# Anybody ever try real sucker spawn?



## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

...for steelhead fishing. According to a few reports, steelhead feed heavier on sucker spawn than any other food when suckers are present in the river system. I'm talking about the real deal, not the fly pattern!


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I tied up some sucker spawn into bags before, and did not get a single bite. When I switched to spawnbags made from Salmon eggs, I got bites. All in the same river, same day. Maybe someone else has had other results, but I don't use Sucker spawn.


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## axisgear (Jan 24, 2007)

The "sucker spawn" fly pattern doesn't represent sucker eggs.It most closely imitates rotting salmon flesh that resident trout and steelhead feed upon heavily during the winter months.

Oh yeah,I had a similar experience using the real thing(sucker eggs).No fish would touch it,not even the suckers! The first cast after I switched to trout eggs I hooked a fish ! I'm sure something out there eats sucker eggs,but it's probably just gobies:lol: .


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## itchn2fish (Dec 15, 2005)

....but I always have wondered how sperm sacks would work on pink salmon.


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## gomer (Dec 30, 2000)

> ....but I always have wondered how sperm sacks would work on pink salmon.


:lol: :lol:


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

itchn2fish said:


> ....but I always have wondered how sperm sacks would work on pink salmon.


 Everyone always yells, "release the hens, release the hens!" Well, until someone figures out how to tie milt bags, then I say "*&^% the hens, they're going straight the ziploc!"


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## Mitch (Jan 10, 2003)

itchn2fish said:


> ....but I always have wondered how sperm sacks would work on pink salmon.


That would give a whole new meaning to tying sacks the night before!

:lol: 

Mitch


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## DrEw8716 (Jul 1, 2004)

Mitch said:


> That would give a whole new meaning to tying sacks the night before!
> 
> :lol:
> 
> Mitch


HA HA HA HA!!!


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## quest32a (Sep 25, 2001)

A few years back I whacked a silver dropback thinking she was actually full of loose eggs(I was a complete rookie, I had never seen a dropback before) 

Turns out she was spawned out, but her belly was bloated with sucker eggs. I cut it open and they just spilled all over the table. They absolutely eat sucker eggs. And bags would probably work, you will never find me milking suckers for eggs though...LOL


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## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

Thanks, just wondering.

Last year a student at LSSU did his Senior Thesis on what was in the stomachs of steelhead in the Two Hearted river. To his suprise, he found that >50% of the stomach contents contained fresh sucker spawn. This was over the course of a few weeks of research.


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## bjm (Nov 25, 2003)

Maybe that research will get people to start releasing the hen steelhead and keeping the hen suckers.

I am all for any legal type of fishing, but I just could never get comfortable with having to keep fish to catch more fish. It made me feel better to know that someone else might get the joy of catching that fish a second time (or better yet, that the fish would return to spawn a second time).

Hope you all had a good Spring.


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## scoot (Jul 4, 2001)

I know Silversides and Gomer enjoy milking suckers for eggs cause they cant catch steel . seem to small to tie into bags, like tying grains of sand into bags.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

quest32a said:


> you will never find me milking suckers for eggs though...LOL


Are you really an egg whore then or a high priced egg escort:lol:


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

bjm said:


> Maybe that research will get people to start releasing the hen steelhead and keeping the hen suckers.
> 
> I am all for any legal type of fishing, but I just could never get comfortable with having to keep fish to catch more fish. It made me feel better to know that someone else might get the joy of catching that fish a second time (or better yet, that the fish would return to spawn a second time).
> 
> Hope you all had a good Spring.


If steelhead hit on sucker eggs as well as they do on steelhead eggs then I would never kill another steelhead as long as I live. Since they don't every hen I catch has rights....the rights to a 2.5 gallon ziploc!


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

TSS Caddis said:


> If steelhead hit on sucker eggs as well as they do on steelhead eggs then I would never kill another steelhead as long as I live. Since they don't every hen I catch has rights....the rights to a 2.5 gallon ziploc!


That, my friend, deserves a standing ovation!


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## Butch (Aug 29, 2001)

I've caught several very large resident browns that regurgitated large volumes of sucker eggs in the net. I never tried sucker eggs as bait, but in my experience large resident browns tend to be harder to catch than steelheads...

Butch


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

bjm said:


> I just could never get comfortable with having to keep fish to catch more fish.


I agree, its a real pain carrying those hen salmon around all day on a stringer after I already milked them out. 

On a similar note, I fished loose salmon eggs all "season" from early October until just a few weeks ago with good success, including some very good days this Spring after the "run" had started. Personally, I have never seen the need for steelhead eggs over salmon eggs, as I tend to adjust the number of eggs in each bag to match the water conditions. Has anyone else played around with comparing the two under similar conditions? I know one of the days that I fished with John, it seemed like the fish ate my salmon eggs better than his steelhead eggs. Any thoughts?


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## scoot (Jul 4, 2001)

I dont think it matters either. Never noticed a difference success-wise on king eggs to steel eggs


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## Vicious Fishous (Sep 12, 2006)

I hope sucker spawn works, it seemed to this weekend on the Betsie. I would catch a sucker and any eggs that got on me I'd mash into my oregon cheese fly cause it was the closest color to sucker spawn I had, I caught multiple steelhead each day. Most seemed to be dropback or spawned out, Didn't kill any thing to check stomach contents but I wasn't doing so well until I got creative with the mess on my waders. I made me wonder, but the stars could have been lined up with the moon and Jupiter, and I caught fish. Oh well nice to see others wonder the same thing.
Wishin I was Fishin,
PETE


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Flyfisher said:


> I agree, its a real pain carrying those hen salmon around all day on a stringer after I already milked them out.
> 
> On a similar note, I fished loose salmon eggs all "season" from early October until just a few weeks ago with good success, including some very good days this Spring after the "run" had started. Personally, I have never seen the need for steelhead eggs over salmon eggs, as I tend to adjust the number of eggs in each bag to match the water conditions. Has anyone else played around with comparing the two under similar conditions? I know one of the days that I fished with John, it seemed like the fish ate my salmon eggs better than his steelhead eggs. Any thoughts?


I use both, however I have noticed days where I couldn't buy a bite on salmon spawn, yet I did well on steelhead spawn. Could've been the size of the bag or any number of things, but I feel comfortable using both. On the flip side, I've had days where they didn't touch steelhead spawn, but salmon spawn seemed to work. Again, who knows why? I've noticed some rivers where skein bags seems to work really well, but not as well on others--and loose spawn seems to produce better than skein. It's all about developing programs that you feel comfortable with and just sticking with those. I most definitely will tie different bags for different water conditions, but I also will tie specific bags for specific rivers based on past experience and knowing what works most of the time, ya know?


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