Suckers on Spring Creek

[ryansheehan]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Coming to the Gear forum soon:
Recommendations for Sucker Rod

I prefer a stiffer stick for suckers, something that drives home the hook set through the scales really well.

 

[salmonoid]

ryansheehan wrote:

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Coming to the Gear forum soon:
Recommendations for Sucker Rod

I prefer a stiffer stick for suckers, something that drives home the hook set through the scales really well.

Like a bow and arrow?

 

[The_Sasquatch]

LOL @ Tenkara Sucker fishing. It's the pinnacle of esoteric

 

[pete41]

dyno-mite

 

[Sylvaneous]

ryansheehan wrote:

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Coming to the Gear forum soon:
Recommendations for Sucker Rod

I prefer a stiffer stick for suckers, something that drives home the hook set through the scales really well.

A sucker rod? Yeah, we use them up here to pump the oil up out of a well. You see them laying around the woods once in a while, if they got left behind when they pulled the well and the scrappers didn't get them.
Lotsa sucker rods.

Syl.

 

[ryansheehan]

salmonoid wrote:

ryansheehan wrote:

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Coming to the Gear forum soon:
Recommendations for Sucker Rod

I prefer a stiffer stick for suckers, something that drives home the hook set through the scales really well.

Like a bow and arrow?

You caught me :lol:

 

[JeffK]

Back to eating suckers, the old guideline was the water had to be colder than 50F for them to be good to eat. They are not a summer time treat.

Also, any fish that is canned tastes in the same ballpark. A "tuna" salad made with canned sucker tastes pretty much the same.

I do hate the slime from suckers that can really mess up a tippet.

 

[NewSal]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
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.

Absolutely hilarious, I love it.

 

[streamerguy]

There's actually some hardcore C&R sucker guys out there in some areas of the country, especially for redhorse suckers in the midwest. A fairly decent following. Mostly from the spin fishing crew, but there's people out there that fly fish for them. I've witnessed people harvesting white suckers on the Erie tribs during the spring run.

I can't say I've ever gone out specifically for suckers, but I'll try catching them in conjunction with carp. And I may make a few casts if I see some while fishing for other stuff. There's certain times when they can be easy to catch, but on average they are a heck of a lot harder to catch than trout. Rarely move towards a fly......gotta put it right on their dinner plate and hope they eat. Fun challenge especially in the summer when the creeks get low, clear, and toasty.

White suckers are kinda blah, but redhorses are a much cleaner and better looking fish. And usually an indicator of good water quality. Both put up a tug.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Mark my words...it's coming

 

[foxtrapper1972]

Early springtime was when I would start to get excited for fishing when I was a kid. March was the month I would dig worms and start fishing for suckers. V stick with my Garcia Mitchell 300. I would just cast out and lay the rod on the bank. The bites were subtle....light taps. Also discovered they would run up the small tributaries and if you carefully reached into the frigid water up in the undercut banks you could actually get a hold of them and catch them.

My grandfather actually traveled to somewhere on the upper Conestoga to specifically fish for suckers in spring. For some reason I don't remember if he kept them.

That was a long time ago and things are different now.

 

[foxtrapper1972]

They do kinda look like Bonefish.

 

[streamerguy]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Mark my words...it's coming

Haha it's possible. Just think of how much the carp fad has exploded the past handful of years...

Back to the conservation part of it, as stated they're a native fish. And I doubt they pose any threat to trout. Both have very different feeding habits, overall. Trout have bigger problems to worry about.

Here's a couple purdy sucker pics to get us through the winter :-D

 

[NewSal]

#suckersonthefly
#suckerlivesmatter
#wildsuckerfishing

 

[NewSal]

http://www.liveoutdoors.com/fishing/167255-suckers-on-the-fly/

 

[pete41]

Back in the 50's when I was a kid,I would fish for suckers in the white clay creek down near stanton,Delaware- every once in a while I would catch rainbows that had been stocked--heading for the ocean--they didn't stay long in those marginal creeks.

 

[geebee]

pete41 wrote:
Back in the 50's when I was a kid,I would fish for suckers in the white clay creek down near stanton,Delaware- every once in a while I would catch rainbows that had been stocked--heading for the ocean--they didn't stay long in those marginal creeks.

funnily enough, I was just about to ask a similar question to the OP - does too many suckers harm a stream ?

I was on the White Clay on NYE and there must of been 500+ suckers of all sizes in that pool.

it made sight fishing for the bows very hard indeed, but I did catch one holdover brownie who was very dark indeed.

would reducing their numbers - which on other streams seem to be similarly exploding - the Little Lehigh is another, benefit the stream or harm it ?

 

[1hook]

Lol, I love the direction this thread has taken. Now where can I get me one of those hats? Always liked the brook trout one but if suckers are the next big thing I'd like to stay ahead of the trends.

 

[sarce]

I can't believe the guy in the video put the sucker on the dry ground for a pic. That's no way to treat our freshwater bonefish.

 

[pete41]

we have had fun with this post- while it's true east,midwest or west suckers are a slimy pest most of us don't want to bother with,the ones in the midwest and mountain west are fighters that would put a brown trout to shame.