Regs Question

[Levy]

Since suckers aren't a game fish are you allowed to spear fish suckers during spawn?

[FishingFrenzy]

In my experience i have never read anything that says otherwise. I know some people think this is very un-ethical and you may lose the respect of some people on this forum (myself NOT included). They aren't a game fish and while they play an important role in our lakes they also, to the best of my knowledge, eat the eggs of gamefish. I do not believe having some fun spearing them will cause a significant impact on the population.

On another note, does anyone know when suckers make there spawning run and how long it lasts? i would love to get some for pike bait!

Tight lines!

[Levy]

Thanks for the reply, and the heads up on respect, and i will explain myself, and try offer some info on your question.
Suckers on most years go into our pasture/dried up slough to spawn in mid may, usually four or five days before we see any perch in there. For about ten days we see them splashing in piles with up to fifteen suckers in them. Old timers used to snare suckers in the beaver river first week of june, and they said they were done spawning by then and were just there to eat the walleye, and pike eggs.
All of the fish in the slough end up dying when the slough dries up in mid june. They can't go back upstream because someone (From Ducks Unlimited) thought it would be a good idea to put up a weir without a fish ladder. They make some nice organic fertilizer for our pasture but don't contribute to the lakes fish population. I don't think there's a much more ethical way to legally take a spawning sucker. I could transport them back upstream of the weir but Im pretty sure transportation of any live fish is illegal. If there are any better ideas Im open to suggestion?

[nicemustang]

One thing to consider. It's illegal to play GOD. So me thinks that isn't a good idea.

[FishingFrenzy]

Originally Posted by Levy

Thanks for the reply, and the heads up on respect, and i will explain myself, and try offer some info on your question.
Suckers on most years go into our pasture/dried up slough to spawn in mid may, usually four or five days before we see any perch in there. For about ten days we see them splashing in piles with up to fifteen suckers in them. Old timers used to snare suckers in the beaver river first week of june, and they said they were done spawning by then and were just there to eat the walleye, and pike eggs.
All of the fish in the slough end up dying when the slough dries up in mid june. They can't go back upstream because someone (From Ducks Unlimited) thought it would be a good idea to put up a weir without a fish ladder. They make some nice organic fertilizer for our pasture but don't contribute to the lakes fish population. I don't think there's a much more ethical way to legally take a spawning sucker. I could transport them back upstream of the weir but Im pretty sure transportation of any live fish is illegal. If there are any better ideas Im open to suggestion?

Transporting live fish is a BIG no-no. Could result in a hefty fine. Sucks that they all just die, you could try contacting SRD about the problem. Are you spearing them for fun/bait??? or why don't you just want to let them die when it drys up?

Suckers do consume the eggs of gamefish but to the best of my knowledge they ARE native to alberta and play some role in the ecosystem.

Hope that helps.

[Levy]

Its actually for my grandfather and couple of old Ukrainians down the road they like to eat them canned. They say spring is they best time to get them because they taste muddy the rest of the year. I have never tried it myself but they say its isn't half bad. Most of the suckers i see are around three or four pounds so unless im fishing for 40 inch pike they wouldn't be much good as bait.
I have watched them die year after year and don't have a problem with that. I wouldn't want to spear a fish for no reason and leave it to die. i thought i implied that when i said in a previous post that i wanted to take a sucker. Pointless murder doesn't make sense to me.

[Big Red 250]

Sucker bellies make great lake trout bait. Some people use them for bear bait. Alot of people can them, adding tomato juice to pinking them up. They are called prairie salmon where I grew up. First time I've ever heard it called Pointless murder (ha ha). I gotta try to remember that saying. some people haul them home by the 1/2 ton load to feed their pigs. I was to a couple of snomo derbies, fish derby's where the organizers sell sucker burger's. That is, ground up sucker fillets, add a bit of seasoning, onions, made into paddies and bar-b-q'ed. I tried them, wasn't to my liking but lots of people do. I've seen them run so thick in rivers and creeks that people were catching them with their hands. Also seen guy's dipnetting them and having so many in a net that it took 2 men to lift it. This was back in Manitoba when I lived there. You need a valid fishing licence to dipnet them but there is no limit. We called it"the ukranian trout festival".