Suckers

[chubbdarter]

are you Chain lakes fisherman still catching alot of suckers while trout fishing?
p.s. the Chain lakes west of nanton

[gramps73]

Have not made it out this year yet but from what i saw on the ice last year i would say yes..

[Daceminnow]

haven't fished it this year either. know lots who do regularly. from what I've heard as long as you keep worms off you're good-if not you'll get as many as you want.sound like theres still lots CB.

[chubbdarter]

i actually need the suckers....lol

[Daceminnow]

don't we all.

[bubba 96]

Ya we were there 3 wks ago and i caught 6 of them......14 ft of water at the far parking lot....and they were hammering the corn...

[chubbdarter]

Ya we were there 3 wks ago and i caught 6 of them......14 ft of water at the far parking lot....and they were hammering the corn...


thanks my sucker catcher moved to victoria....

[npauls]

Hey Darter,

I will go hammer some suckers with you out there. I would love to get my minnow trap through the ice and get some smaller sucker minnows for the walleye in the summer. I could also use a some of the bigger ones.



Nate

[chubbdarter]

Hey Darter,

I will go hammer some suckers with you out there. I would love to get my minnow trap through the ice and get some smaller sucker minnows for the walleye in the summer. I could also use a some of the bigger ones.



Nate

k its a deal...at least i wont be too embarassed if your with me as we catch suckers and are pizzed when we catch a trout...hahaha

[Dust1n]

i need suckers to lol! for tip ups this winter

[chubbdarter]

i see a sucker derby happening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[npauls]

What day is the sucker slaying going to happen? I am free any day of the week due to the back injury and not working. A few days a week I have a stretching appt. with the specialist but other then that its a go whenever.

I will have to drill 3 or 4 holes together to get my minnow trap down there with something that the suckers will want to eat to be lured into there.

I will also bring a cooler or bucket to store my catch of suckers.

I am pretty jacked up to hammer them fish.


Nate

[chubbdarter]

What day is the sucker slaying going to happen? I am free any day of the week due to the back injury and not working. A few days a week I have a stretching appt. with the specialist but other then that its a go whenever.

I will have to drill 3 or 4 holes together to get my minnow trap down there with something that the suckers will want to eat to be lured into there.

I will also bring a cooler or bucket to store my catch of suckers.

I am pretty jacked up to hammer them fish.


Nate

well lets watch the forecast but i can wait too long i need them soon .
my 224 4blade drills overlapping holes like hot knife thru butter.
just asking.....can you set a minnow trap there?

[npauls]

As far as I know you can set a minnow trap anywhere you want that is open to fishing. You just have to kill the minnows immediately and let all game fish species go right away. Those little sucker minnows are perfect for jigging. If I can score a few dozen buckets of them before the summer I think I could have a pretty productive year.

I had a worm farm made in the basement but it didn't survive so I will have to make sure I can get a hold of a bunch of worms if we are going to hit up chain for them suckers. I have never fished that lake so I don't even know where to start.


Nate

[chubbdarter]

As far as I know you can set a minnow trap anywhere you want that is open to fishing. You just have to kill the minnows immediately and let all game fish species go right away. Those little sucker minnows are perfect for jigging. If I can score a few dozen buckets of them before the summer I think I could have a pretty productive year.

I had a worm farm made in the basement but it didn't survive so I will have to make sure I can get a hold of a bunch of worms if we are going to hit up chain for them suckers. I have never fished that lake so I don't even know where to start.


Nate

pray it warms up.....then its go time

[npauls]

Sounds good to me. It is looking like this whole week is going to be in the mid negative teens and it is suppose to warm up after next weekend so if you are free on weekdays maybe we should try to plan for a week from this monday or tuesday to check it out. I find out on this monday when my specialist appt. will be in calgary and I will be getting re evaluated on my condition either tuesday or thursday so I will know more later on this coming week.

With the weather being close to zero means I won't have to carry a ton of stuff with me making it alot lighter and more likely that I can tow my hut or gear box.

Nate

[chubbdarter]

Sounds good to me. It is looking like this whole week is going to be in the mid negative teens and it is suppose to warm up after next weekend so if you are free on weekdays maybe we should try to plan for a week from this monday or tuesday to check it out. I find out on this monday when my specialist appt. will be in calgary and I will be getting re evaluated on my condition either tuesday or thursday so I will know more later on this coming week.

With the weather being close to zero means I won't have to carry a ton of stuff with me making it alot lighter and more likely that I can tow my hut or gear box.

Nate

where you coming from?

[npauls]

I live in Lethbridge, I would be heading through claresholm and out that way. I have been past chain once when I was looking for some spots to fly fish a few summers ago but never have even bothered to try and fish that res. There is plenty of spots that are closer to catch small stocked bows.



Nate

[chubbdarter]

I live in Lethbridge, I would be heading through claresholm and out that way. I have been past chain once when I was looking for some spots to fly fish a few summers ago but never have even bothered to try and fish that res. There is plenty of spots that are closer to catch small stocked bows.



Nate

nice...........picture butte is where i grew up.
i hope your old....we can claim we are two crazy lunatics escapees from a seniors home fishing for suckers...lol
see ya when it warms up

[npauls]

I feel super old but I am only 27. I am crazy though from what I have been told by friends and family.



