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Having looked at all the measurements in this thread,especially the photos of fish against a tape.Everyone of these fish would measure a half inch to full inch longer,if they were properly measured. Properly being the tail fin squeezed to a point,measuring on a cradle style board is also a hell of alot more accurate then a steel tape. Not to mention the above method is how fish are measured by wardens and biologists.
No,you are aren't getting a shorter reading off of a board.You're getting a true reading,because there's no way to cheat.If the snout of fish is touching the end of the board stop and the tail is measured to the point,thats the actual measurement and thats how biologists and anyone else that actually records accurate fish growth measures them.
Yes, that is "one perch" with more than 7 bars.(random variations) Show me a pile of perch and lets see how many would be like that.
And another perch with less than 7 stripes. Look at the top perch in this picture. It only has 5 stripes.(Image removed from quote.)