substatute for suckers

[hhguide]

Is there a substatute for suckers? I know you cant use carp and such but what about redhorse or bullheads anyone tried those? Just ccurious were out of suckers up here.

[reinhard1]

i'm not a musky guy, but by the lake i fish for pike the stream that runs into the lake has big creek chubs that are easily cought on a small hook and piece of worm. otherwise just get the largest minnows available and give that a shot. also rivers in your area should have some suckers in them of all sizes. keeping them alive is another story. i contacted the bait shop i go to here and they have every size sucker available up to decoy. i know that doesn't help you but he said the Brainard area shops have large creek chubs and rainbow chubs. may have to drive or catch your own. good luck.

[50inchpig]

creek chubs should be super easy to catch or trap right now, maybe easier than bullheads.

couldn't help but think about rigging one up this summer as i was catching them for flathead bait but haven't had much trouble finding suckers down here so far this fall.

[john skarie]

Not sure where you are fishing, but MN law states you can only use bait you catch in the body of water you catch it in.

JS

[reinhard1]

not true with smelt and they can be caught with hook and line. good luck.

[RumRiverRat]

Not sure where you are fishing, but MN law states you can only use bait you catch in the body of water you catch it in.

JS

Wrong.

If that were true you cannot use any minnows you buy at a bait shop.

[john skarie]

Not wrong.

We're talking about bait that is large, ie suckers, bullheads.

Those aren't considered minnows.

You can't catch a 15" sucker in one lake and then take it to another lake to fish with.

You can only transport live minnows in MN, which is what you buy at a bait shop.

JS

[rugbymn]

Not wrong.

We're talking about bait that is large, ie suckers, bullheads.

Those aren't considered minnows.

You can't catch a 15" sucker in one lake and then take it to another lake to fish with.

You can only transport live minnows in MN, which is what you buy at a bait shop.

Well you'd better get over to the cat forum and let all of the guys who catch bullies in local lakes and then take them out to the river know that they're breaking the law.

If I'm not mistaken, there's also a specific law stating the size of bullheads you can keep and transport for bait.

Also, suckers aren't raised in tanks in some sucker factory somewhere. They're trapped from lakes and transported to bait shops by licensed bait dealers.

[mainbutter]

bullheads.

Those aren't considered minnows.

bullheads up to 10'' are considered minnows.

I'd love to see some reports of people trying large bullheads as bait in lakes with LMB, northerns, and 'skis. That would be my #1 choice after suckers if I wanted to try large live bait for esox species. Supposedly the state fair DNR pond doesn't ever have bullheads in it cuz the muskies eat 'em all.

[Nick Kuhn]

In the study they did of "what muskies eat", bullheads came in dead last; behind things like snails and frogs. Minnows and perch are by far an Esox's preferred forage. However I don't think you can rig up a perch in Minnesota (you can in Wisconsin though).

[rugbymn]

In the study they did of "what muskies eat", bullheads came in dead last;

No, any bait on the end of my line is dead last.

[john skarie]

What they eat has a lot to do with what is available.

In lakes that have high bullhead numbers, like Tonka and Detroit the numbers went down, way down after a few years of mature muskies in them.

JS

[Nick Kuhn]

Predation on the little schools of 2" bullheads is what determines their population, not predation on the large ones...

[john skarie]

So who makes the schools of little 2" bullheads? Prolly the large ones.

Either way, point is they love em.

There is a reason why the DNR biologist told me that lakes stocked with muskies which had high numbers of bullheads would see very fast growth rates.

Maybe because he knows what he's talking about.

JS

[nocturnalmotors]

They should stock muskies in Spring lake in Scott county. All I ever catch are bullheads and crappies.

[Nick Kuhn]

They should stock muskies in Spring lake in Scott county. All I ever catch are bullheads and crappies.

That's usually winterkill symptoms. And bass grow quite well in the first 5-6 years after a winterkill. It takes about 4 years to knock the bullhead numbers down and 8 to knock the crappie numbers down, but you don't need any gamefish outside northerns and bass. However I don't think that lake winterkills. I think the problem is people keeping all the predator species.

