Best culling scales available?

[Mick2268]

Balance beam. Most accurate culling device made.

Yes but this is brutal on fish; I cringe watching them constantly mess with fish, pulling the same ones out over and over. I like a system that the fish is weighed and recorded somehow. That way the live well lid doesn't even need to be opened unless you know you have an upgrade.

OP: My wife got me a $40 +/- Berkley scale like 10 years ago for my birthday. Still going strong; I keep hoping it will die so I can buy one of those newer fancier ones, but it won't.

[Mcjenson]

Yes but this is brutal on fish; I cringe watching them constantly mess with fish, pulling the same ones out over and over. I like a system that the fish is weighed and recorded somehow. That way the live well lid doesn't even need to be opened unless you know you have an upgrade.

OP: My wife got me a $40 +/- Berkley scale like 10 years ago for my birthday. Still going strong; I keep hoping it will die so I can buy one of those newer fancier ones, but it won't.

Some of the pros have the strangest cull strategies, and make a surprising amount of mistakes either culling their 5th or casting with 6 in the well. Even heard a pro on BTL say when he culls he pull all the fish out of the well and lays them on the carpet to compare size . I like to weigh and tag each fish, keep only 6 cull tags in the boat so I know I should only have one hanging, and record all the weights on one of those plastic accu-cull boards. Only need to break out the beam if its very close.

[supra360]

Rapala touch scale 15lbs. Keep it in a water proof bag with desiccant packs.

[Mick2268]

H2O made those adjustable fish tags; just dial in what the fish weighed and forget it. I don't see them anymore, but hope mine last forever. All my stuff stays in boat including scales stays in my step cooler, gets the crap beat out of it, and keeps working fine.

[Mark Perry]

Rapala is worthless in bright sunlight and if they last a year, you are lucky.
Bricknell's are not waterproof catch commander is waterproof.

The Rapala high contrast scale shows up well in the sunlight

[MichAngler]

Rapala is worthless in bright sunlight and if they last a year, you are lucky.
Bricknell's are not waterproof catch commander is waterproof.

I'm going on year 5 or 6 now with my Rapala Touch screen

Kept in its cloth bag the whole time

Yes its difficult to see in direct sunlight but I like all the features and ease of use with touch screen rather than just 3 buttons

[dwtaylor]

I have a catch commander. Works pretty good, but I genrally suck at tournaments and rarely cull anyway so take that how it is lol

[clayshooter]

Balance beam. Most accurate culling device made.

I agree.!! But mine needs new batteries.! Any ideas on where to get the best batteries for it?

[JMason]

To me, nothing is better than a balance beam.

[trackernh]

I've had pretty decent luck with Rapala Touch 15# as well. I keep it as dry as I can (keep it in a ziplock bag) in my day Skeeter's day box. They do seem to wipe out batteries a little fast but for what I paid for it I think it's pretty darn good and I keep a more batteries in case they fail. I use the AccuCull tags...we can't use puncture tags in our tournaments. No puncture-free tags seem 100% and I've tried a few but they generally do OK. The scale weights seem accurate.

[Bassin Billy]

Been using accucull for probably 6 plus years now. Econ elite tags, the cull tracking board mounted under livewell lid and recently upgraded to the new waterproof scales. NEVER once had a fish die. The old scales worked great. But weren't water proof. The new ones are waterproof, come with a t-handle for weighing and are very accurate. VERY HAPPY with that setup!!

[Thamelau]

I have the Rapala touch screen in the boat.. Have never touched it to cull. Always in a hurry and just quicker to work through them real quick with a beam? Once they're all on cull tags... takes me about a minute to run 6 across the beam. Not to mention, rarely is there 6 that need to be put on it. I suppose with the exception of knowing how much weight you have, I can't think of any reason the digital would be quicker really? I'm probably old school.

I can tell you I spend a lot less time than a minute pushing 2 buttons on my Rapala Scale, and I'm not grabbing multiple fish each cull session.

[Thamelau]

I love my Rapala Touch Screen scale and use it for culling. If the fish are within .10lbs I may break out the balance beam, but have only done that a couple of times. Going on its 5th season in the boat with me through cold, rain, heat, and snow with no issues. I don't really understand the issue with seeing it in the sun, I just turn my body so it is in the shadow, and that is only on the brightest days I've had to worry about that. If it broke tomorrow, I would have another one on order that day. Dad bought a Rapala high contrast scale, and after a year of using it as a co beside my touch screen he bought the touch screen. He's also old, blind, and not good with technology.

[mjdjr18]

Thank you all. I'm a self confessed eyeballer. It's served me well over the years. Not interested in beaming. Looking for a consistent, reliable scale with a memory system. I think I've found it...

[AKRISONER]

ive casually thought about how there is certainly a "gap" in this particular niche market. I have owned multiple of the rapalas they do the job perfectly except for the fact that they dont like water and tend to break very quickly.

This reminds me I need to have a chat with a guy I know in fishing product development. Maybe I can solve our problems...

[Brush hog Billy]

Yup and it never lies

[Jaredn]

I’m hoping one day I will have to cull

[lpugh]

The Rapala high contrast scale shows up well in the sunlight

compared to catch commander it does not
Guys he asked for the best, I think have just every one at one and several rapalas as well berkley, Catch Comander is superior to any of them
The closet one to it is Bricknel and it is not water proof.

[Mark Perry]

compared to catch commander it does not
Guys he asked for the best, I think have just every one at one and several rapalas as well berkley, Catch Comander is superior to any of them
The closet one to it is Bricknel and it is not water proof.

I have zero complaints about my Rapala scale. I see it just fine in the sunlight etc.like most things the "best" differs person to person. I was just trying to help the gentleman out.

[jigheadworm]

Same here been going on 2 yrs with the Rapala.

I have zero complaints about my Rapala scale. I see it just fine in the sunlight etc.like most things the "best" differs person to person. I was just trying to help the gentleman out.