Suckers on Spring Creek

Suckers, America's premier gamefish.
 
I hate catching carp, suckers, and sheapshead. Would prefer to catch nothing. Lake trout are another fish I really don't like to catch.
 
Moon, you need to imagine the day on penns creek where the green drakes are hatching and you are the only one there. Spring creek on the other hand is shoulder to shoulder "sucker" fisherman.
 
I watched a kid maybe, 7 or 8 years old, hook and land a big sucker. He didn't care what he caught he was happy to be out on the stream and catching fish. We got pictures of him.
 

I've been on penn's when the green drakes are hatching with no one around it's rare but had it happen twice the last 5 years as it was spread out
 
There are a hundred suckers on spring creek any given day :lol:
 
There may not be hundreds but there always seems to be a few either parked up at the paradise or along the road.
 
The Paradise back in the last century was as good a school as any on the planet-don't know what its like now--
 
Chubs and Whitefish suck too.

I had a day on Penns during the GD hatch where I was fishing over a few rising fish only to catch several f-ing chubs on a GD dry.

I also had a day on the Bitterroot in MT where I was sure I had a trophy brown on my line only to find out it was a fat whitefish. Total disappointment.
 
I ventured to Penns this fall and managed a few lousy chubs and one trout. Was a tough summer for that stream. The spring on the other hand was awesome.

I watched some of those videos of that guy cookin suckers... I would try it if offered but don't see me catching and cooking any time soon.

On the flip side I do have interest in chasing carp on the fly. Kind of like the suckers big nasty brother. Suckers and chubs are caught in the middle... no one really wants to catch them.
 
I didn't read the full five pages that escalated in three or four days time, but for one thing, Suckers and Chubs are both native, and as much as many of us hate hearing it, Rainbows and Browns are just as invasive as Carp. All of them put up great fights, though. I'd much rather catch a 22" White Sucker (which I have, and it's a blast) than 100 stocked Trout or even a dozen wild Browns. Chubs may not fight as well but they're still great fun on a 2-3 weight with dries, and they also serve as crucial forage for many predatory species. As do juvenile suckers, which, in addition, root through the stream bottom and send benthic invertebrates up in to the water column for everything to eat from Trout to Minnows. Most sucker species are a sign of a healthy stream and I guarantee you won't find Northern Hogsuckers in polluted waters. So before passing unjustified judgement on a native species that a water benefits from, I suggest you do your biology homework.

Rant over :)
 
not a rant,good insight to someone who has fond memories of catching fallfish.
 
Glad to know at least one other person feels the same way. I can't tell if half the comments on this thread or sarcastic or serious, but if so then a lot of guys are just stuck in the past. The future of angling is species equality people, hell, if there's this many white suckers in spring creek then I might make the three hour trip specifically to target them! I've been figuratively pacing for weeks now waiting for the spring Redhorse runs in SWPA out of the three rivers, not for someone to throw minner' sized pelletheads in my local creek that fight like sockfish (aka Walleye) for the first two weeks after they're stocked. When the northern hogs are on a good feed I get myself down to the stream ASAP and start throwing nymphs in their faces, when I'm cruising the flats of Lake Erie with my boat in the summer and spot a nice Drum, you'd better believe that's what I'm casting a streamer at, and if I'm on the Niagara River in the middle of winter, I'm always hoping for a big Laker more than any other species.

Maybe I'm just crazy, but all-species angling is gaining a big following, and the term "gamefish" is going to be obsolete in 50 years from now.
 
Fortunately this post migrated into a fun one,much needed in a slow time.
 
14b24d3f.jpg

There are some Bruiser Suckers that run the Erie tribs in spring..They give a good tug.
 
Char_Master wrote:
Glad to know at least one other person feels the same way. I can't tell if half the comments on this thread or sarcastic or serious, but if so then a lot of guys are just stuck in the past. The future of angling is species equality people, hell, if there's this many white suckers in spring creek then I might make the three hour trip specifically to target them! I've been figuratively pacing for weeks now waiting for the spring Redhorse runs in SWPA out of the three rivers, not for someone to throw minner' sized pelletheads in my local creek that fight like sockfish (aka Walleye) for the first two weeks after they're stocked. When the northern hogs are on a good feed I get myself down to the stream ASAP and start throwing nymphs in their faces, when I'm cruising the flats of Lake Erie with my boat in the summer and spot a nice Drum, you'd better believe that's what I'm casting a streamer at, and if I'm on the Niagara River in the middle of winter, I'm always hoping for a big Laker more than any other species.

Maybe I'm just crazy, but all-species angling is gaining a big following, and the term "gamefish" is going to be obsolete in 50 years from now.
Click to expand...

#allfishlivesmatter
 
NewSal wrote:

#allfishlivesmatter
Click to expand...

Absolutely. If it swims, can be caught in the mouth with a hook, and puts up a good fight, then it's sporting value is equal to all other fish that fit that description. And if it doesn't have those qualities, it's still an equal species, it just serves a different purpose such as Cyprinids, Darters, and Sculpins acting as predators of invertebrates and forage for larger species. Though, I do know a few guys who are micro fishing fanatics!
 
bingsbaits wrote:
14b24d3f.jpg

There are some Bruiser Suckers that run the Erie tribs in spring..They give a good tug.
Click to expand...

I'm drooling over this fish, what a beast! I plan on making a few treks to Erie Tribs this Spring just for Catostomid species, even catching one that size would make it worth it. The problem is deciding what species to go for in the spring. Lakers out deep, Pike & Smallies in the bay, or Suckers in the creeks, so much awesome stuff available!
 

It's kind of cool to hook into a big fall fish every now and then usually put up a good fight.
 
I was having this debate with myself in trying to complete a goal of catching a fish in every month of the year. In august, I only managed a couple trips to the Susquehanna. Got skunked the first time and "only" caught two decent sized fall fish the second time. Same issue in December where I landed a chub after being skunked in LeTort.

Now I realize it's a stupid idea. If you catch it fairly, it's worth the effort. May not have been a targeted species, but who cares. My biggest fish ever remains a 20+ lb carp. That was a heck of a fight which I still remember 30 years later. I've hooked a massive sucker before that I thought was a giant Brown when I saw the yellow belly roll. Still was a fun catch.

Time to spend more time enjoyig fishing and less time worrying about the size, species, or type of fish caught.
 
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