Sucker fish

[wolf]

I keep all the white sucker fish I catch ( so far caught two) . I know people throw them back since they are bottom feeders and all. ( the same time they eat other bottom feeder fishs) Do you keep them or throw them back? Because they look ugly or there is a health concern I should be aware? I can not find anything about health concern on the net.

http://www.sfishinc.com/fisht3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sucker

Thank you in advance.

[nicemustang]

They are mushy, oily and gross. I always keep them too but because they ruin the lake and through them out. But they taste horrible and IMO are the scum of the lake. Would you eat the algae in the lake too?

[Couleestalker]

People eat Tilapia all the time, those things follow close behind hippos eating dung and then they turn around and eat their own. Worked in the lethbridge aquaculture building and we would clean the tank from young fish and trough it in the brood tanks and they would have it cleaned up in seconds. Can't see why a sucker from a deep cold lake that has been eating fish eggs, small fish and crustaceans would taste that bad if prepared right.

[Izumi]

Originally Posted by nicemustang

They are mushy, oily and gross. I always keep them too but because they ruin the lake and through them out. But they taste horrible and IMO are the scum of the lake. Would you eat the algae in the lake too?

Would you eat flies or larva? How about smelts or minnows?

[Waxy]

Originally Posted by nicemustang

but because they ruin the lake and through them out.

Where did you get this info from?

Other than in a few cases where the fish in question are invasive species, "suckers" are an important part of the ecosystem of the lake and killing them for no reason is pretty ridiculous...

I don't want to eat them either, but throw them back.

Waxy

[Donavonszoo]

I wonder if they would be decent smoked or dried.. anybody ever try?

Just make a fish soup slice and dice a few things and few spices YUMMM

[~Octane~]

I just puked a little in my mouth just from reading this. Whoever eats suckers must not catch much of actual game fish However I must say i've heard from good sources the red finned sucker or red tailed sucker or whatever its called are good eating. Meh, i'd never try it

[slingshotz]

In one of the older Barry Mitchell's magazines I remember reading an article on what they actually eat and to much surprise their diet is actually technically better than a trout. It was an article to dispel the myth they are trash and useless fish. I do remember catching them in the bow and some good sized suckers put up a good fight, better that some trout.

If I could find the article again I could shock many fans of trout on what trout will actually eat. I've eaten them from clean flowing waters and they are actually pleasant except for all the little bones. Their meat can be nice delicate and sweet and they are supposed to be good smoked cause of the oil, now that I have a smoker I plan on trying one if I ever catch one accidentally again. I've had some pike that tasted far worse.

I personally don't care if one doesn't eat them but throwing them away is a waste of our resources, unless they were not native to that body of water. The only way big fish like pike and walleye stay big and strong is having things like suckers and whitefish to eat.

[Yellowtail]

Sucker actually has less toxic contaminates in them than pike or walleye. The higher up the food chain you go the higher the concentration of toxins such as heavy metals. I think walleye is one of the worst for mercury contamination.

[goober]

I worked with a bunch of guy's from Oklahoma this winter and they love Sucker fish. They have gigging tournaments to catch them and then have a huge sucker feast. They claim that there is a special way to cook it that included scoring the flesh and then deep frying it. I never tried it but they swore by it, they thought I was crazy when I said we did not eat them.

[Rumtan]

Smoked is how I have tried them....actually quite good. Taste one smoked first before you pass judgement, you will be pleasantly surprised. At first they said lobster was the worst because it was a bottom feeder and look how it caught on.

[sullijr]

Originally Posted by Izumi

Would you eat flies or larva? How about smelts or minnows?

Smelts are the sign of spring in the east,delicious fried in butter.No limit we used 6' square nets and caught them by the bushel basket full.

[Donavonszoo]

[QUOTE=slingshotz;327263]In one of the older Barry Mitchell's magazines I remember reading an article on what they actually eat and to much surprise their diet is actually technically better than a trout. It was an article to dispel the myth they are trash and useless fish. I do remember catching them in the bow and some good sized suckers put up a good fight, better that some trout.

