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Posts: 2024
| Illinois (midstate and southern) do not have baitshops, to my knowledge, that carry suckers. However, I have access to small chubsuckers in various nearby streams. Has anyone used small 6-8" suckers on quick-strike rigs?
Thoughts?? |
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Posts: 605
Location: Marshfield, WI | I have used chubs a few times. I have caught a few pike and one musky that was 35.5". Fish hammered it too. He cleared the water on the hit and I had to run to the back of the boat and get a quick hookset in. Was probably the fattest 35.5" I ever caught.
Krishna |
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| I don't do a lot of sucker fishing, but I would be concerned with the fish swallowing suckers of that size. Last week at an outing my Muskies Inc. Chapter put on, members were using suckers up to 24 inches long. I believe one of our guys caught a 36 inch Tiger with almost a 20 inch sucker. We buy our bait from private fish hatcheries, not bait shops. Maybe there's one near you? |
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Location: The Yahara Chain | I do a lot of sucker fishing. I would make a quick strike rig with one high quality 2/0 hook. As long as you pay attention to your rod and get on it right away you will be fine. I caught my largest musky on a 9" sucker, so 8" should work fine. When I went to the baitshop that day I was very disappointed with the size of the suckers they had....by the end of the day it wasn't an issue anymore.  |
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Location: Lake Tomahawk, WI | Back in my walleye fishing days, we would jig 6" redtails during the fall on deep structure. We caught many muskies doing this, along with every other type of fish that swam. On a jig, the muskies were always hooked in the lip due to the almost instant hookset. Haven't done it in awhile, got me thinkng...
JS |
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Posts: 2024
| Brad,
That was initially my concern, but after watching my own muskie chomp small feeder goldfish it usually takes him a bit to actually get it in his gullet. I think if a sucker rod were properly watched and a near immediate hookset used it would be OK. The nearest fish hatchery is about 2 hours away...
I did see some much larger (presumably) white suckers in the stream I visited yesterday. Now I've gotta figure out how to get them and keep the small sunfish off the hook. The small chubs fell to dough balls. |
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Posts: 317
| Wild chubs and suckers are worth gold if you can get them. I have a small creek that I go to, and I look for any deep runs or turns. A small ice jig works for chubs and shiners, which are a blast to catch. A small jig with a worm cunk dragged through a hole produces white and hog suckers up to 2#. If they are concentrated in a deep turn, a dip net will work as well. |
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Posts: 2024
| Are hog suckers legal to take and use as bait? Are you using those big whites and hogs as bait? |
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| In MN, bait shops are not allowed to sell suckers longer than 12 inches, as the law states that anything over 12 inches is no longer considered a "minnow". That's why we buy from private parties, which is perfectly legal. |
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Posts: 47
| no 12" Suckers in MN, is that a new law? |
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| I believe it's an old law that just wasn't being enforced. According to MN State law, any bait fish over 12 inches long is considered a Game fish, and can't be sold by bait shops. We have a MN DNR employee as a member of my Muskies Inc. Chapter, and he made it sound like they were going to start enforcing this law again. You can use bait larger than 12 inches if you net it yourself or buy it from private farms. |
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Posts: 47
| That sucks! Oh well, at least we can still use live bait for now. |
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Posts: 91
| I think you have to be careful where you take it cause evry time I turn around I hear or see something about moving native fish from one body of water to another. I think the only live bait you are suppose to use (invasive species) is from the bait shop or a legally caugth fish from the same body of water.
Edited by TTurn 10/13/2007 4:56 PM
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Posts: 956
Location: Home of the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs | Sean,
For small baits I'd consider circle hooks IF youre not attentatively watching the small bait on a Q/S rig. Call me.
Karl |
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Posts: 2024
| TTurn - 10/13/2007 4:41 PM
I think you have to be careful where you take it cause evry time I turn around I hear or see something about moving native fish from one body of water to another. I think the only live bait you are suppose to use is from the bait shop or a legally caugth fish from the same body of water.
Initially, this was my main concern. Yet, after looking through the Illinois Fishing Regulations 2007 manual I cannot find that information. More specifically, I can't find this information as it pertains to using non-gamefish for bait. So far what I've found is the following:
STOCKING
Fish may be released into the waters from which they were taken, but permission from the Department of Natural Resources must be secured before releasing fish in other waters, except for private water owners. An owner of a body of water may release fish into waters wholly upon his or her property that are indigenous to the State of Illinois. It is illegal to import or possess live diploid grass carp,
silver carp, bighead carp or hybrid grass carp. A Restricted Species Transportation Permit must be secured from the Department of Natural Resources before importing or stocking triploid grass carp.
My interpretation of this is that if you, say, catch a bass from one body of water you cannot - without permission from the DNR - release that bass into another body of water. Not sure how that might pertain to using suckers as bait originally caught from a different body of water.
If anyone knows something I don't about ILLINOIS regulations and can cite it that would greatly appreciated.
