# Sucker



## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

We went to the river this afternoon. We wanted to catch some suckers, since neither of us had ever caught one. DW hooked one on a worm, maybe 3 pounds, and right at the bank, the little bluegill hook she had straightened out. Then we found a bridge with lots of them on a shallow bar underneath. We held worms in front of them for an hour without any bites. Then she tried some perch guts and caught a little one. I tried perch guts, hooked a really nice one, and it broke my spiderwire fancy woven line. I've never broke that stuff on a fish before. It wasn't my day. 

So what do suckers like to bite? Any time of day better? Any time of year? This is the Salmon River, no lakes for them to go into. We have to keep the trout and steelhead and chinook off the hook while we are after suckers.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Worms should work on the bottom.

We gig them at night in the Winter.

big rockpile


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Crayfish tails should work. Just flip over some rocks and be ready with the dip net.


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

Around here we snag them with a trebel hook. Just throw the hook out thier with a white piece of material on it and wait for them to come near then yank hard. It takes a little time to get use to the procedure but you can get them most of the time. You can throw rocks at them and make them swim tward the hook.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

check to see if spearing is legal in your area , great fun 

one of my best places to spear carp is a small bridge , i use a 8'6" wood closet rod with a spear head from the hardware stor i think the tines are 9 inch 5 tines with is about 7 inches 

very important to have a good rope attached to the pole and tied to your wrist 

and you know you have one when the pole is shaking violently


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## tn_junk (Nov 28, 2006)

If snagging or spearing is legal in your area it is a great way to get suckers.
To me, they are one of the best tasting fish. I pressure cook them, seperate the meat from the few bones that didn't pressure cook soft, and then make them into patties with a little chopped onion, egg and bread crumbs.
Fried in a little butter they are sublime.

galump


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

galump said:


> If snagging or spearing is legal in your area it is a great way to get suckers.
> To me, they are one of the best tasting fish. I pressure cook them, seperate the meat from the few bones that didn't pressure cook soft, and then make them into patties with a little chopped onion, egg and bread crumbs.
> Fried in a little butter they are sublime.
> 
> galump


How do you pressure cook them? Thanks!


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I don't think spearing is legal here, and know snagging isn't. Fish and Game's motto is, "We're not happy until you're not happy."

We cooked the little one last night and it was full of tiny bones, but really tasty. I thought to either can them or pressure cook them, the recipe galump gave sounds great. 

Oldvet's method with the white cloth attractor might work, I wonder if a little marshmallow would do as good?

Do they bite better at certain times of the year?

I have to check if we can shoot them with a bow. It would be real tough on arrows in that rock bottomed river.


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## poorboy (Apr 15, 2006)

Years back there was an ole fellar that was very frugal and a hard worker but he liked to fish and hunt. Never kept any shells for his gun and if you asked him if he wanted to go hunting he would always go with you. First though you had to haul him to the closest country store and he would purchase 3 or 4 shotgun shells never more than 5. and when he got his 3 or 4 squirrels he was ready to go home. Guy came by one spring day and asked him if he wanted to go to the creek and see if they could get some suckers. He happened to be plowing at the time he just unhooked his mule and put him in the barn. Got his old 94 Winchester 25-35, away to the store they go the ole man gits him a few 25-35 steel jackets and off to the creek they go. The old man walks up to the edge of a high bank and spots a school of suckers at just that moment cuts drive with his old winchester and got 7 suckers with one shot. Says "i'm ready to go". Other fellar has to take him home without getting a chance to get a fish. the old man cleans his suckers, gits his mule out and goes back to plowing. That was a favorite neighborhood story for years..


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Has anyone ever tried spearing them when snorkeling? I see them in the river all the time and float right over top of them.


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## tn_junk (Nov 28, 2006)

Bear said:


> How do you pressure cook them? Thanks!


I just clean and scale them, remove the head and fins, and put them in a pressure cooker with just enough water to cover. Cook them for about 15 minutes at pressure.
Meat just falls off the bones, and many of the bones disintegrate in the pressure cooker.

galump


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

We used to can them with tomato juice and then make "salmon" patties out of them. I couldn't tell the difference between that and the real thing.


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

galump said:


> I just clean and scale them, remove the head and fins, and put them in a pressure cooker with just enough water to cover. Cook them for about 15 minutes at pressure.
> Meat just falls off the bones, and many of the bones disintegrate in the pressure cooker.
> 
> galump


How many pounds of pressure? Thanks again!


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Try liver for bait. Don't matter chicken to beef will work. We mostly spear at night in the shallow sand bars in the spring. We also like to shoot them with a bow and fish arrow during the day along with carp.
Use a plastic arrow with plastic vanes (fish arrow).

 Al


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## tn_junk (Nov 28, 2006)

Bear said:


> How many pounds of pressure? Thanks again!


Absolutely no idea. My pressure cooker is the old kind with the "rattler" on top. Don't really think it's that important. If they aren't soft enough, just cook'em some more.

galump


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## Thoughthound (Oct 13, 2004)

Use a small bit of worm on a very small hook.

Sometimes they won't even try to bite if it looks to big to eat. Very small mouths.


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

When the white suckers run in the rivers that go into the lakes, they are in great numbers and snagging works best. A single hook that rides 'up' with a weight a couple feet behind that is what does it. When the hook encounters something on the bottom, it will immediatly snag it. It's almost always a sucker. The hook will bounce off rocks, but gets dull fast, so you need the hook constantanly sharpened. 
As for live baiting, a small hook with 2 or 3 worms dangling from that. Try redworms or nightcrawlers. They feed on the bottom, so that's where the bait needs to lie. They suck it in with their small mouths live vacuum cleaners. Not the location of the mouth. It's well underneath, and not at the front as other fish. small hook is the key, but they'll readily take worm for bait.


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## BeeFree (Feb 23, 2004)

IN the spring we sucker fish using grab hooks and hunting for them spawning in the creeks. 

Around end of July and first of Aug you can use worms and anchor on a shoal on the river and catch them Apparently they are running the shoals.

We filet and score them and deep fry. Best tasting fish I ever had.


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