Suckers in Alberta Lakes?

DuckBrat · #1 03-08-2010, 04:07 PM

Hi,

I am curious, I have been hearing reports of many suckers being caught the last couple of weeks all over the province. I have caught them at certain lakes over different parts of the calender year. Most through the ice right before spring.Do a lot of folk catch them by accident or are some of you targeting this species?

I know when I fish flowing water I can get them no problem on worms but in lakes my limited success has come from tipping with maggots. What is your experience? Are these fish getting active right befoe the spawn or from a sudden lack of food?

Your thoughts are appreciated as I have always pondered this event. Thanks.

moosehunter3-0 · #2 03-08-2010, 06:40 PM

Gull lakes full of suckers right now, actually every place i've been on that lake I seen them on the aqua vu. Dont target them and if I caught them id just throw them back. They do spawn in the spring and if theres a stream they will go up it to spawn. On the camera they almost look like whites except for the dorsal fin lol.

DennyV · #3 03-08-2010, 06:46 PM

My little bro caught a sucker in the narrows back in about 1993 looked weird as hell havent seen one since LOL

howlin · #4 03-08-2010, 09:27 PM

ive eaten them,bony as hell but not to bad tasting.

WayneChristie · #5 03-08-2010, 09:31 PM

I prefer the red ones

slingshotz · #6 03-08-2010, 09:34 PM

They are very nice tasting even though they are bottom feeders, hell so are crabs and lobsters but I doubt anyone would cringe eating them. If they didn't have all the bones, I'd bet they would be much more popular. If anyone is adventurous here's a big recipe book. I've tried smoking them so far and it's pretty good, next time I'm trying the deep fry method.

http://www.southendwalleyeslayer.com/sucker2007.pdf

Beazer · #7 03-08-2010, 11:47 PM

Took a quick read through the regs for 09.
Now I'm presuming suckers aren't considered game fish, so then one would also presume that there is no catch limit correct?

Would it be prudent to just keep them and toss them away(responsibly of course) due to the build up or would that take away from the habitat/ecosystem?

RedFisher · #8 03-09-2010, 12:40 AM

Lol.. its so funny i went out to gull a while back with another AOF member and we seen one.... couldnt for the life of us figure what the hell it was... i swore it was a white for the longest time ... but somthing didnt seem right... we ended up asking another guy who told us what it was... couldnt believe it... thing was pretty big too ... whats the best way to catch them?

DuckBrat · #9 03-09-2010, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beazer

Would it be prudent to just keep them and toss them away(responsibly of course) due to the build up or would that take away from the habitat/ecosystem?

Not sure what you mean about toss them away but it would be a waste because they are a good fish to eat. Their diet consists of insect larvae, eggs, and other similar protein stuck to lake bottoms very similar to a trout diet.
Occasionally I'll see the odd burbot left on the ice. I used to experience that a lot more back in the day where you'd get someone playing the role of biologist because they felt the fish had no place in the lake. With more studies on burbot we now realize what a crucial role they play in our lakes and how many other species (whitefish, pike) depend on them. The same thing applies with suckers. If you have ever had the opportunity to fish for pike during the sucker spawn you have missed out on one of the most incredible experiences ever. Due to our closures though it is pretty tough to find a fishery open when this phenomena happens.

aulrich · #10 03-09-2010, 08:47 AM

Well after pulling one out of the ice at chain the other day, I got the idea to save them and try to can it, rumor is it tastes like canned salmon.

We ended up with two, but they never made it to the freezer. I gutted one and it was black inside. I can't say I found it apealing. Is that normal?

moosehunter3-0 · #11 03-09-2010, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aulrich

Well after pulling one out of the ice at chain the other day, I got the idea to save them and try to can it, rumor is it tastes like canned salmon.

We ended up with two, but they never made it to the freezer. I gutted one and it was black inside. I can't say I found it apealing. Is that normal?

Apparently in the depression people canned suckers and just dyed them pink.

nicemustang · #12 03-09-2010, 09:13 AM

Actually I thought according to F&W you are supposed to kill every one that you catch. They are not a game fish and they compete for food in the lake. If we catch em, we kill em and depending on size, we might use them for pike bait.

RedFisher · #13 03-09-2010, 09:19 AM

Actually was talking with a buddy ... he says the best is to use them for laker bait ... the go crazy for it i guess... never tryed it tho... ive always used the belly's of a white fish ..

DaveFish · #14 03-09-2010, 11:42 AM

Last spring in Edmonton fishing for sturgeon by fort ed, I caught maybe 30 in an hr, biggest was maybe 5 pounds, never knew they get that big. Suckers can put up a great fight and play an important role in the overall biology of any river system. make sure you handle these 'janitors' of the river carefully and release them(if you're not going to keep them) as you would a Walleye, Pike or Sturgeon.

DuckBrat · #15 03-09-2010, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicemustang

Actually I thought according to F&W you are supposed to kill every one that you catch. They are not a game fish and they compete for food in the lake. If we catch em, we kill em and depending on size, we might use them for pike bait.

This is very far from the truth.

Suckers do compete for for food with stocked trout but then you have to think which fish was there first. The only time I have ever heard of F&W condoning mass culling of suckers was in Kananaskis lake. In the end the large bull trout balanced things out nicely. Every fish species has it's purpose and suckers provide protein for large predators.

the local angler · #16 03-09-2010, 06:59 PM

i don't mind catching suckers, in fact sometimes when i get skunked in a targeted species i can sometimes rely on the suckers for some action to break the big goose egg. i have not had the guts to try eatting a sucker yet even though i have also heard the red horse??? the sucker with the red fins are better tasting. the other day at gull we picked a spot for burbots and we saw a few dead suckers on the ice from the day before, which i thought was a waste even though i don't eat them but i would rather them be put back down the hole but obviously every one have different opinions on suckers.

when you say the insides of the sucker was black do you mean the meat itself or organs or both??

fish-man · #17 03-09-2010, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveFish

Last spring in Edmonton fishing for sturgeon by fort ed, I caught maybe 30 in an hr, biggest was maybe 5 pounds, never knew they get that big. Suckers can put up a great fight and play an important role in the overall biology of any river system. make sure you handle these 'janitors' of the river carefully and release them(if you're not going to keep them) as you would a Walleye, Pike or Sturgeon.

