Suckers on Spring Creek

jifigz wrote:
NewSal wrote:
Your not alone, I cant stand catching suckers either, but its part of the game, not much you can do about it, I like the drop-shotting advice although.

and jifigz..
I disagree about someone not supposed to care about the species. Species does matter, I don't have the time right now to write you a essay on why species matters ie: catching trout vs suckers, but its pretty much well known that some species are more highly sought after than others, for a variety of reasons.
I cant stand catching suckers, if I see its a sucker I get it in and off my line as fast as damn possible, there just not very appealing fish.
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You may have misunderstood what I meant, or maybe not, but I'll clarify. It is extremely well known that some species are more sought after than others. This occurs for many reasons such as table quality, abundance, culture, beauty, or pure reverence and respect. Also, every species has nuances and behaviors that we as fisherman come to know and understand and through that process we better learn how to catch that species. With that said, some species are inherently harder to fool with any means of angling than others or their numbers may not be high enough to readily target, etc, etc. If one of these two things is true, there is a good chance that those species won't be highly sought after. This all makes perfect sense and I feel pertains to the sucker. Beauty also has a lot to do with it. White Suckers are not nearly as pretty as any species of trout/char. If suckers are extremely present on Spring Creek, as the OP suggests, then go give angling FOR suckers a try sometime. You may find it to be a little more frustrating than trout, so much so that you will give up and go back that one focusing on trout.

The general point of this is I have fished A LOT in my life and never once targeted suckers, nor have I ever meant someone who has targeted suckers. However, I am also not someone who is disgusted by or upset that I have caught one. So the general point is, why not enjoy the fight and the fish? They put up a heck of a tussle on a 4 weight. Sure, they may not have been what you're targeting, but they are still a lot of fun so why grumble about it.
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That's a lot of words to just say that you don't mind catching suckers. Regardless, I still don't like catching them, its a non-issue for me, I just don't like catching them when I do.. that's it..
 
pete41 wrote:
what amazed me when living in Montana was there were a few guides that specialized in catching rocky mountain whitefish and dudes would hire them to do so--I thought they were the ultimate sucker.lol
some flatlanders really believed they were a prize catch like grayling but neither were pursued by locals except to smoke some whitefish.
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The age old question, what's more sporting? Finding a sucker to pay you to put them on suckers, or catching suckers?
 
Depending on the size of water you are fishing, I'd take a few photos of the suckers and try to tie up streamers that look similar.

Browns get to a certain age and size where they go piscivorous and will defer to fish for their diet. Even if it is a small blue line stream you cannot disregard the possibility of a tank hiding in a large pool. Fall pre-spawners will eat meat for sure.

Heck, that one in my avatar is over 20" I caught him in a stream that was 5' wide and the hole he was in was only 2'deep. He ate a small sculpin.

I am not talking giant galloup tandem hook articulated streamers here. Go small, jansen minnows, small fish skull + bucktail and craft fur type patterns.
 
one night when I was flyfishing the missouri river just east of Helena Mt. I foul hooked a sucker-since I had heard that a lot of monster[double digits ] spawning browns ,coming out of the lakes were caught on sucker meat I decided to give it a try for the fun of it.
cut it up,put a minnow shaped piece on a size 2 streamer hook which I had defeathered,drifted it down a channel where I had caught many four pound plus browns and a few rainbows on flies,and--------I caught a sucker.
Laughed and went back to fly fishing---wondered if I had caught a big momma[18pd'er caught by someone right in that area]if It would have been cheating if I sorta fudged and said [got it on a flyrod]..
 
Has anyone tried eating suckers? Winter caught nice firm white meat....could be good smoked? I tried it in summer and it was mushy and unappealing. Trout stream caught suckers should be good eating.
 
foxtrapper1972 wrote:
Has anyone tried eating suckers? Winter caught nice firm white meat....could be good smoked? I tried it in summer and it was mushy and unappealing. Trout stream caught suckers should be good eating.
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No, Its always been easy enough to pull some stockers out to eat, so I've never felt the need to eat a sucker, I don't like catching them, I don't like the way they look, I don't like the noises they make, and I'm almost certain I wouldn't like the way they tatse.