If I could find the article again I could shock many fans of trout on what trout will actually eat. I've eaten them from clean flowing waters and they are actually pleasant except for all the little bones. Their meat can be nice delicate and sweet and they are supposed to be good smoked cause of the oil, now that I have a smoker I plan on trying one if I ever catch one accidentally again. I've had some pike that tasted far worse.

QUOTE]

I dont remember who wrote the article but i read something of the same nature..i was going to mention it but i didnt have a referance to go by.

[Donavonszoo]

[QUOTE=~Octane~;327255] I just puked a little in my mouth just from reading this. Whoever eats suckers must not catch much of actual game fish QUOTE]

Try hooking a 5 pound sucker on an ultralight rod and then say they arnt game fish

[wolf]

Thanks guys,

Chain lakes has suckers and I do not think they ruin the lakes. We usually catch one-two sucker every season, and yes I do keep all my legal fish.
I was thinking salt dry them and smoke.

BTW white sturgeon is a bottom feeder, and it is a best fish to me.

Thanks again everyone, I was not sure if it was a health concern.

[WayneChristie]

main reason I missed using worms in the Bow in Calgary, we used to catch dozens of suckers, some quite big and always had a lot of fun. the settlers used to can them and called them prairie salmon because you couldnt tell the difference when they were canned

[Jorg]

I've tried canned sucker in sask. It was very good. They also make great bait any 5 lb.+ walleye will take on a foot long sucker no problem.

[Izumi]

It's interesting a lot of people reaction to Suckers today is a lot like the way people reacted to Burbot in times past...

I personally still have not tried one and wont knock it until I do.

[hit1987]

used to catch lots of suckers on Bow and chain lake.
always find some white color tape-type worms inside sucker belly. wondering what they are and concern about eating them. now playing catch & release all suckers.

[bsnyder]

They fight hard and Carp( sucker ) fishing down east and in Europe is realy popular. They even have tournys They can get real big.I personaly wont even touch one , they look so GROSS( kinda girlish eh?) ILL stick with walley

[~Octane~]

[QUOTE=Donavonszoo;327369]

Originally Posted by ~Octane~

I just puked a little in my mouth just from reading this. Whoever eats suckers must not catch much of actual game fish QUOTE]

Try hooking a 5 pound sucker on an ultralight rod and then say they arnt game fish

lol. I'm well aware of how they fight, quillbacks especially..I am supposedly the Alberta record holder for quillback, and would probably be in the record book if it was a game fish. I think the largest reported in the NSR was 44cm. I landed this 24in quillback a few years back dragging a jig along bottom. Took a good 15 minutes to land. Thought it was a carp at first because of the size of it.


But ya, I'd much rather go for huge trout pike or walleye

[Jetski]

About 40 years ago I stopped and talked with a native family camped beside a pond along a road south of Sundre about this time of year. The fellow had a dozen or so large whole suckers spread open on sticks in front of a green willow smudge fire and another 50 or more in coolers already smoked. When asked how he caught them we walked down to where the water was dammed up just in front of a culvert crossing under the road and there were several dozen big suckers swimming which he said he was catching with a dip net.

He explained that smoked spring sucker was something his grandfolks had shown him and was traditional food for their family for as long as any remembered. As I recall he said that he brined them for a short time in some salt water before smoking. The piece of smoked fish he gave me to try was as good as any other I've had since and about the same texture as smoked marlin.

Somewhere I read that smoked suckers are the state fish of Minnesota.

[Donavonszoo]

Originally Posted by ~Octane~

I am supposedly the Alberta record holder for quillback, and would probably be in the record book if it was a game fish.

I stand corrected! Congrats on the "record", I think? LOL

[slingshotz]

On the weekend I smoked a bunch of the goldeye and the one sucker we caught in the RDR and I have to admit that the sucker tasted better than the goldeye. It was really clean tasting, firm white meat, just a bit annoying with the little bones but as long as you took your time it was ok. The goldeye was actually a bit mushy and not as firm or tasty.