They do indeed get big, I caught a 6 1/2 pounder a few years back (on a rusty handheld scale, I could swear it was bigger than that

and it fought like hell. I've caught a few in lakes using worms, but mostly in the NSR. I've thought about keeping them as bait but they are usually too big.

Beazer · #18 03-09-2010, 10:36 PM

I meant throw them away, but it makes more sense to either release or eat from the sounds of things.

I caught a 4 1/2 lber and it felt like an anchor honestly, took one good run and that was it.

slingshotz · #19 03-09-2010, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aulrich

Well after pulling one out of the ice at chain the other day, I got the idea to save them and try to can it, rumor is it tastes like canned salmon.

We ended up with two, but they never made it to the freezer. I gutted one and it was black inside. I can't say I found it apealing. Is that normal?

That is normal and perfectly fine, its the membrane of the belly rib area. All fish have them, it's just that it's usually white or clear in other fish. The membrane of some perch have dark patches or a greyish hue to them also.

RedFisher · #20 03-09-2010, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slingshotz

That is normal and perfectly fine, its the membrane of the belly rib area. All fish have them, it's just that it's usually white or clear in other fish. The membrane of some perch have dark patches or a greyish hue to them also.

x 2

AK47 · #21 03-10-2010, 11:49 AM

I tried all 4 spieces of suckers I was able to catch here in Alberta and there is my rankings as it comes to taste.
Nr. 1 longnose sucker.... no competition here, soft, fat and juicy, less bones then others, super delicious smoked or fried. To bad not very common here, I usually get only few in Red Deer river throughout the year.
Nr.2. shorthead Redhorse - as somebody else mentioned better tasting one with red fins... not as fat as longnose, really good when smoked.
Nr.3. Silver redhorse - slightly better tasting then white sucker, but only smoked.
Nr.4 . White sucker - I do not keep them anymore, tried several times, to many bones and taste has some mud to it. Even smoking doesn't make them worth keeping IMHO.

There are some recipies I haven't tried yet... maybe somebody will share their experience

http://www.southendwalleyeslayer.com/sucker2007.pdf

Hannie · #22 03-10-2010, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicemustang

Actually I thought according to F&W you are supposed to kill every one that you catch. They are not a game fish and they compete for food in the lake. If we catch em, we kill em and depending on size, we might use them for pike bait.

Sundancefisher · #23 03-10-2010, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beazer

Took a quick read through the regs for 09.
Now I'm presuming suckers aren't considered game fish, so then one would also presume that there is no catch limit correct?

Would it be prudent to just keep them and toss them away(responsibly of course) due to the build up or would that take away from the habitat/ecosystem?

Suckers are a critically important part of the food chain. Nature created them and they evolved with other native fishes. In fact they spawn in the Spring after walleye and pike spawn. This is so the sucker fry are small enough to feed the young of the year predator fish. Without suckers...our fisheries in many areas would suffer severely.

DO NOT CATCH AND KILL AND WASTE PLEASE. It would be a travesty to our fishery in Alberta.

Sincerely

Sun

walker197 · #24 03-10-2010, 12:32 PM

we used to stand in a creek when i was a kid and haul them out by hand, we would smoke them, dry them out, etc. very good when fried with butter, but like everyone says...they're very bony...

hockey1099 · #25 03-10-2010, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Suckers are a critically important part of the food chain. Nature created them and they evolved with other native fishes. In fact they spawn in the Spring after walleye and pike spawn. This is so the sucker fry are small enough to feed the young of the year predator fish. Without suckers...our fisheries in many areas would suffer severely.

DO NOT CATCH AND KILL AND WASTE PLEASE. It would be a travesty to our fishery in Alberta.

Sincerely

Sun

x2

slingshotz · #26 03-10-2010, 01:50 PM

And for all you sucker bashers out there, here's a little tidbit of info:

"They are intolerant of pollution or very turbid (muddy) waters and are an indicator of good water quality."

So it's a good sign if people are still catching suckers as it means that the game species should fair ok. I think that pike are probably more tolerant of pollution than suckers considering some of the sloughs they live in.

I've eaten the suckers out of RDR by the smoking method and to be honest it was better than the goldeye.

DuckBrat · #27 03-10-2010, 02:36 PM

Some good informative post, this is nice. Well done folks.

iliketrout · #28 03-10-2010, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckBrat

Some good informative post, this is nice. Well done folks.

X2, good to finally see a post without a d!ck measuring contest.

fish-man · #29 03-10-2010, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beazer

I meant throw them away, but it makes more sense to either release or eat from the sounds of things.

I caught a 4 1/2 lber and it felt like an anchor honestly, took one good run and that was it.

In my experience they aren't exciting fighters that run and jump like pike or trout, but they fight better than walleye or burbot. Just keep pulling down to the bottom.

BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES · #30 03-10-2010, 03:39 PM

I dont care who you are or think you are , if your catching fish and planning to not use them put them back . If your going to clean them up and eat them deal with them accordingly .

People that waste by letting it rot and not use it should be kicked in the head , and have there right to fish removed .

Damn Im gonna end up in Anger management with some of these threads going .