By the way, I just figured out they are mature adult male Horny-head Chubs
Edited by esox50 10/13/2007 5:03 PM
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I love 8-10" suckers. I don't quick strike them though, I use a 1/0 circle and fluro. Smaller suckers are more durable and can be fished in warmer water. Besides that, how many Perch and pan fish top 10"? Its a natural presentation. |
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Posts: 1060
Location: Palm Coast, FL | I never use anything over 10". I also have a couple of friends that use nothing bigger than 8"...one of them uses a circle hook. A fish hits and he very calmly starts reeling the fish in. Works great for him. |
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Posts: 317
| In IL, you can use anything for bait that you want, as long as you observe legal regs. therefore, if I really wanted, I could use a 48" Muskie for bait on Shabbona or the Fox Chain. I think I would need a bigger QS rig, though! |
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Posts: 2378
| Derrys - 10/13/2007 3:20 PM
I believe it's an old law that just wasn't being enforced. According to MN State law, any bait fish over 12 inches long is considered a Game fish, and can't be sold by bait shops. We have a MN DNR employee as a member of my Muskies Inc. Chapter, and he made it sound like they were going to start enforcing this law again. You can use bait larger than 12 inches if you net it yourself or buy it from private farms.
That's not entirely true. A sucker longer than 12" is considered a rough fish.
Reading the regs very closely, there is nothing wrong with using a rough fish (as long as said rough fish is not a carp) for bait. Therefore it is perfectly legal to transport suckers longer than 12".
Not sure if that is how a CO would interpret it, but that is how the regs read. |
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My understanding of the sucker deal is that legally you cannot transport fish over 12" long alive without a bait liscence.
Rough fish or game fish, if it's longer than 12", it has to be dead to transport it.
JS |
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Posts: 2378
| john skarie - 10/15/2007 12:08 PM
My understanding of the sucker deal is that legally you cannot transport fish over 12" long alive without a bait liscence.
Rough fish or game fish, if it's longer than 12", it has to be dead to transport it.
JS
Not according to the regs.
It is illegal to transport live fish unless they are intended as bait.
Rough fish are legal for bait, unless they are carp.
Suckers longer than 12" are considered rough fish.
So 13"+ suckers are legal bait, and can therefore legally be transported.
Like I said, I am not sure if this is how a CO would interpret things; but I have read the regs over and over trying to make sense of this and that is what I found.
Edited by BALDY 10/15/2007 12:32 PM
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| "That's not entirely true. A sucker longer than 12" is considered a rough fish.
Reading the regs very closely, there is nothing wrong with using a rough fish (as long as said rough fish is not a carp) for bait. Therefore it is perfectly legal to transport suckers longer than 12". -Luke Breyer
As I mentioned, a DNR officer from Minnesota is a member of my Muskies Inc. Chapter and gave a full presentation on this subject about a month ago. A bait shop can not legally sell Suckers longer than 12 inches in length, as according to MN law, a Sucker longer than 12 inches in length is no longer considered a minnow. Maybe that is how I should have stated my earlier post, but either way a bait shop would be breaking the law by selling Suckers over 12 inches long.
As far as transporting them, I don't believe there is an issue there. I find it highly improbable that a DNR officer would recommend we buy Suckers from a private business, if it were not legal to transport them to other waters to be fished with. Why would private fish hatcheries even have them available to be sold if you couldn't transport them?
With any luck, I'll be dragging a Sucker around a lake this weekend. Hopefully with some success. |
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Posts: 2378
| Derrys - 10/15/2007 6:31 PM
"That's not entirely true. A sucker longer than 12" is considered a rough fish.
Reading the regs very closely, there is nothing wrong with using a rough fish (as long as said rough fish is not a carp) for bait. Therefore it is perfectly legal to transport suckers longer than 12". -Luke Breyer
As I mentioned, a DNR officer from Minnesota is a member of my Muskies Inc. Chapter and gave a full presentation on this subject about a month ago. A bait shop can not legally sell Suckers longer than 12 inches in length, as according to MN law, a Sucker longer than 12 inches in length is no longer considered a minnow. Maybe that is how I should have stated my earlier post, but either way a bait shop would be breaking the law by selling Suckers over 12 inches long.
As far as transporting them, I don't believe there is an issue there. I find it highly improbable that a DNR officer would recommend we buy Suckers from a private business, if it were not legal to transport them to other waters to be fished with. Why would private fish hatcheries even have them available to be sold if you couldn't transport them?
With any luck, I'll be dragging a Sucker around a lake this weekend. Hopefully with some success.
gotcha Brad. I see what you are talking about.
So the CO in your chapter agrees that it is perfectly legal to fish with suckers longer than 12" as long as you can find them?
Edited by BALDY 10/16/2007 7:38 AM
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| Definitely. He, himself caught a 36" Tiger Muskie a week ago using a 20 inch Sucker.  |
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| Today I got out sucker fishing for the first time all year. I thought I'd share a couple photos with you guys.
First, the bait.
Attachments
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 sucker.JPG (80KB - 108 downloads)
42onsucker.JPG (55KB - 106 downloads)
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