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In the last couple weeks as more folks have started to get out and fishing I've noticed quite a few suckers rotting on the bank. I was fishing with some friends over the weekend as well and they just about had a fit when I pulled a couple suckers in and released them like I do any other fish I'm not going to keep. They tried to convince me that F&G has a kill order out for them, but I'll believe that when I see it...I've been all over regs and the F&G site and haven't seen a thing about it.
I might have been more willing to listen to them on the subject if they had any respect for the fish they were pulling in. Out of 4 cutts my friend pulled in on the SF (not going to be fishing with him anymore btw) he KEPT 2, and the other two were gut-hooked and he threw them back after squeezing them and ripping the hook out. Then he caught a 13 inch brown and decided to follow the regs for whatever reason, he already had two illegal cutts in his cooler, and to return it gave it to another guy that was there who threw him in a 6' high arc to get him back in the water. I was beside myself at that point and just couldn't fish with the guys anymore. I don't necessarily agree that anglers shouldn't be able to harvest cutts out of the SF with how many I've caught this year, but I'm not going to disobey the regs on it, and to completely disrespect the fish you're already disturbing in a major way just toasts my cookies.
Anyway, the real subject here is suckers. Kill or throw back?
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i don't catch to awful many suckers as i don't fish rivers too much. they are o.k. for cutbait. so if i am catfishing and catch one he will be bait. squaw fish ( pike minnow ) however are very thick in the boise river reservoirs especialy. for me i kill the little ones and if i get a 3+ pounder i let them go as they are fun to catch. i know they probably eat more fish than the little ones but i fish for sport , i want fish to take drag. rather catch a 3-5 + lb squaw than a 8" planter bow or 11" kokeanee
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Kill and through back . This is just my opinion and what I do . Don't leave any trash fish on the bank . It just leaves a stinking mess , and the first dog that comes along is going to roll in it and go back to his owner smelling like crap . If you kill it and through it back all the nutrients are reused by mother nature like when salmon die after they spawn . Curt G.
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I have a close friend who is a biologist with F&G. He simply slices open the belly and returns them back to the water. His theory is they will be food for something. And wont be eating the fish we have come there to catch. Side note....Look at Big Springs in Island Park. Huge suckers in there now...Makes me sick.....
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[quote dalgrabe]I have a close friend who is a biologist with F&G. He simply slices open the belly and returns them back to the water. His theory is they will be food for something. And wont be eating the fish we have come there to catch. Side note....Look at Big Springs in Island Park. Huge suckers in there now...Makes me sick.....[/quote]
Yep, that's what I do with them [  ]
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I called F&G up and their stance on it is that "suckers are not a competitor to trout and are necessary to the waterways so anglers should practice C&R with them if they don't intend to use them."
Was interested with that response, the receptionist told me it was fine at first and corrected herself after asking another person there.
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What are they talking about . If you catch them while trying to catch trout of coarse they are in direct competition with the trout . They eat the same thing . There is only so much food and if the suckers are eating it . Less food for the trout . Curt G.
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That's pretty much my thought. If they're eating the same things, how are they not competitive with the trout?
I've seen suckers hitting the surface for bugs, caught them on worms and salmon eggs, had friends catch them on Rapalas even. Supposedly they're primarily herbivores, but if they're hitting baits, all of which target meat eaters, how can that be the case? I've also been reading some things about them not targeting redds, fry or smolt at all, and others that say they've seen them do it. I'd think if they're eating the same things trout are eating, and also eating eggs / fry, that would put them in competition with trout.
Now there are other accounts that say they're not bad in areas where there is a lot of water flow. Rivers, streams and such, and I could agree with that. But right now eddies and other slow moving sucker-infested water is where most fish (anecdotal) are holding right now until flows chill out a bit. I don't know, but I think I'm going to start cutting them and throwing them back or using them as cut bait and seeing how that goes. Maybe feed them to my kitty.
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yeah a good slice to the belly or a few puncture wounds to pop there air bladder works great for a catch and release on those suckers and carp!!!! suckers don't bother me as much as carp as carp are even more competitive and detrimental to the environment than a sucker is!!! but i don't treat them much different!!!! carp get a little better treatment as far as a safe release goes[sly]
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Keep em for sturgeon bait or let them go. Leaving them on the bank just creates a stinking mess especially as the temperature continues to climb. There's really no sense in killing them as most places have such dense populations your not really doing anything.........
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Kill them and throw them back, They feed all sorts of different critters, otters, pelicans, seaguls, eagles, hawks,
yada yada.
I just hate it when they are left out on the bank to rot.
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Do pelicans eat carp?? Ive seen them pick them up and spit them back out.....
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This might sound kind of sound oxy-moron! They do compete for food with all other fish but not in a aggressive way, (say like smallmouths.) I let all of the big ones go and kill and sink anything under about 3 pounds. My thoughts on this are: they must be reproducing, therefore they are making babies for all other game fish to eat. The ones that get killed and sank, provide food for other fish or crawdads! Just a thought!
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I cut the belly open or cut out the gills and release them. They will feed other fish.
Ron
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I kill them and throw them back. They will definitely eat eggs. I have caught more than my fair share drifting a trout bead for steelhead. If you need bait keep them, if not kill and release in the water. I have had a dog roll in them before on the bank and the drive home was awful to say the least.
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suckers are a great baitfish use them for bait!!
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depends on my mood....sometimes kill and throw back, sometimes let them go but I really hate suckers, they are the slimiest things I think. I don't even like to touch them anymore. I have let the carp go I have caught so far I think which isn't a lot.
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Good topic, thanks for asking the question and getting answers. I was thinking about this myself. I enjoy spearfishing these suckers and will be at Redfish and other lakes this week killing a bunch. Well, maybe just 5-10.
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My understanding is that some suckers are bottom feeders that dislodge some beneficial foodstuffs for the game fish as they forage along the bottom. So I've heard that they do play a role in the ecosystem. But there is a difference between some bottom feeding sucker and, say, Squawfish, so there has to be some distinctions made.
Nonetheless, I'll probably kill 'em all [sly] until my understanding that bottom feeders help game fish is cemented 100% in fact.
Yeah, and not leave them on the bank.
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I am afraid to throw carp on dry gound. Those suckers are so resistant to death that it might grow legs and lungs and start walking. If that happens we are going to have a real mess on our hands. Seriously, I bow fish for them at Minidoka dam. We just throw them on the bank and in a day or two the coyotes and raccoons eat them. Were I fish no one is bankfishing so no worries about offending someones sense of smell.
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