I Didn't Take You For a Sucker(fisherman)

White suckers are the most ubiquitous fish in moving water here in Connecticut. They are vastly more numerous than trout, and because of their size they make up a larger biomass than sunfish species. Blacknose dace are certainly more abundant but are so small anglers rarely ever catch them, accidentally or intentionally. Anglers targeting trout periodically catch white suckers, especially in lake winter and early spring. Unfortunately, they are often disregarded, disrespected, or in some cases treated with outright contempt. I once listened to two anglers, (both in Trout Unlimited hats, go figure) on the Beaverkill speaking about a dead sucker they’d found… the words “better dead than alive’” were said. I duly explained to them that white suckers are a native species and play a vital role in the health of the river. They are an important food source for birds of prey, mammals, and large predator fish. They spawn in a fashion not dissimilar to trout but far more communal, and they clean large swaths of gravel that are later used by other fish species to spawn as well. Not to mention; there is a reason the sucker spawn fly pattern is so popular… trout eat sucker eggs. Non-native brown and rainbow trout, I might add….

Anyway, not only are white suckers an important native fish, they are also very sporting. This is something I’ve never really understood: white suckers are more selective than trout, fight really hard, run much larger on average, and are edible and apparently quite tasty when prepared correctly. Why is it that they are one of the species most often referred to as a “trash fish”? I adore white suckers. They are very hard to catch most of the year, so when the spring spawning run concentrates fish and gets them more aggressive I am usually antsy to get out and try to catch some. This year, I devoted some extra focus to pursuing these tricky omnivores. On March 15th I followed up on a report from my friend Joe, who had caught a bunch of suckers the evening prior. I went to the same spot intent on indicator nymphing it until I could no longer feel my extremities. It was a cold evening and cloudy, and I was sure the conditions weren’t all that poor. It took picking through a couple stocked trout before my indicator dropped and I set the hook into the real thing. 

Targeting white suckers on the fly is a bit less straightforward than some would think. In the summer I sight fish for them, and it is a very engaging yet frustrating game of watching most fish run away from or just completely ignore your fly. During the spawning run there are usually more targets, but you often can’t see them and it feels just as difficult to get them to eat as it does while sight fishing. Almost like nymphing steelhead, if white suckers aren’t really on fire and biting like crazy you just have to pound water until your fly gets in front of a willing one’s face. I was certainly accomplishing that, there were tons of fish in front of me. It just took patience. I fished two pools and was on the river for three hours. I landed half a dozen white suckers though, not including three that were hooked outside the mouth. Each was bigger than any of the 8 stocked trout I also caught, and way, way cooler.They all fought like demons too. Two even jumped. 

A green weenie took four fish, a mop fly took two. Eggs are often recommended as a good sucker fly and I did fish egg patterns, however I came up empty handed with them. I’ve had good success in the past with a variety of patterns including the Carp Carrot, Black-ops, Hare’s Ear, Ausable Ugly, and San Juan Worm. I’m not sure there is a “best sucker fly”, you sort of just have to throw a buggy or meaty nymph until your arm is about to fall off. 

I left pretty satisfied, that was my best spring sucker outing in a long time. But I wasn’t so satisfied that I was ready to give up. Oh no, I had decided that I was going to nymph good white sucker water until I couldn’t take catching another. Big fallfish, big wild trout, and untold other fish would also likely get caught in the process. Stay tuned. 

Until next time, 

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

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