Cow Standing Factor
- This topic has 18 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated Dec 23, 2007 at 5:49 am by
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Hey guys –
Byron Begley of Little River Outfitters in Townsend, Tennessee is responsible for one of the funnier measurements of fishing success I have ever heard of: the “Cow Standing Factor.”
Zach,
It is almost always true. That, or I’ve allowed myself to become hoodwinked for most of my fishing life. :-[ I was told that cows are sensitive to changes in barometric pressure but it was so long ago I can’t remember who to attribute it to.
B.
I have fished for 35 years starting with bass casting, to salt flats, and now to fly fishing. I have seen a clear relationship between active cattle and feeding fish.
I have always been told that as well. My dad told me that a long time ago and I guess he heard it from some of his buddies. He is retired now and crappie fishes every day that the wind is not blowing 25 mph or more and I bet good money that if he was driving to the lake with the crappie rig in tow and passed a bunch of cows taking a break under the trees he would would not even slow down. Go figure?
Todd Taylor
My grandfather told me about the cows a long time ago too. When I see squirrels, birds, and lots of other animals out and about feeding I always assume it’s a good time to be on the water. I also look for animal activity when I’m on the water to see how it relates to fish activity. I’m confident that when you see lots of wildlife the fishing is better to an extent but not enough that I’d stay home due to a lack of wildlife activity.
Something else I’ve picked up on after lots of hours on the water is when I see lots of butterflies (usually around the boat) the fishing is almost always very good?
The more important question is how contented the cows are. Contented cows mean contented fishing :).
One of the local guides here, Zach, used to tell me to watch the buffalo at Garfield when going up to Beaver tailwater. I have not been able to always make a correlation, although I joke about it to my customers. The problem is it is 10-12 miles apart, so who’s to say the buffalo didn’t lie down when the fishing slows :).
One funny thing happened on Beaver once however. We started to notice when the crows started crowing the fish would start biting. This went on for 10-15 minutes. The crows would stop and the fish would stop biting. This cycle continued for about 4 hours. It was the only time I’ve ever made a connection, but even my customers commented on how uncanny it was.
Mike makes a great observation. I’ve often noticed on mornings when I drive to the river and the wildlife is very active, the fish are generally feeding well too.
Something else I’ve picked up on after lots of hours on the water is when I see lots of butterflies (usually around the boat) the fishing is almost always very good?
Those are caddis, Tonto – it’s called a hatch.
Were I live and fish the only cows that we come accross are the type for “Cow Tipping” ::) Sad to say it, but the local farm in these parts is a thing of the past. We do have 3 in my town but they are real small probaly under 10 acres each. To keep them as farms the town along with the state of MA had to buy the land at market price and lease it back to the farmers. The other 3 or 4 are now developed 🙁 Some day i’ll know what you guy’s are talking about
Something else I’ve picked up on after lots of hours on the water is when I see lots of butterflies (usually around the boat) the fishing is almost always very good?
Those are caddis, Tonto – it’s called a hatch. 🙂
bd
Haaa haa very funny Dunigan. Keep it up and I’ll microwave the rest of your Rio tippet.
When I was a kid I lived on a farm in Ky with a 5 acre pond full of bass, bluegill and mudcats, miss that place!
I think it’s my strong positive attitude and charming good looks that brings em in. Or maybe that both of my boats have very bright white floors…
As a Kansas boy I feel the need to comment. I have seen a few cows in my time.
A large number of standing cows, specially when you would expect them to be layng down in the heat,
It also means that cattle insurance is expensive, since one lightning strike will often wipe out a whole herd.
Can you save a bunch of money on your cattle insurance by switching to Geico?
bd
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