:lol:
 
I dunno... I'll take Spring sucker patties (ground up and mixed with a few bread crumbs and pattied..) fried in a skillet like you would a burger over any stocked trout, any day.

Then again, I guess I must have grown up in less affluent times when we didn't bother assigning notches to fish species on the ladder of social status. We were more concerned with how they tasted. Spring sucker is pretty good eating...
 
RLeep2 wrote:
I dunno... I'll take Spring sucker patties (ground up and mixed with a few bread crumbs and pattied..) fried in a skillet like you would a burger over any stocked trout, any day.

Then again, I guess I must have grown up in less affluent times when we didn't bother assigning notches to fish species on the ladder of social status. We were more concerned with how they tasted. Spring sucker is pretty good eating...
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I'll try anything once, sounds like you know what your doing so next time you feel like frying up some spring sucker patties let me know, Ill bring the beer.
 
I might have to try it. Can you keep suckers out of Spring Creek?
 
I love eating fish but have never tried suckers. I remember an old timer telling me when I was a kid that he just loved canned suckers that were caught early in springtime. As other have noted, this was once a significant angling tradition in PA. I just might have to try eating a sucker or two sometime soon.

Heck, we should have a PAFF Sucker Jam! We'll need a new motto: how bout, "Suckers, it takes one to catch one!" :cool:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzC8Vx8LsDI

videos of cooking and cleaning suckers. Looks good to me.
 
I remember one of my first fishing experiences as a kid was on the big Neshannock. I must have been about 8 or 9 and had about 3 big suckers on my stringer and I was very proud to show anyone who passed by my 3 big brown trout.
 
I'd eat a sucker. I ate dog in Korea and horse in Egypt while in the Army, hell I ate smoked carp in Pennsylvania. I can't imagine it being that bad.
 
foxtrapper1972 wrote:
I might have to try it. Can you keep suckers out of Spring Creek?
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I don't see any advisory in the regs booklet, so the answer must be yes.

No spotted suckers may be kept, though.

Ta-dum!!

 
muskrat,groundhog,possum,eels,snapping turtles,crabs,clams,mt.oysters,brains,tongue,pigs feet,cowbirds and many other delights---when you are the son of a Pa. Dutch woman and a eastern shore man,who's father was a methodist minister and your parents married during the depression-nothing was sacred ...even when times got better...
But I never ate carp------stigma against that back in the less tolerant times...weird world we live in...
 
You got me troutbert! Good one.

Will be interesting to see the flyfishermen on Spring Creek carrying out huge stringers of suckers once this catches on. Canned Sucker paired with a fancy micro beer will be all the rage.

CANNED SUCKER
Suckers
Red vinegar
Salt
Soak fish in salt water for 1 hour. Rinse with clean cold water, drain cut into 4 inch pieces. Pack fish into 1 quart jars leaving 1 1/2 inches from jar top. Add to each quart 2 tablespoons red vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Seal jars and pressure cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes at 10 pounds.
 
Dudes if we keep this going, chances are it'll be the next big trend in fly fishing. Soon, hipsters will be making videos of catching "Suckers on the Fly". Books will be written, TU conferences and lectures will be had. Oh yes. Sucker fishing. The new poor man's bone fish. You heard it here first. Print me up a "Rep Your Water" hat w/ a white sucker pattern.
 
Coming to the Gear forum soon:
Recommendations for Sucker Rod
 
Looking forward to the stocked vs. wild sucker debate. The grip and grin photos. And most importantly, the Tenkara Sucker outfit. Although that might be redundant.
 
foxtrapper1972 wrote:
You got me troutbert! Good one.

Will be interesting to see the flyfishermen on Spring Creek carrying out huge stringers of suckers once this catches on. Canned Sucker paired with a fancy micro beer will be all the rage.

CANNED SUCKER
Suckers
Red vinegar
Salt
Soak fish in salt water for 1 hour. Rinse with clean cold water, drain cut into 4 inch pieces. Pack fish into 1 quart jars leaving 1 1/2 inches from jar top. Add to each quart 2 tablespoons red vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Seal jars and pressure cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes at 10 pounds.
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Fox you forgot the last two steps.
1. Throw out jar.
2. Deep fry gemmies and eat.
 
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