particular species (absolutely ridiculous, ummm, yeah, Crupi's fish may have been a spotted bass. I dont think so). So, if I have a scale that is not certifiable, but Ive done the grocery store thing, and I catch a bass that is close to a record of some sort, why would I want to have a certifiable scale? If its close, Im gonna double check it with another scale any way. I still have to have DFG come out, and I still have to abide by all the other regs with certifiying a record. I assume the answer is that, after DFG shows up, I wouldnt have to transport to a certifiable scale. Or is it because you all just want to know with absolute certainty what your fish weighs? I guess with the variation in scale weights, Ive always been comfortable with what my scale tells me, as long as I occassionally check it at the grocery store

Steve I am also puzzled? If I spent 185- on a scale I could'nt afford to go fishin' :+

I'm happy with my 50 dollar Berkley scale,I can do a ton of things with 185 bucks,rods swimbaits etc..way to expensive for such a trivial item.most lakes have a scale on site right? isnt that how they certify the lake record etc?
just curious,
Brian

my thought in getting my scale IGFA certified was along these lines...

It's 2am. You're shore fishing with a friend but there's no one around. The lake record is oh, say 18.6lbs. You catch a 19.5. You want to release the fish. Now what?

Or another one might go like this. The state record is 21lbs 12oz. You're fishing during the day but at a lake with no marina (yes there are several trophy lakes in Nor-Cal with no marinas). You catch a 21lb 15oz fish. You call DFG and they come on down to the lake. You beg the guy to let you take the fish to a nearby town to weigh it but he says no way, you can't break the law and transport live gamefish. You want to release the fish, what do you do?

Stuff like this seems kind of far fetched but it's exactly the kind of stuff that happens in reality. If you have an IGFA certified scale at least you stand a chance at getting the lake record or a state record. If you're scale is some $20 scale, do you think anyone is really going to believe you or trust you?

Personally if I got a lake record or a state record, I'd like to get the record, and if that costs me 90 bucks for a scale and 40 or 50 to get it certified, so be it. But, if I didn't have the scale and getting a lake record or a state record meant that I had to kill a huge fish that wasn't the world record, I wouldn't do it! I'd rather release a high teen fish than kill it just for the lake of getting a certified weight. I know some of you guys are real serious about big fish and that's the kind of stuff you should think about before you get to the lake, not after it happens.