Where to catch suckers in the metro

[duck2]

Hello,

I am planning a catfishing outing and it seems that cut suckers are the preffered bait for channel cats. isd there anywhere in the Northeast Metro ( greater St Paul area) to catch suckers? What tackle and tactics are used to catch suckers?

[fishuhalik]

Just throw out some crawlers on a bottom rig in the river. Sandy areas seem to be best.

[Gordie]

You might have better luck looking for creek chubs and possibly catch a sucker in the mix.

Look for feeder creeks that feed the Miss,St Croix and Minnesota river and the creeks that feed these creeks. There are many other little creeks that will produce suckers and creek chubs as well.

My prfered set up is a small ice flie and waxies or worms on a ultra light fishing setup.

Sometimes finding places to fish for bait is more secretive than the spots for catfish

Remember to ask permission to go on someones property if the stream runs thru it in my experience they are usally more than will ing to let you try for bait

I will warn you now that catching bait can be as addictining as catching the other fish..

Good Luck and Have fun

[lithbeef]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I am headed to a Nisswa area lake this weekend that has a decent dogfish/ bowfin population. If other fish aren't biting these can be very fun. I have never fished "for them" this time of year however.

Does anyone have any tips for catching these beasts?

What depth to look?

Time of day?

Bait to use?

Presentation?

Do we "chum" at all?

The water is pretty clear on this lake (as it is on all lakes where I have ever caught dogfish) and gets as deep as 42 feet.

Please let me know what you can. I'd sure like to tap into the good knowledge base I see here.

Thanks!!!

[Gordie]

Hi lithbeef and welcome to the great family Of HSO these guys are great back here for answering tons of questions like yours.

I have never went out and targeted bowfin but I have seen them and caught then mostly while pitching some type of twister style jig,

I am trying to get this question its own thread for you to help better answer it.

Good luck fishing.. Let us know how you do and dont forget to post some pictures

[reinhard1]

i have never targeted them at all but i do respect them. i think over the years they have ruined more of my lures than any other fish . one think i have never done is catch them deep. all where in shallow water. i have never caught one during hard water ever. i realy dont think there are that many of them in any of the lakes i have fished. if there were you would think you would get more just by accident. there is a outdoor fishing show called "outdoor passion". filmed mostly in canada. one show they had was strictly about these fish.

the whole shore they were targeting weedy shallow shorelines with spinner baits and plastic minnows, working them slowly through the weeds and weed lines. so i hope you have good luck with them. make sure you have sturdy long nose pliers on hand and keep your hands out of their mouth. good luck.

[HuskerBen]

I would concur with Reinhard -shallow, weedy shorelines. Even better if there's a creek flowing into the area. You don't need a boat, but you may have to do some wading. They are a great target for spot and stalk fishing. I know guys who do well with twister tails and spinners, but I have had the best luck with crawlers and cutbait. I usually have nothing on my line but a hook and a chunk of cutbait (sucker heads are great). There's something about that slowly sinking sucker chunk that makes a hungry bowfin go nuts.

Good luck. Take some bandaids. They can be a little unpredictable when they're on shore.

[lithbeef]

Thanks guys. Good stuff. I have spot fished them in the spring but not in the late summer. It sounds like they are air breathers too and can be spotted in the warm shallows. I will give this a whirl. Never caught a doggie in the summer, only in May.

[MN BassFisher]

I've caught plenty of Bowfin in my day but only from one lake. I've caught most of them in shallow water. Weeds are a must it seems. On this lake they like to hang out in the lilypads and stalk things that fall in the water. You can throw a topwater lure in there and watch the wake come out of the pads. Pretty fun. I've caught them on all varieties of lures from Suckers, crappie minnows, worms, topwater frogs, jawbreakers, crankbaits, spinners, jigs. They are pretty aggressive fish. I love fishing them at dusk with a lighted bobber and some bigger minnows, I always target shallow with that method.

[reinhard1]

they seem to be fearless as well. i had one lay under pads up on north star lake near grand rapids just a few feet from me. i was bouncing my spinnerbait on top of his head when he apperantly got mad and smashed that thing. that spinnerbait was completly destroyed and i had to throw it in the garbage later. good luck.

[Gordie]

I have seen and caught them thru the ice just before ice out while sight fishin pannies sometimes you cant pull that jig away fast enough they do put on a fight though broke off a couple and landed a few

[reinhard1]

that's one thing i haven't done yet. of all the years on the ice, not one. but it would be cool. but i fish grindstone a lot in the winter also and i have yet to get one out of there in over 40 years on that lake. maby there is something about the dog's liking that shallow water, the grind dont have much of that. good luck.

[Bobby_Hill]

I've caught plenty of Bowfin in my day but only from one lake. I've caught most of them in shallow water. Weeds are a must it seems. On this lake they like to hang out in the lilypads and stalk things that fall in the water. You can throw a topwater lure in there and watch the wake come out of the pads. Pretty fun. I've caught them on all varieties of lures from Suckers, crappie minnows, worms, topwater frogs, jawbreakers, crankbaits, spinners, jigs. They are pretty aggressive fish. I love fishing them at dusk with a lighted bobber and some bigger minnows, I always target shallow with that method.

This is exactly what happened to me yesterday. I was casting a buzzbait to the edge of some pads for bass and pulling it back to the boat over submerged vegetation, and I saw a big ol wake following the lure out from under the pads. I didn’t know what it was at first, but it was exciting to say the least! I reeled it all the way back to within 3 feet of the boat and the fish had not hit yet, I could see it a couple feet back just following along. Seeing the boat did not seem to phase it one bit. I stopped reeling to let the lure sink and sure enough BAM it peeled a quick 10 feet of line off my reel and put up one heck of a fight, ended up being 30” long. They are definitely a cool looking fish and very powerful, I look forward to catching another someday.