Dead Suckers?
rich
Posted 10/1/2010 9:41 PM (#461715)
Subject: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 133


Will dead suckers still work? I just bought a few suckers from Gander Mt. and got home in a hurry and left the cover off of a 28 qt cooler, never thinking they would jump out. They did!! Now they are dead, guess I will find out in the morning. Let me know your thoughts.
mskyfin69
Posted 10/1/2010 10:05 PM (#461719 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 167


Location: IL
I feed mine to the Eagles. Had them come within 10' of the boat to get em.
Ryan Connelly
Posted 10/1/2010 11:22 PM (#461723 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?


I have caught 2 with dead suckers.....but freshly dead, like 15 minutes. Once the decay starts I haven't had success.
Junkman
Posted 10/2/2010 8:33 AM (#461739 - in reply to #461723)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 1220


I go along with the term "fresh dead" especially in the very latest (just before ice) fall situations. It's then that fish seem to have almost no energy left for a difficult attack and welcome the "easy pickings." For now, I'd go along with feeding them to the eagles (or to my first wife where the term "fresh dead" would have described the better part of our sex life.) Marty Forman
CASTING55
Posted 10/2/2010 10:28 AM (#461749 - in reply to #461739)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 968


Location: N.FIB
if its windy and your drifting good dead suckers will catch fish,worked for me in the past,if its calm you might end up with a big catfish,they like suckers also.
Guest
Posted 10/3/2010 7:44 PM (#461938 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?


I'd rather be using a live sucker.
nazercl
Posted 10/5/2010 11:42 AM (#462198 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?





I routinely use dead suckers.  My bait guy saves them for me and gives them to me for free.  Last year I caught over 75% of my fish on dead suckers.  I fish with one line live sucker, one line dead (if I have dead ones).  Believe it or not, the dead ones [for me] out preform the live ones. 

In the end, I have no preference, but don't toss the dead ones.

Hodag Hunter
Posted 10/5/2010 11:49 AM (#462200 - in reply to #462198)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 238


Location: Rhinelander
What are the surface temps when your dead are working?

I haven't had much luck with dead ones, have had a few going on great days when we run out of live ones on the water and turn to the once bitten ones.

But on those days I think they would hit a cob of corn if a guy threw it down there.

Edited by Hodag Hunter 10/5/2010 11:51 AM
nazercl
Posted 10/5/2010 12:30 PM (#462206 - in reply to #462200)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?





Anytime really.  I guess if I had to pick ideal conditions, I would want it breezy for drifting.  I wouldn't be afraid of drifting right into 4-6 feet once the water ticked up a couple degrees in the afternoon.

On an unrelated note, your Hodags spoiled our Homecoming down here in Medford.  Tough game.  Nice job.

Cowboyhannah
Posted 10/5/2010 9:52 PM (#462251 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: Re: Dead Suckers?





Posts: 1456


Location: Kronenwetter, WI
Don't toss the dead ones? I've seen some old timers heaving dead suckers and jerking them back in....maybe that would be an option.
nazercl
Posted 10/5/2010 10:05 PM (#462253 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: Re: Dead Suckers?





It's like anything else musky fishing related. If you devote enough time to any tactic eventually it'll pay off. Eventually you may even grow to have confidence in that tactic--and really isn't that everything--confidence. We'll do anything for hours if we've had success in the past. We'll give up on anything after five minutes if we haven't had success. The two largest muskies I caught on suckers last year were in five feet of clear water, drifting, dragging two dead suckers, which were spinning sideways in the water...two rod-lengths from the boat. Don't throw the dead suckers away--just sayin'--; )
Netman
Posted 10/6/2010 5:39 AM (#462262 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: Re: Dead Suckers?





Posts: 880


Location: New Berlin,Wisconsin,53151
Jig uhm, they work just fine with sitting on the bottom.
Netman
Buckeyemusky
Posted 10/7/2010 7:25 PM (#462458 - in reply to #462251)
Subject: Re: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 43


Cowboyhannah - 10/5/2010 9:52 PM

Don't toss the dead ones? I've seen some old timers heaving dead suckers and jerking them back in....maybe that would be an option.


I picked up an old harness in a box of fishing stuff that has a metal lip and two trebles on a short wire leader. The lip has a little spear like thing on it, your supposed to stick it through the bottom of a suckers mouth and hook it onto your line and basically you'll have a sucker crankbait.

It's called Little oscar live action harness hook. Anybody heard of or tried these???
JKahler
Posted 10/18/2010 12:56 AM (#463616 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: Re: Dead Suckers?




Posts: 1289


Location: WI
I caught one today on a dead sucker hanging off the side of the boat. Funny thing is, we had a live sucker off the other side and that one only got a ski to follow it around. It wasn't the plan to use a dead one, but all of our suckers except one died overnight so we gave it a try.
dead stickin
Posted 10/18/2010 4:57 AM (#463620 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: RE: Dead Suckers?


I've seen it work before, but we usually cast them. If we get some that die they are tossed in the freezer for later use. When you go out rig a slightly thawed one up on a quick-strike rig (we use the hook through the snout method, but haven't tried the rubber bands) and toss it out. Straight reeling them in with a few pauses has triggered strikes. The pauses cause the sucker to careen off to one side or another (think glider), which is usually when the strike occurs. Let them grab it for a bit until they turn away from you, or position your boat so you're perpendicular to the fish's movements, then hammer away!
FEVER
Posted 10/18/2010 10:43 AM (#463657 - in reply to #461715)
Subject: Re: Dead Suckers?





Posts: 253


Location: On the water
You guys have changed the way I think about fishing with dead suckers,
thanks for the great tips. Tom.