I measure the fish by the size of the smile on the person who catches them.
That is a far better measurement than a ruler or a scale.
I just figured RAH made marks on his loaner fishing rods for 4" smile, 5" smile, etc.
Obviously, on the kid rods he needs to adjust the ruler down a little bit. Of course, I have seen gigantic kid smiles for a 4" green sunfish brought to the bank!