[brad coin]

Actually Rod Ramsell of the Minn dnr told us in metro muskies stomachs hes found bullheads has the most abundant with crappies second,,,for those of you who are old enough to remember Minnetonka in thje 70's and 80's you remember all the bullhead rafts you would see out there,, you dont see em anymore now that the muskies grew up

[DTro]

You can only transport live minnows in MN, which is what you buy at a bait shop.

JS

John, I think we might be splitting hairs here, but I don't want people to get the impression that they cannot go and catch their own bait and use it on different bodies of water. We are headed there, but at this point, that is simply not true.

Minnows and Leeches: Licensed anglers may take minnows or leeches for their

own use with dip nets, traps, or seines.

• Taking of wild animals for bait from designated infested waters (see pages

16-17) is unlawful, except for minnows and leeches taken for personal use

from waters infested SOLEY with Eurasian watermilfoil. At these waters,

harvested bait may ONLY be used at the water where taken and may only be

taken using a cylindrical trap not exceeding 16" in diameter and 32" long.

Taking of bait from other infested waters and using them is unlawful.

• Seines may not be over 25 feet long or more than 148 meshes deep with

¼‑inch bar measure, or more than 197 meshes deep with 3⁄16-inch bar

measure.

• Traps used on waters, other than infested, may not exceed a width and length

of 30 inches, height may not exceed 15 inches, the diameter or width of the

opening may not exceed 1½ inches, and mesh size may not exceed ½‑inch bar

measure. Traps must have a waterproof

tag bearing the name and address of

the owner.

• It is unlawful to use throw nets.

• A DNR permit* is required to possess more than 24 dozen minnows or

leeches; to sell, export or import; or to take minnows or leeches from

designated trout waters.

• Unwanted minnows and leeches cannot be dumped in the water.

Bait

• Using whole or parts of game fish, goldfish, or carp for bait is unlawful.

• Suckers larger than 12" may only be transported alive in containers

that are not a livewell or other part of a boat and if bought from a

licensed facility. Person must have valid receipt from the facility on

their person.

• Live bullheads, regardless of size, may not be transported north of

State Highway 210, except under a commercial license.

• Up to 100 bullheads, 7-10 inches in length, may be taken and

possessed for use as live bait. Legal methods of taking include dip

net, angling or minnow seines. Live bullheads must be transported in

a container with a locking lid to prevent escape. These bullheads are

considered part of the possession limits on pages 19, 52-54, and 57.

Bullheads less than 7 inches in length are considered minnows and fall

under those regulations.

[OnAFly]

Thanks for posting that dtro. Most questions like this can be easily answered by reading the DNR Regulations book. If you have further questions, call the CO. He'll be the one you have to deal with if what you're doing is against the law.

Not that guys on here aren't knowledgeable, but forums aren't the best place to get advice on the regulations.

[Esox_Magnum]

Perch and gills work well were leagal and used according to regs...

[RumRiverRat]

You can't catch a 15" sucker in one lake and then take it to another lake to fish with.

You can only transport live minnows in MN, which is what you buy at a bait shop.

JS

So the 18" sucker minnows I see at bait shops are used for what?

Sucker Minnow and Suckers are the same thing.

Better shut down all the baitshops that sell 14 to 18 inch sucker minnows.

Where do u think Sucker MInnows come from?

A Sucker Minnow factory.

You can transport Sucker Minonows over 12 inches provided you have a receipt from the baitshop you purchased them tfrom.

[john skarie]

You can transport suckers over 12" with a reciept from a baitshop, not one you catch yourself in a lake or river.

It's really not that complicated. The subject here was bait used for muskies, which would be suckers over 12" for most people. If they are that big, you can't catch them and transport them to another body of water, you can only use them where you catch them.

Furthermore, the bait dealers in my area have sucker ponds, they stock them with sucker fry and let them grow. So they do have "sucker factories".

JS

[Nick Kuhn]

I was going to say it'd make sense for bait dealers to have sucker factories, as the rearing ponds have them exclusively to feed our baby muskies.

[DTro]

It's really not that complicated. The subject here was bait used for muskies, which would be suckers over 12" for most people.

JS

[kapp]

bulldawgs or medussas can be used in place of suckers as well

gk