# Omer Suckers



## bucknduck (Nov 7, 2003)

I went out for about 3 hours Sunday evening and landed 7 fish and had 2 more that got away. Here are a few pics of our first catch of the evening. After we caught this one, the others started hitting about 1 every 10-15 mins or so after the line was in the water. Took 2 hours to figure out what I needed to do to land these ugly critters. It was more of a time for me to get my daughter out fishing. Just look at her smile. Thats a smile of someone who loves fishing.










She wanted to hold the fish, and not yet 3 yrs old. She still doesn't want to go near the worms yet. 










Come here and gimme a big kiss










I'll be smoking up the first batch tonight then heading up every evening after work this week. Now that the ice is off the mouth of the river, they are going to be moving in.

Rich


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

Rich, Thanks for sharing, thats great! I was hoping to make it up this coming weekend and bring my daughter as well. Might try and shoot for Sunday AM?

You mentioned smoking them? I've never done suckers before but have had some and would like to try. Can you post how you do yours? AE: cleaning, brining, how much heat for how long, etc.......

Thanks in advance and continued success!


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## bucknduck (Nov 7, 2003)

Went fishing up there last night and caught a "few" suckers. It will be a good weekend for those who are going. I figured I would get my all night fishing in before the weekend when it will be crazy around there.
Hooked 3 walleye, 2 of which I was able to land and the other got off the hook. Took a quick measurement of each one before quickly returning them back to the water. 16.5" roughly and the other was just over 13". 
Lucky for me, my wife offered to wake up around 4am this morning to help clean the fish before we had to get ready and leave for work at 5:30am. Any suggestions on what I should get or do for my wife this weekend? Keep it clean!:lol: 
Good luck to those of you heading up. The weather has been great this week on the river and its supposed to continue into the weekend.

Rich


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## bigmike (Oct 21, 2004)

nice pics. This is what its about


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## Stumpy Fish (Apr 13, 2005)

My son and I fished in Omer last Saturday, April 9th. We took 100 treble hooks (#6 and #8) and 180 size 0 split-shot. We started at 6:30 a.m. By 1:00 p.m., we had 9 hooks left!!!! I eventually bought some hooks from the party store there on the corner, but before I did that, I went to Au Gre and Tawas looking for tackle. I absolutely got robbed at the tackle shop in Tawas ($7.92 for 25). I bought two packs. When they were about gone, I went to the party store and bought 32 more. After that, I went to Standish (Pamida) to get split-shot. All said and done, we lost 173 hooks. But you know what? It was all worth it! My son and I had an absolute blast! He caught a walleye, and we caught tons of suckers. It was a perfect weekend that I'll never forget.


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## fire-tiger (Mar 15, 2005)

I am assuming you released the walleye?


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## Stumpy Fish (Apr 13, 2005)

yes, the walleye just hung around long enough for us to get a picture of it. How's the fishing been there this week?


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## jb10 (May 14, 2001)

Stumpy Fish,
If you want to try and save some of your hooks, try using a single hook instead of a treble. You should still hook just as many fish but get way fewer snags and snagged fish. Just a thought, 100+ hooks can get a little pricey aftere a while.


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## Stumpy Fish (Apr 13, 2005)

thanks, I suggested to my son that we should use the single hook. Yes, it was expensive. The hooks I bought in Tawas were $.32 a piece. Is the run coming to an end or are they still running good? A co-worker was there yesterday. They fished 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and only caught six. I would like to go again this weekend.


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## bucknduck (Nov 7, 2003)

Stumpy Fish said:


> thanks, I suggested to my son that we should use the single hook. Yes, it was expensive. The hooks I bought in Tawas were $.32 a piece. Is the run coming to an end or are they still running good? A co-worker was there yesterday. They fished 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and only caught six. I would like to go again this weekend.


We need a good hard rain. The river has dropped significantly. I was up there 2 nights ago and I was standing on the river bottom and the holes that I was catching fish in with just about every cast the week before were now shallow areas this week. Catching 1 an hour sounds about right for the current conditions. We have enough to keep our smoker busy this year so if I go again it will be for my daughter so she can catch suckers. Did someone say smelt run? Where?


