What the heck am I doing different? (update 1/14)

[Uglygreen]

OK - so answer me this:

As of yesterday, so far this season I have personally landed 47 winter steelhead. Of that total, only 2 have been hens (and one was a snake). All the other 45 fish have been bucks. Not that that im complaining - its been an an above average year so far, with trip totals in the double digits most days.)

But - thats 96% bucks. :shocked: and only 4% hens :whazzup:

So what the heck is up with that? Thoughts? Opinions?

UG

[ 01-11-2004, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[fishnpray]

Why UG, it should seem obvious...when you're attracting the men instead of the women, you need to change up your scents. :-)

[Tacklebuster]

Maybe you should switch after shaves and try a little deoderant before you leave the house

Wish I could help you out on this one but I have never fished for the species, I'll put that on my "to do" list for next year.

[blacktail]

Brad,

Is this some kind of prelude to you telling us that you're coming out of the closet?

Mike

[Hogmaster]

"Not that there is anything wrong with that!"

:grin: :grin: :grin:

You are what you are. Don't fight it. We will understand.

Maybe you are fishing on the wrong side of the river?

Or maybe it is the males are aggressively trying to attack your stuff because they fear you are going to clean out the species!

Or is it the remnants, the aura, of that champion Shad that attracts the males to you?

Big Shad Brad, the pied piper of Buck Steelies!

It could be worse...

[img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

[Fishalot]

Brad I have not caught nearly as many Steelhead as you, however they have mostly been hens . Maybe if we fish together it would even things out .
I however do have to work so the bank does not take my house from me :smile: .


Fishalot

[Holehog]

Lay off the "HEN in HEAT" scent

[cutt plug]

I wish I had that dilema, 47 fish, sheesh I wish I could catch that many in 5 seasons!

The few I've caught this year have been bucks also, I lost one I think was a hen. I feel like the hens come un-buttoned more often reducing the ratio. Perhaps the smaller mouths and the fact they tail dance a little more. It also seems they're in pairs, if you catch a buck it's likely there's a hen there as well.

Any advice to get me into double digits for the season?

Thanks,

[k9jeff]

You wearing high heeled waders???

[Uglygreen]

DJ - we missed you. Did your client make it with the snow? Driving to the river thru the blizzerd yesterday we were thinking they probably would no show, and it would suck to be you! Ha Ha.

UG

[Captain and Marie]

Uglygreen,

You should try using Marie's Shrimp/Anise to catch more Hens!

Marie

[35WLN]

I always had the best luck getting a hen with a purple jig with just a little bit of white to it. I fish the upper holes on the washougal and you can see the fish in the pools. I used that jig if there were more than one and probably 70% of the time I got a hen. Works for me, maybe you. Good luck

[Gun Rod Bow]

I thought the answer was easy, stop wearing one glove and grabbing your crotch all the time.

I wondered what was up when you spun around, yelled WOOO!, and Moon walked when you hooked the last one.

I just thought you liked boys. "It's a thriller!" :grin:

[Uglygreen]

Marie - I have been using YOUR shrimp scent - I was thinking maybe that WAS the problem???

HaHa - just kidding. I do like your shrimp scent(s) - And I do believe they are just as good or better than anything else out there, but improving the buck to hen ratio? hmmmmmm... Im skeptical (but I love you anyway).

35WLN - Im going to test your purple/white theory, any particular brand you like?

UG

[The Bad Fish]

oh bradley... of the 3 hens we got on new years day 2 were already busted to singles and one was already shot, so unless your eating the eggs too( i saw dave johnson do this once on the hot tamale outdoor show ) dont worry , with your fish catching skills i have witnessed over the years, you can catch with a bare hook. springers are just around the corner and with ol bruce taking the wife and i well i will just give you the eggs from our fish.. hows that?? see you saturday. kb

[Uglygreen]

Bruce -

You ever have trouble telling the difference between a stick and a fish? HAHA - and who had the big "S" on their forehead at the end of the day? LOL. Who wants to hear Bruces stick/fish fish/stick story?

:grin:

UG

[ 01-04-2004, 07:38 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[Uglygreen]

BF - I already accepted chairty eggs on one occasion in the last couple days, but im never too proud to accept some more! Looking forward to Saturady as well, maybe I can wiesel an invitation on that springer trip with you and the big bald one.

UG

[ 01-04-2004, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[Ty]

Boys Boys Boys!!!

Two things, males are more aggressive and thus, if you are using methoids that are more exclusive to ,ales could be the case.

My percentagesa are not as low as yoru but close.

As the run progresses, the female percentage increased to 50 % @ the peak, then at 65% the run is over. That is under teh assumption that your methods of catch are equal to 50/50 male to female, which is unlikely.

So teh combination of the two factore above. early in the run and catch methods!

[Gun Rod Bow]

OOPS!

I shouldn't have made fun of UG's hero :blush:

Apparently I struck a nerve :grin:

[ZaQ]

It's not about the numbers :tongue:


I wish I had such problems.

[Timber]

U.G I asked myself the samething this fall.The percentage of hens to bucks was UGLY. Timber{ha}

[kayakfisher]

Bring flowers if you want the hens to like you.

m.

[Mrdorkfish]

Uh, I thought that there are mostly bucks that enter this time of year and le creme da femme arive a little later?? Is that true?? Really.

MrDorkfish [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

Louis

[Uglygreen]

Oh Zaq - I assume you are refering to spooleds post.

Sorry, but I love the competetion between my buddies and myself and some here on Ifish. I thrive on (friendly) competetion. Truth be told, I hate catching the least number of fish on the boat, and I love catching the most. Of course im just happy to be there in the first place. But i'm happier having just one more fish than anyone else. Anyone that says differnt is telling lies.

