male or female, that is the question

I’ve been fishing my whole life and reading this forum for the last 2 years. I always hear or read of people describing their catch as male or female. A fish isn’t like a dog or cat, you know, lift up the tail and look for the jewels. I know that generally the larger fish are female and the smaller ones male but just when I start telling myself that males are those pesky short fish and females are the ones over 20, I’ll hear someone comment about the 25 inch male they caught last time out. I give up. I can’t figure out how a guy can accurately sex a fish. Does anyone out there have any better rules of thumb than “larger = female and smaller = male”? And I know that obviously spawn and milt give it away but what if none of that is present?

Right now it is easy, the females are showing like a nine month pregnant woman! Maybe fishsqzr could lend some insight???
Tuck

Like you say Tuck… nothing magic about it…. at THIS time of year…… the females are full of eggs and look like a good pin would make them go *boom*….. the males are their usual thin selves…. and pretty soon will be leaking milt… pretty easy to tell….

weekendwarrior

From late fall through the spawn it is pretty easy to tell the girls from the boys and if you’re in doubt right now, turn the fish over and do a rub down the fish’s belly toward the vent. If its a boy, milt will be present in small quantities. In a couple days – week, a LOT of milt will be present!

In the summer, I don’t think I can accurately sex them to save my life. I’ve heard some claim they can by the position and shape of the vent in relationship to the anus. I can’t and think those guys should stop spending so much time looking at fish’s privates and take up golf!…lol

Good question!

LMAO at ~H2O~!!!

You know………..the only difference in that suggestion is that the search for balls won’t require a boat!

I kiss it on the lips … and if it doesn’t turn it’s cheek on me it must be a female… or batting on the wrong side in which case he is lucky and lives to swim again… hehehe… Seriously, I go with the 20″ rule, although I don’t have to worry much about that as I don’t catch many over 20″…

I think it’s pretty easy to tell them apart.The males are the ones you will find in the backwaters swimming around aimlessly looking for the dam because their too dang stubborn to stop and ask directions.

And the ”blond” female walleyes are the ones swimming around aimlessly in the backwaters looking for the dam because they did ask for directions. [couldn’t resist] lol. Thanks, Bill

James:

You’re right!!! I think I have posted before that you can tell the sex by the vent in a muskie. I took that information to the local biologist hoping he would give me the answer we all are looking for.

His answer: Post spawn, any fish over a high teen length has the potential to be a female and should be treated as such. The fisheries biologists can’t do it any better after they have spawned either.

Mark