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## mallardtone-man (Nov 20, 2002)

Stumpy Fish said:


> My son and I fished in Omer last Saturday, April 9th. We took 100 treble hooks (#6 and #8) and 180 size 0 split-shot. We started at 6:30 a.m. By 1:00 p.m., we had 9 hooks left!!!! I eventually bought some hooks from the party store there on the corner, but before I did that, I went to Au Gre and Tawas looking for tackle. I absolutely got robbed at the tackle shop in Tawas ($7.92 for 25). I bought two packs. When they were about gone, I went to the party store and bought 32 more. After that, I went to Standish (Pamida) to get split-shot. All said and done, we lost 173 hooks. But you know what? It was all worth it! My son and I had an absolute blast! He caught a walleye, and we caught tons of suckers. It was a perfect weekend that I'll never forget.



Instead of spending $20 on hooks every time try spending $10-20 and buy some power pro, fire line or spider wire line. Depending on what lb test you want, how many yards, and braid or fusion prices vary. More times than not you will end up dragging the snags in with your hook intact. I VERY rarely break off on a snag, and have never broken off a fish with these lines. They are all I use. Often times, I will leave with more tackle than I came with from ripping balls of line/lures free from snags. I use it in saltwater too, and have ripped probably $30 worth of tackle free from the pier pylons in 1 day before.

James


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## Stumpy Fish (Apr 13, 2005)

Hey Guys,
Thank you so much for the "run" update and line recommendation. I appreciate it. Soooo, do you think the run is done? BUCKNDUCK, my son and I met you a few weekends ago. You recommended this website. It was a Sunday and you were fishing with your daughter. My son gave you two suckers before we left in the evening. This website is so cool. Thanks again!


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

This is going to surprise you, but I've tried it and it isn't too bad. Take some of the suckers you just caught and fry them up. Now, before you say anything, just try it once, as long as their fresh it really isn't too bad.

BTW, neat pics of the daughter.


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## ICEGUY (Aug 2, 2003)

toto said:


> This is going to surprise you, but I've tried it and it isn't too bad. Take some of the suckers you just caught and fry them up. Now, before you say anything, just try it once, as long as their fresh it really isn't too bad.
> 
> BTW, neat pics of the daughter.


You are right. I fried some and they were good. I only fried the front halves of the fillets. Not bad at all fried. 

Try canning them, that is the way I eat them, SUCKER PATTIES!!!


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## bucknduck (Nov 7, 2003)

Stumpy Fish said:


> Hey Guys,
> Thank you so much for the "run" update and line recommendation. I appreciate it. Soooo, do you think the run is done? BUCKNDUCK, my son and I met you a few weekends ago. You recommended this website. It was a Sunday and you were fishing with your daughter. My son gave you two suckers before we left in the evening. This website is so cool. Thanks again!


Welcome aboard, I told you this was one heck of a site.  
I haven't been up there lately to tell if the run is wrapping up but I did notice that a few of the die hards that were camped out in Omer have left, so either the conditions just aren't there for a good run, or things are wrapping up. After you two left that evening, the suckers started really moving in. By sunday that week, they were in there solid and I fished all night getting one on with about every cast. They were in there so thick that after I caught enough, I was catching and releasing them just because it was fun catching them. 
Let me know when your up this way again and I'll have some smoked fish for you.

Rich


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## Stumpy Fish (Apr 13, 2005)

Greetings!
I live in the Flint area. Our newspaper indicated that now that the whit esuckers are done running, the red horse suckers are next and to use worms fished on the bottom to catch them. Can anyone back this up? Also, would this species also run in Omer?

Thanks!


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## outdoor junkie (Sep 16, 2003)

Try the Cass right up in Frankenmuth. I live in Flushing, and once Omer has died down we hit Frankenmuth and catch alot of redhorse and if it's the right time you will probably catch alot of perch although you will have to do alot of sorting because most are small. We hit it every year using worms fished right off bottom and have a blast. If it weren't gonna be so cold I would be up there tomorrow. Good luck.


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