The best times I have are fishing with guys like Wildhawg or Gun Rod Bow and it is a team effort on one level, but on another it is competetive - and thats what makes it fun. I like being on the boat that catches the most fish, I like catching the most fish on the boat. I like catching more fish than you if I can! If to some people that makes me a jerk, oh well.

For me its a sport, not just a hobby. In sports you keep score. The cool thing is that like all sports tomrrow is another day, a different game. Next year is a new season, everybody starts new. Just like any other sport; you learn, you get better, you gain expierence as time goes on - and the scoreboard gets reset at the beginning of every game. The last couple days fishing with GRB, I spanked him 7/3 and 3/0. When we go springer fishing in the next couple months he will probably spank my butt far worse and I will have to listen to his crap for a few days. I know that and yet I will still be there having fun getting my butt spanked. Every time I get my butt spanked by someone better than me I pay attention and learn, sooner or later I know enough to play the game on the same level as they do. And on and on it goes.

The competetion between myself and a few others makes me a better angler - I try harder, get up earlier, pay more attention, try new things, learn new tech and all that. I love the competetion. I love the smack, I can dish it out when I win for the day, and I can take it like a man when I lose for the day. Last year I lost the sturgon challange here on ifish (I got the baton) and dont think you heard me crying about it. Even though I figured I was a pretty fair sturgon angler I lost and took my knocks.

The only thing I can't stand is the whiners who cry cause they don't win a game they claim not to even play. If you cant stand the heat, dont go in the kitchen. If fishing isn't a competetive sport for you, don't critize the people who both like and thrive on the competetion. I'm not going to be sorry about being good at something I've tried hard to be good at. Not in fishing and not in the rest of life.

UG

Also - people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones - the archive search feature on Ifish works to well for that.

And I know I feel better now too.

[ 01-04-2004, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[ZaQ]

I have been getting many emails and PM's saying "it's not about the numbers" or some version of that sentence. Kinda tiring.........I like numbers. I like BIG numbers. But that is me.

In response to this thread, my last few fish have been hens, which is good I needed the eggs.

[Kentucky Hog Hunter]

UG,

Man you are the steelhead master...

I don't know about the ratio however...kinda strange with so few hens...

I would say over the last 2 weeks of fishing its been 2:1 ratio of hens to bucks for me but I surely haven't caught that many...

Keep up the good work and those hens will come...the law of aveages says so...

[Uglygreen]

It was a serious question - of course I should have known not to expect a serious response from THIS crowd! Sheesh - LOL. Of course, with the exception of my very tolerent and loving wife and daughter, most women hate me so maybe thats it.

But really - statistical blip huh? With the water conditions - most of my fish have been on jigs of late. Where as in years past I fished a lot more eggs/shrimp. I was kinda wondering jigs were buck prone compaired to eggs or shrimp. As near as I can remember last year and 2001 were pretty even splits between the two. Or at least not enough different that I noticed. Of course if I wasnt to lazy to keep a logbook I might know for sure. The fact that I havnt been putting up any steelhead eggs has nade me notice every hen caught - and for the last 3 or 4 trips ive been keeping pretty close tabs on the total fish and the ratio which is at 45:2 as of now. Pretty wierd huh?

cutt plug - best advice is keep pounding the water - try to learn something new every time you go out. Im more excited about learning something new, or gaining some new piece of knowledge than anything else.

UG

[ 01-04-2004, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Uglygreen ]

[David Johnson]

Sucks being you

[ibfishn]

U.G.- Interesting. I had the opposite happen last year; of 69 fish landed, 52 were hens. I use spinners only, so I don't think it's a matter of aggression. I haven't done any research on the subject, but I'm sure there's some info on migration/schooling patterns in the literature. I'll check into it and let you know what I find.
Neil

[CATCH AND EAT]

Brad, check your back pocket. It could be that darn sturgeon BATON that the chicks are afraid of. :grin:

[No Wishin Just Fishin]

Brad

Does the baton come with Batteries? :grin:

[blacktail]

I think I figured it out....You should be wearing chapstick, not lipstick. :tongue:

Mike

[Dragfreedrift]

UG- last year I got mostly bucks, this year mostly hens so far....it evens out!

Vegas types call this a streak!


HC

[Uglygreen]

Couple brats, one was FINALLY another Hen! :grin:



Fish #54 and #55 - Fish #54 was finally a third hen! Woohoo!!!

Our party also landed 6 nates today, 3 of which were over 15 lbs, one probably broke 18. All chrome. Would have loved to have pictures of them but the camera battery was dead on the river. :depressed:

UG

[weekend warrior]

Very nice fish Brad. Let me tell you, fish #54 & 55 [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] ... You are would heck of a steelhead fishin' machine . Keep it up. I'd be in heaven if I'd already got that many steelies.
Yuh know the funny thing is I've caught probably 10% of the steelies you have in probably 4or5 trips and I've gotten more hens than you.. I think I've only got a couple bucks. Then again to back up your theory I have got them all on shrimp and eggs... Go figure.

Congrats

Later Geoff

[Jennie@ifish]

Males are easy... females? Not so...

Keep working at it, and you'll get more.

Jen

[Twitchs_Tackle]

My buddy had the same problem last year. I caught only one buck and a lot of hens, he caught only 2 hens . Well, this must be his year, because so far out of all his fallies and winters, EVERY ONE has been a hen! I on the other hand, haven't got one. All I know is that he is now asking for my freezer space to store his eggs... [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

"Oops, sorry dude, the power outage killed my freezer... I had to throw all your eggs away. Well, I'm off to the river, I helped a bus load of nuns change their tire yesterday and they re-paid me with 5 gallons of eggs. Great ladies, well... tootle-loo!"

[cutt plug]

Nice chromers!

I'm glad you finally got some girls.