swim bait.......quillback fishing?

[TonyKay]

Went out to a local stream and found some quill back, suckers and carp stacked up below a rock dam...I had no idea that the quills were such aggressive spawners...id drop the swim bait in front of them and they would smack it, not sure if they were intending on eating or if they were just trying to keep their spawning area free of egg raiders. Even the carp were grabbing at the swim baits as they went by.....It was an absolute blast on ultra light gear and super swift current....anyway I ended up tieing into more than i could count with a few bonus species...

[Cthulhu]

The Quillback definitely think they are defending their nesting area. They only eat things up to 3mm or so (due to esophagus size). Hard to say on the Silver Redhorse.

Carp will definitely eat bait fish. Especially in the spring. I've caught several on lures, way back in the mouth. Carp are pretty adaptable - they'll eat most anything that fits in their mouths at times, even though they can be pretty selective much of the time.