A Rather Fishy Theory On Women Anglers
TOMORROW is Thanksgiving - a time for women everywhere to be thankful for the uncanny ability to catch more fish than men.
What?
Yes, this has long been one of those Great Truths. Guys sit around bars and say: ``Never go fishing with a woman. They always catch all the fish.''
That's sort of an old husband's tale. The state Department of Fisheries doesn't keep catch information by gender.
But some experts - including a veteran charter operator in Westport - believe women generally land more fish than men.
Now comes a scholarly explanation.
Peter Behan, a professor of clinical neurology at Glasgow University in Scotland, says fish - particularly salmon - may be sexually attracted to women.
That might sound like a dumb theory to float, but it should sell a few copies of his book, ``Salmon and Woman: the Feminine Angle.''
It has to do with chemical messengers known as pheromones. ``It seems quite possible that they (fish) could sense the sex hormones of women and be attracted to them,'' Behan writes.
His theory is widely pooh-poohed by British women - including Barbara Hargreaves, a top angler, who bluntly says: ``I have better things to do with my hormones than catch fish.''
I'm not sure if Behan means women catch only male salmon, or what. If I were going to file Behan's theory, I'd put it under N for numbskullism. Or maybe B for bullhead, or something similar-sounding.
If I thought salmon preferred women and I could fool them, I'd go fishing in drag.
For whatever reason, is there any validity to the suspicion that - proportionately - women catch more fish than men?
Nationally, about one-third of licensed anglers are women. A quickie sampling shows that women represent about one-fourth of the state's 450,000 salmon-license purchasers.
Do they land more fish?
Jerry Pavletich, West Coast representative for Trout Unlimited and father of five daughters, thinks there's something to the notion that women catch more fish:
``When we go fishing for Kamloops trout in Canada, my wife (Ione) consistently catches bigger and more fish than I do.''
``No, I don't think there's any difference,'' says Frank Haw, former deputy director of the state Department of Fisheries and reputed to be one of the best salmon anglers in the state. ``One thing I have noticed is that when you go fishing with a woman, they tend to take instructions better.''
Buzz Wisecup, owner of Coho Motel and Charter in Sekiu, has taken hundreds of men and women fishing. He observes:
``Generally speaking, I don't see one catching more than the other. When my wife and I go fishing, we usually catch an equal number.''
Wisecup thinks men tend to be aggrieved if a woman catches a fish and they are skunked. ``Men always want to be the provider,'' he says. ``That's not always the case. This is the '90s.''
Judy Merchant, deputy fisheries director, doesn't think there's a gender difference between ``fishers.''
``I'm out there to have fun,'' Merchant says, ``not to see who's better.''
Mark Cedargreen, owner of Westport Charters, says:
``I think women do catch more fish, and I think it's poetic justice. Men are more macho and think fishing is their realm. It's humiliating for some man to go out and have his wife catch more fish.
``My mother-in-law always caught more fish than my father-in-law.
``Look who won the annual Westport Derby this year with a 52-pound king - one of our passengers, Essie Calsyn, a grandmother from Spokane.''
Frank deLibero, legendary statistical whiz with the Department of Fisheries, volunteered to provide a clearer answer.
From 1988 records, he checked 531 punch cards - 423 men and 108 women. That's close to the ratio of men to women license-holders.
The results (the first-ever sample look at catch-by-gender in this state):
Men averaged 2.1 salmon annually. Women averaged 1.9. Throw in the normal margin of error, and that's close to a dead heat.
So much for Professor Behan's amorous-salmon theory. Maybe the movie will be better than the book.
Don Hannula's column appears Wednesday on The Times' editorial page.