Quillback question

[krayfish2]

I've seen them.....they are very spooky and I'd imagine they'd be very tough to get a cast at.

Has anyone ever tried to target them on the fly rod? Can they be caught on a fly rod? The ones I've seen in the river were in the 2-5 pound range and imagine they'd be quite a challenge to present a fly without spooking them. Might be a weekend project this summer to see if I can actually catch one of these critters.

 

[Dave_W]

I caught one last week on a streamer fly while targeting SMBs. To be sure, this is unusual and is the first one I've caught on a fly in a long time.

They're supposedly insect eaters. I've spent some time drifting nymphs through schools of them without any luck. I usually ignore 'em but they are so numerous on some of our bigger rivers. . .it's tempting. If you follow up on this project, let us know how you made out.

 

[JG63]

If carp are "Golden Bones" QB's are Freshwater Permit!

 

[krayfish2]

JG,
You'll be jealous when I post my 'quill back grip and grin' pic this summer. Lol. I imagine the quest will last an hour and then I'll go back to smallie fishing. Just wondering if they are catchable.

 

[Fredrick]

krayfish2 wrote:
JG,
You'll be jealous when I post my 'quill back grip and grin' pic this summer. Lol. I imagine the quest will last an hour and then I'll go back to smallie fishing. Just wondering if they are catchable.

If you catch one on the fly I will buy you a beer of your choosing int:

 

[wgmiller]

Interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quillback

 

[sandfly]

Hmmm, cowenesque water shed here has them will have to watch for them this year

 

[foxtrapper1972]

I've caught a few Quillback Carpsuckers over the years using plastic twisters when fishing the river. They should take a small streamer. Never found them in numbers to target them. Cool looking fish.

 

[Mike]

There is an annual, very large spring spawning migration up Maiden Ck for a few miles from Lake Ontelaunee, Berks Co. Ontelaunee has a very large population. I don't recall if the migration occurs in April or May.