View Full Version : identifying hen vs. buck
SeanD
12-06-2002, 04:48 PM
Ok, ill admit i havent caught all that many steelhead. Ive been at it a while, and still learning, but never learned how to tell the difference between a hen and a buck. Except after i cut them open and find eggs. How do you tell?
[ 12-06-2002, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: SeanD ]
Gus Orviston
12-06-2002, 04:50 PM
I ask BOE :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :tongue:
KingFisher85
12-06-2002, 04:51 PM
By the way they look on the out side or by the small hook nose the bucks have.
MarlinMark
12-06-2002, 05:09 PM
I look primarily at the jaw. If the upper jaw bone goes past the eye, then it is usually a buck. Bucks not only have bigger mouths but they are shaped different. Look at pictures in magazines for practice.
Mark :cheers:
Hammernfish
12-06-2002, 06:08 PM
I try to use the shape of the head and mouth. I don't get it right 100%, but usually the bucks have bigger heads and longer mouths. Hen usually has short snout(is that a word?)and a short mouth (jaw). Hope it helps
1pump
12-06-2002, 06:36 PM
I don't know about steelhead, but I use Marlin's method on salmon, and so far I've always been right. (knock on wood) :smile:
Does it matter? I keep a few steelies (annually) but only if they're fresh looking. Just enough to keep me in smoked fish. Springers...any fish I get gets bonked!
Wild Chrome
12-07-2002, 02:04 PM
Unless you're catching early summer runs, the bucks almost always have a lower jaw extending well past the eye and an upward hook (kype) at the front tip. The hen's lower jaw extends to, but not past the eye and no kype at the tip. This time of the year, summer run bucks are usually darker too. I find early returning summer runs (springers) very tough to distinguish as they are sexually immature and look alike. For my money, hens are more acrobatic on average.
[ 12-07-2002, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: Wild Chrome ]