Suckers???

Ok folks I usually use fresh shad and cut shad. I read all these posts about using cut sucker. Where do I find them amd what’s the best way to go about catching them?

Your suckers in Iowa prolly have made their runs up in creeks already but any size able river will have them . You can catch them with a bottom rig and a pinch of crawler the bigger you catch the better= more cut bait

You aren’t going to buy them anywhere around here. You can hit up any creek that goes into the Miss. Just walk it from the Miss and the first deeper hole will be stacked this time of year. Split shot, small hook, half a crawler.

I don’t know anyone who prefers suckers over shad on the Miss though, its more for the people for whom shad is not an option.

I prefer an egg sinker, let’s them nibble on it without as much tension. Think its a good idea to diversify your cutbait, some days they may show a preference. Good luck and have fun, they put on some good runs.

I too prefer an egg sinker when do-able. Its just that most places you will find suckers right now you can jump across with a running start. Finesse is the key. Often I catch them with no weight at all.

Don’t bother trying IN the river, you’ll just get sheep after sheep and waste all your bait.

I’ve had luck with sheepies cut up too…..just sayin.

Ah hell if you want sheep then just take a nightcrawler (you only need one) and go down to the river… anywhere. Toss it out on the bottom and you will have a sheep within 2 minutes.

Why are there no suckers sold in Iowa? Or is it just this time of year?

There are, just not around here. We have no pike or muskies to speak of. Sometimes a bait shop will order in some large chubs or creek shiners in the spring when the northerns are biting up in the northern pools. And in the summer some of the shops will order in chubs for flathead guys. But there just isn’t any market. Almost every shop sells frozen shad, and that is what is hot around here.

When was that, 2 years ago when the walleye tour was here? I asked the local bait shop if they were ordering in any chubs or shiners for the walleye guys because I wanted to get some as well.. they told me “We have had several come in and ask, but no we do not have a market for them once the pro’s leave”. They wouldn’t even order them in for the pro’s..

Almost a completely different fishery here Pug, especially on inland waters. Chubs are just about in every creek and drainage ditch around here and their easy to catch and some are big enough to eat. Shad are almost in every body of water and using a throw net you can get hundreds or by the 5 gallon bucket full at times, always enough to fish with unless a guy can’t find them but that rarely happens. Hey Kevin tell Pug how many catfish there are around here considering the pressure too, there’s loads of them

Pug wouldn’t believe it.

Think of horseshoe at its peak, but all day every day year around.

Flatheads? annoying! More 5-10# flats than anyone would want to catch. They are just plain annoying when fishing for other species.

In the summer I’ve seen rigs going down the road with 3 guys in the truck and the boat nearly filled with channels and flats.

Mossy, I’ve followed your stories about the dam and the heck you got for keeping them and saying how many there are. In fact, I may have been one of them!

I suppose if you don’t have a lot of pike/Skis, I can see why shops don’t carry them.

To the OP, if you have that many chubs around, I wouldn’t bother with catching suckers. Get yourself some chubs!

Its probably a long drive for some bait, but if you want to come down to the QC I can put you on some holes in a creek that will have suckers and chubs. But seriously, every creek has them right now..

Pug theres nothing to feel bad about if you or others do, so don’t. Its a different fishery here and we have catfish here in the rivers like you guys have bluegills there in your lakes.

I understand the conservation frame of mind that some have and I also understand that beings your from a more populated area with (alot) more fishing pressure and other scenerios that could cause tremendous pressure on the species of any fish there, and as I’ve also read over the years is why others see taking alot of catfish here isn’t so admired, but I understand why because I’ve figured out that population and the slower growth of the fish there are the main reasons , its not a big deal Pug so don’t worry about it.

If you heard testimonials from a dozen good catfishermen on how many they have caught and could catch at prime prespawn and during the rest of the year you might have to sit back in your chair or take a day or two just to soak in whats been said.

Every spring for many years we have fished the same areas over and over and gotten so many channels that its not uncommon for two too three guys to catch 300 lbs in a weekend, with about 40% to 50% of those being in the 7 too 10 lb range and just getting your two day, daily limit.

The things thats important to understand is that we do this every year in the exact same areas and the catfish are right back there the next spring doing their thing again, so its not hurting the fish population any at all. Infact taking those bigger ones leaves more food for the smaller ones to feed on so they can grow. Many times I’ve opened up their stomachs to find just green dark slime which I think is just moss growth which they eat just to curb their hunger, until they can find some meat of some type. I’ll tell you one thing, Id hate to be anything they can eat in a school of catfish here during prespawn.

Theres alot more shad down on the reservour then here on the Cedar river so taking the bigger ones makes more food available to the smaller ones. The rivers around here are catfish factories and nothing less.

A friend of mine and I put in around midnight last year to check our dittypoles and by 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning or about 1 1/2 too 2 hrs we had 32 catfish, 8 shy of our two day possession limit. We got those fish and cleaned them until the sun came up and we could have done the same thing the next night but already had our limitis, thats why I’ve stated in the past about giving fish to old timers that I know and neighbors, just so I can keep fishing. Either I’m a good fish story teller or its the truth, and I know its the truth. Boy what a charge it is to be in on a good catfish bite all night long, its a complete total rush when you go home with the bottom of your jonboat covered in catfish. At times when we’ve been culling, depending on what size is biting, we’ve had to put fish to either side on the bottom of the boat just so we could walk down thew center incase we need too, like giving bait to the guy on the bow so the limbs don’t knock the bait bucket out into the river… I’ll get some pictures this spring to show guys what a really good catfish bite is like.