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| I was going to build a pen out of chicken wire to hold my suckers was wondering if there is a better way.thanks for any input |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Big metal oval tub with lots of 1/2" drilled holes and a chicken wire top. |
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Posts: 280
Location: McFarland | I just have one of those 30 gallon tupperware storage bins with the locking handles on top and a bunch of holes drilled in it...works great. |
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Posts: 243
| We have been talking about making one as well......and going with the metal tub. Not understanding all of the holes though if there's wire on top? Where/why would you need the holes?
Great thread, btw....appreciate the tips. With the price and scarcity of good suckers in a lot of areas, keeping the ones you have going for as long as possible is really nice to be able to do. |
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Posts: 1887
Location: syracuse indiana | well most of the pens that guy's use are "IN" water so the holes are for all the time fresh water and the wire is to keep them in and critters out...bill |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | I'd try to avoid galvanized tubs. Might be ok for a short term storage solution though.
I've been advised by people in the biz that some metals are toxic. I use plastic livestock tubs and have a pretty good track record keeping them going. I'm not on a lake though, I use city water. I also fish more than one lake so using city water allows me to move the fish around from lake to lake. As long as they don't come in contact with lake water, I can use them anywhere.
Good luck,
Jono
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Posts: 454
| Do you put battery operated aerators in them when you use city water if you are not storing them in lakes? |
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Posts: 726
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Hi Tony.
At home, I have two A/C aquarium double pumpers in a 100 gallon tank. When I go to the lake, in my truck, I fill a tub w/ city water and I use aquarium aerators plugged into a power inverter/12 V deep cycle. In my boat, I transfer a subset of the suckers I brought to the lake in a cooler and use a D battery powered aerator. No lake water needed! Any suckers not put into the lake go back into the big tanks when I get home. I hope I'm describing this clearly.
Jono
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Posts: 30
Location: MN | Jono that is a great plan and execution of it. I might have to start doing it. The Gander Mountain by me just got there sucker shipment in and there were a few nice ones in the 14" range. For $1.99 it's tough to beat. |
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Posts: 454
| Thanks for the advice! |
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Posts: 144
Location: Loves Park, IL | Jerry
I got a rabbit cage from Farm and Fleet with the top that open up fully. It's about a foot tall, a foot deep and 2 feet long. It works great to hold suckers over night when I'm on a lake for a couple days. I put it in a inconspicuous place with a float on it and pick it up the next day. You have to have your name/address on it , though, in order to leave it in a lake so you can be contacted by DNR if there is an issue. |
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Posts: 1220
| I like it when the sucker pens are really easy to spot in the water near your pier. Sometimes they attract interested shoppers and you can pick one off casting as you float on by. Also the bait shop is often out of stock as it gets late in the year.  |
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Posts: 158
| SearchingDaCroix - 10/10/2011 12:27 PM
Jono that is a great plan and execution of it. I might have to start doing it. The Gander Mountain by me just got there sucker shipment in and there were a few nice ones in the 14" range. For $1.99 it's tough to beat.
2 bucks for 14" suckers? You better buy everyone of of them they have at that price and keep them alive all season. I just went and looked at some here in St Cloud and 12 to 14" were getting 6 bucks, 15-18 were $8....another shop had them at $9 a piece....that's just flat out stupid if you ask me. $9 for a freckin' sucker?
The stupid thing is that "this" sucker will probably be buying those $9 suckers at some point this season because there is nothing better than setting the hooks into a sucker eating muskie. I'll keep looking for a bit cheaper source though before I fold and pay that much for a one time use "bait".
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Posts: 30
Location: MN | Lol... I was going to buy some since I have a slightly cracked 180g tank sitting on the patio. But I'm still really new to the craze of muskies, so I'm not sure when and where suckers should be used.
Edited by SearchingDaCroix 10/10/2011 4:32 PM
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Posts: 30
Location: MN | If someone wants to take me out and show me the ropes on sucker fishing. I'll gladly pick up some suckers for us. |
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| I use a large plastic dog kennel with a rock in the bottom. Picked it up at a garage sale for $5:00. I also have my name on it. The muskies love it also, there is usually one staring in it every time I check. MIke
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | We use a wooden frame/chicken wire cage that my buddy built last year. this year he installed two lengths of 2" pvc filled with sand which is just enough weight to keep the bottom down, but the unit still floats for easy access. We just got back from a trip where we saw suckers to $10.00 a piece at one bait shop. Wowza! Another friend left his dog cage for us, with a few suckers in it. It was a nice concept(all metal design type), but wish we'd known the holes were almost 4" accross the top of the cage when we moved it to deeper water to transfer to our cage. 3 of the 5 suckers he left for us swam free. Dogghh! |
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Posts: 1887
Location: syracuse indiana | ironmike - 10/15/2011 5:32 PM
I use a large plastic dog kennel with a rock in the bottom. Picked it up at a garage sale for $5:00. I also have my name on it. The muskies love it also, there is usually one staring in it every time I check. MIke
its a good thing the suckers havent seen the movie JAWS or Shark Night .. would like to see a muskie try to get into the cage to get a snack...bill |
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| Thanks for all the input my pen is build i made it out of cedar and coated chicken wire.24x24z36 |
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Posts: 280
Location: McFarland | Mine passed the break in test...Saturday morning I went down to my dock to check on my suckers and there was a low 40's musky putting it's head in the mud next to my sucker tank and thrashing it's head around. Then it would just put its head up to the tank like she was trying to see through the holes and you could hear the suckers in the tank freaking out swimming around. Wish I would have thought about getting my phone out and recording it but instead I ran up and got a rod and a cowgirl but no luck. |
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Posts: 60
Location: Poca, West Virginia | Should have used a sucker not a cowgirl. |
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Sucker pens