I'd bet if I served that to people 99% of the time no one would have guessed it was a sucker.

[MrDave]

I have had suckers smoked, canned, and fried. It is like anything else, if you know how to cook it, its good; but a bad cook can turn anything into dog food. When they come out of cold water they are nice and firm. Same as every other fish, if they come out of gross water they taste gross.

[kinwahkly]

I always keep2 or 3 in the spring and bury them under my trees, they make great fertilzer for youre trees just make sure youre dog doesnt dig them up on you, but i always throw them back.

[raised by wolves]

Suckers are part of the ecosystem. They have been part of it longer than we have so I find comments regarding the destructive behaviour of suckers quite hilarious. That tidbit of info probably came from that old, fat guy that sits on a bucket along the shoreline and complains about coloured folk having the vote.

If I am starving and not capable of finding a cutthroat, there would be no hesitation on grilling and dining on a sucker. They taste OK and they live in the same water from which I harvest other fish. They are bottom feeders, but so too are freshwater burbot, catfish, sal****er cod, lingcod, flounder, sole, halibut, (etc.) but we pay big bucks to eat them.

I recall reading an article about a cannery near Fort William that processed suckers as a canned product for both export and local grocery stores. One of my Cree buddies says his father and some of the other old boys from his band always eat the suckers that end up in their whitefish nets.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by wolf

I keep all the white sucker fish I catch ( so far caught two) . I know people throw them back since they are bottom feeders and all. ( the same time they eat other bottom feeder fishs) Do you keep them or throw them back? Because they look ugly or there is a health concern I should be aware? I can not find anything about health concern on the net.

http://www.sfishinc.com/fisht3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sucker

Thank you in advance.

This is kinda to some of the replies also.

I have never eaten sucker so I can not personally comment on the taste. I know I can't stand goldeye and northern pike minnow though...

Anyways...depending one where you fish, suckers are an important part of the ecosystem and are a necessary part of it. In a pike and walleye lake, suckers feed many, many juvenile predators and in fact nature designed the spawning times for suckers to benefit the likes of pike and walleye. In a stocked trout lake they are not so good. In a normal river the suckers often feed the predators.

I worked with some poor biologist/technicians that killed every sucker and whitefish they saw when working. Short sighted to say the least.

Now whitefish are becoming seen as important for the health of the rivers include bull trout, brown trout, cutthroats and rainbows.

I had a buddy once who almost dry fly fished primarily for suckers in the river. He said they tasted fine from the clear mountain streams. I find trout caught in pot holes lakes often taste muddy or sulphury and I tend to not eat them either.

To each there own but I would strongly suggest think before you indiscriminately kill suckers just cause of what they look like.

I would love to see F&W include in their regulations and inforce protection for indiscriminate killing of suckers. There should at least be a reasonably low limit set.

Once people thought all sharks should be killed. Now whole ecosystems and fisheries are at risk because of the needless slaughter.

Sun

[Sundancefisher]

[QUOTE=~Octane~;327778]

Originally Posted by Donavonszoo

lol. I'm well aware of how they fight, quillbacks especially..I am supposedly the Alberta record holder for quillback, and would probably be in the record book if it was a game fish. I think the largest reported in the NSR was 44cm. I landed this 24in quillback a few years back dragging a jig along bottom. Took a good 15 minutes to land. Thought it was a carp at first because of the size of it.


But ya, I'd much rather go for huge trout pike or walleye

I had one great day for Quillbacks a number of years ago. Best fighting fish in Alberta. In was within the Edmonton city limits. Reminded me of a small Chinook salmon the way it tore out line. I probably caught close to 20 that day all on jigs. Put them all back also. Some were huge. Wish I would of taken pictures. Also caught a redhorse.

Great photo...brings back memories!