Suckers in Alberta Lakes?

[kinwahkly]

I always throw them back, back in the day my dad used to kepp some of them and bury them under youre trees, they make great fertilizer untill the dog figures out where that nice smell comes from and proudly brings it back in the house to show you what he found after a few monthes of rotting in the ground.

[WayneChristie]

I grew up fishing the Bow, and always fished for suckers, with light line in heavy current they are a great fighter. When the powers that be banned bait they took that away. I wonder how many and how big they are now since the bait ban? Must be some huge ones in there by now.

[slingshotz]

Last year I caught a beautiful 16" red fin sucker while fly fishing in the RDR with a san juan red worm on a 4wt. I must have fought that thing for 20 minutes before I managed to bring it in, I don't care what kind of fish it is when they put up such a good fight.

You can still catch them on artificials but obviously not as easy as bait, but that pretty much goes for all fish.

[ice]

Never really gone out of my way to catch them.
Snagged it on cold lake trolling.
Wasnt ready for it. Thought it was a pike foolishly. a large sucker.
Just about broke my rod.
But as i said. it was a snag. So i through it back.

[dfrobert]

Lots of suckers in Obed lake. You could see them last summer cruising in big schools.

[GummyMonster]

Good Morning,
My father talked about going on sucker harvests back in the 1940's.In the spring , they would get as many as they could, using rods, pitchforks as spears, etc.
This was survival food collecting, so any methods were used.
My grandmother would can them, and that would be part of their weekly meals for months. He said that canning them makes the bones soft, basically like giant sardines, and that they were pretty good.
I have only caught a few through the years, but this thread is making me think about some dedicated fishing for them.
Is still fishing for them (maybe under a bobber) a good way, or some sort of bottom bouncing bait setup??
Thanx for any tips in advance,
Ken

[WayneChristie]

I used a weight on the bottom with a dropper line with a size 10 or 12 baithook with a worm. Caught probably a few thousand in the NW Bow in Calgary growing up. Plus you never knew what would take your bait.

[fish-man]

Originally Posted by GummyMonster

Good Morning,
My father talked about going on sucker harvests back in the 1940's.In the spring , they would get as many as they could, using rods, pitchforks as spears, etc.
This was survival food collecting, so any methods were used.
My grandmother would can them, and that would be part of their weekly meals for months. He said that canning them makes the bones soft, basically like giant sardines, and that they were pretty good.
I have only caught a few through the years, but this thread is making me think about some dedicated fishing for them.
Is still fishing for them (maybe under a bobber) a good way, or some sort of bottom bouncing bait setup??
Thanx for any tips in advance,
Ken

I caught most of mine in the North Saskatchewan, bottom fishing- a baited jig on bottom or a pickerel rig type setup. They really like worms, and stationary baits. Sometimes you can see them rolling on the surface and then a worm under a bobber is effective. I've caught the odd one on a minnow or an artificial lure but not enough to make them worth going after inn that way.

[Spawn]

Originally Posted by howlin

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

I have always wondered how these thing are for eating. My grand dad always kept and ate suckers and if he caught you tossing one in the grass just to save the spawns of game fish, he would give ****.

I have never tried one but I have to admit I am curious all the same.

I think next time I catch one in cold water I will just have to try it.

Fellow angler,

Spawn.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Spawn

I have always wondered how these thing are for eating. My grand dad always kept and ate suckers and if he caught you tossing one in the grass just to save the spawns of game fish, he would give ****.

I have never tried one but I have to admit I am curious all the same.

I think next time I catch one in cold water I will just have to try it.

Fellow angler,

Spawn.

This is an old thread but there does seem to be a lot of interest in suckers.

When I was a kid dad used to net them. He'd catch a tub full of them at a time.
I don't remember ever frying one but dad would soak them in a brine and then smoke and dry them.

We all loved eating them that way. I can remember taking a slab of smoked sucker and chewing on it for hours. Dried meant tough, but tasty.

As for the bones. I don't remember them having any more bones then any other fish, but I do remember the y bones being small for the size of the fish and I remember them being hard to separate from the flesh, because of their size.