Nate

[chubbdarter]

hey nate you fish below the spill way at st marys dam for walleye?

[npauls]

Maybe:thinking-006:

Why whats up?

Shoot me a pm and we can talk.:bad_boys_20:



Nate

[slingshotz]

Slightly different question about suckers but does anyone target suckers in lakes with bait? I discovered that there are suckers in Bonavista lake and they would be awesome to use as bait for the pike or cut up for burbot bait.

I've really only caught them on nymphs with the fly rod in rivers and once with worms at Dickson. Would they take some form of dough bait or something else besides worms? The suckers in Bonavista didn't seem interested in worms or powerbait from watching the camera.

[chubbdarter]

Slightly different question about suckers but does anyone target suckers in lakes with bait? I discovered that there are suckers in Bonavista lake and they would be awesome to use as bait for the pike or cut up for burbot bait.

I've really only caught them on nymphs with the fly rod in rivers and once with worms at Dickson. Would they take some form of dough bait or something else besides worms? The suckers in Bonavista didn't seem interested in worms or powerbait from watching the camera.

ive noticed that in travers and little bow res. they wont bite. they are so thick in spots you can barely see water

[Dark Wing]

Slightly different question about suckers but does anyone target suckers in lakes with bait? I discovered that there are suckers in Bonavista lake and they would be awesome to use as bait for the pike or cut up for burbot bait.

I've really only caught them on nymphs with the fly rod in rivers and once with worms at Dickson. Would they take some form of dough bait or something else besides worms? The suckers in Bonavista didn't seem interested in worms or powerbait from watching the camera.


I've caught suckers with the same bait I use to catch trout. Worms, maggots,meal worms and trout roe work great. I'll be targeting suckers this year to add to my wolf/coyote bait.

[chubbdarter]

speaking of suckers and chain...i drive over the creek thats south of the dam at chain maybe 50 times a year....is there fish in it?.......sometimes it looks good other times its near dry

[Daceminnow]

all of those creeks hold fish CB. only able to fish early when they're high.

[chubbdarter]

all of those creeks hold fish CB. only able to fish early when they're high.

so the fish just drop back when it drys up?

[walking buffalo]

speaking of suckers and chain...i drive over the creek thats south of the dam at chain maybe 50 times a year....is there fish in it?.......sometimes it looks good other times its near dry

Are you talking about Willow Creek, where it flows east under Hwy 22? The creek only dries up by the dam, there is year round water farther downstream.

That USED to be my favorite foothills creek for flyfishing. 15 years ago you could catch browns, brookies, rainbows, cutthroat, whitefish, and pike, all in the same stretch of water. It has been wiped out by the big floods, and hasn't come back, fish wise.

Now about about all you will catch in here are the 8-10" stocked rainbows that come from the lake.

[chubbdarter]

Are you talking about Willow Creek, where it flows east under Hwy 22? The creek only dries up by the dam, there is year round water farther downstream.

That USED to be my favorite foothills creek for flyfishing. 15 years ago you could catch browns, brookies, rainbows, cutthroat, whitefish, and pike, all in the same stretch of water. It has been wiped out by the big floods, and hasn't come back, fish wise.

Now about about all you will catch in here are the 8-10" stocked rainbows that come from the lake.

thats it.....thanks.
i drive over it many times on my way to the koot and corbin and think why am i driving......maybe i should try here, looks good and i never see anyone fishing it

[walking buffalo]

thats it.....thanks.
i drive over it many times on my way to the koot and corbin and think why am i driving......maybe i should try here, looks good and i never see anyone fishing it

I fished it often for the same reason. A great pit stop! Turn east on 533 ( to Nanton) , go down a few miles, then turn right on 527 ( to Stavely). There are a couple of bridges that give you access to the creek. Like everywhere else, there are plenty of people fishing it now, but it is still a nice creek to fish, with lots of wildlife to see.

[chubbdarter]

I fished it often for the same reason. A great pit stop! Turn east on 533 ( to Nanton) , go down a few miles, then turn right on 527 ( to Stavely). There are a couple of bridges that give you access to the creek. Like everywhere else, there are plenty of people fishing it now, but it is still a nice creek to fish, with lots of wildlife to see.

thanks for info...appreciate it

[chubbdarter]

MAN its cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
is it illegal to offer to pay someone to catch and bring me the suckers they catch?
i really need 4-6 inch suckers..but wow its cold for a old man

[MitchR]

they arent "gamefish" so i would assume it would be legal.

For next year, if you plan on using suckers, wait until the canals are almost dried out and there is just a few pools left. there is usually dead/dying suckers on top LOL

[AK47]

I once fished Chain lakes in winter, got maybe 10 of them on little worm and marmysh jig... but they all where at least 1-1.5 lbs size ... a bit to big to use as bait unless you targeting monster pike.

[Daceminnow]

hey CB all the suckers I've seen come out of chain are on the larger size. i do have a bud up north that gets nice 5-6 inch ones once in a while.i have a tub or two in the freezer. i'll keep you posted if i come across some more.

[chubbdarter]

its a school night...i'll call the young fellow tommorrow who every year stocked me up with suckers
thanks everyone