fishing suckers

[camando56]

Thinking about trying some suckers this weekend, wondering how people fish them, i have never used them before. Any information would be helpful.

[WRD]

If you go back thru the threads, this was talked about this time last year. Basically, I use a 12 to 14" sucker (one hook thru the bottom lip and a treble on the dorsil fin). Drift or use your trolling motor with the rig 6 to 8 feet down has worked for me. One thing, if you get a strike turn the boat around and go right at the fish. Set the hook when it's swimming away. If you wait to long you may risk killing a fish. Caught a 51 last year with this method. Good luck.

[RK]

Hiya -

Few thoughts:

- You MUST use a quick strike rig. I know there are still those that argue that you can use a swallow rig and cut the line, and the hook will somehow magically dissolve and the fish will be fine, but it's a myth. Single hook swallow rigs are fish killers. 100% of the time. Period.

Circle hooks? I've heard and seen both good and bad. To me, quick strike rigs are the fail safe method. You either hook the fish cleanly, and hooking percentages are pretty high, or you miss completely. (And, sometimes, even when you miss the fish will come back and drill the sucker again. I've set the hook 3 times on one fish on at least 4 occasions.)

There are several good quick strike rigs on the market, but I like the Herbie Rig or Musky Mania Lift off rig style personally. (I make my own but that's the basic style.) Getting a sucker rigged up is a little bit of a wrestling match, and it looks like you're doing completely unnatural and probably illegal things to it, but they're very effective.

- Quick strike rigs only work if you strike quickly. The idea that it takes a fish a half an hour to eat a sucker is as big a myth as the 'cut the line' business. They can gulp down a 17" sucker in about 20 seconds. So when I say 'quick' I mean pick the rod up, feel the fish, put a little pressure on to get the fish to turn away, and hammer them. And - HAMMER them. Set the hook HARD. When I have people in my boat who have never done it before, I tell them to try and break the rod. (I said it to an All American defensive lineman once - so that's what he did. KAPOW - rod in 3 pieces. Landed the fish though )

- I most often use a bobber (it's a 'float' if you're a fancy-pants type, in which case you should probably be trout fishing instead. Dry flies only...). They're nice for getting the sucker out away from the boat a little, which has more to do with getting a good hookset than the fish being boat shy. I've had plenty of fish gobble up a sucker hanging off the transom with 5 feet of line out too. If I'm fishing deep (20' +) I'll heavily weight the sucker and drop it straight over the side, just so I can follow a break more precisely.

- Manage your expectations. Suckers aren't magic. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, just like anything else. Sometimes fish will peel the hooks off artificials and completely ignore a sucker. Other times they won't hit an artificial but will clobber a sucker. It's still muskie fishing. I enjoy it because it's something different, and, if you're 'sucker boy' while your partner is casting, it's pretty relaxing.

Good luck - and I'm serious about the quick strike rigs. Have them, or don't fish live bait.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Lost Cause]

thanks for that post, I'm going out this weekend to try sucker fishing for the first time too with my father and brother. We were curious as to how exactly to rig them up, all of us throwing in , but I'll throw your advice at them and hope we do well.

[Nick Kuhn]

I use one of those Fuzzy EZ rigs: those work nice, albeit nothing is easy with a lively sucker. And RK is right about not being magic: you can swim following fish right into the sucker and get nothing.

[50inchpig]

there are lots of ways to rig suckers, lots of guys prefer the Fuzzy nose clips now. i tied up some rigs last night a took a few pics, maybe they'll help you with rigging, been using these rigs for a few years with extremely high hooking ratios. i use 90# and 120# Toothy Critter or Tyger wire (90# ties much easier) and I still prefer the rubber band rig, which i'll cut and tie through the solid ring after stringing it through the nostrils. this rig pops off great on the hookset.

****it's crucial to melt the nylon on your knots a little bit, otherwise they will slip, check the knots regularly

i use a 1oz weight above the whole rig to keep the sucker down a bit and use a small balloon for a float about 6 feet above the sucker when i'm running weededges. hooks are 5/0. it's important when you rig your sucker to space the hooks a bit and maintain balance when you stick them in the side of the sucker i.e. - not too far toward the head or tail, and not too high on the back to where they weigh your bait down or make it top heavy.

finally, treat your suckers gently and keep oxygen on them before you rig them up and they'll maintain maximum performance. i'll try to post a pic of a rigged sucker after this weekend.

[Lost Cause]

just a follow up, my first time fishing with suckers was a success, I landed a 41" 17lber. Only fish of the day but still had a good time out there despite the chill this morning.

[B17]

I was on Calhoun today and a fella was out there nailing Musky with these, rigged just like posted above. These were giant suckers.

[camando56]

Well i was finally able to get out and try using some suckers. I was drifting along an isand working the weed edge when i looked down over the bow of the boat and there was a nice size musky, i would say well over 40, so i slowly reel the bobber in positioning it next to him and all of a sudden he sees the sucker, spins around and darts at it, chased it around for 20 min but wouldnt take it. I drifted away from the bobber a couple times as to not spook it but everytime i got close again he was right there playing games with it.

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

so i slowly reel the bobber in positioning it next to him and all of a sudden he sees the sucker, spins around and darts at it, chased it around for 20 min but wouldnt take it. I drifted away from the bobber a couple times as to not spook it but everytime i got close again he was right there playing games with it.

Patience!!! If I had a dollar for everytime I had a ski screw around with the sucker and never eat, I would have alot of dollars. But that's the fun of it and when they do eat, it's an added bonus. I would also have alot of dollars for the times I went out and never saw a fish but that's the way it goes.. I would consider that a good trip and a good start.

[Nick Kuhn]

Sometimes I swear the muskies know how to frustrate the angler. When I was out Sunday I had 6 muskies follow lazily, and just get close enough for me to see them before veering off. Yet I had 3 pike just absolutely destroy the bait (I had 2" of a 9" jerkbait sticking out of a 30" fish), including one that hit hard boatside. How can the most similar species be that aggressive, and muskies coming off the same spot be that lazy?