Hard hitting Suckers?

[robdog]

I have to tell this story. I have caught suckers before, but never w/ the feriousity that I had experienced yesterday. I was floating down the Lower Sac & was trying to mend my line after a cast. The line wasn't even straight then all of the sudden my line took off. My reel was smoking & before I knew it, I was down to my backing. I am not used to this type of stuff & I started to really stress. I was able to get my composure & after 15 minutes, I finally got to see that I hooked into a Sucker. It was a fatty - about 20 inches & 10 pounds. That was a trip & that fight was harder for me than when I hooked into this guy:

Has anyone else had similar experience w/ a Sucker?

[Sheepdog8404]

Was it a sucker or a squawfish (pikeminnow)?

Yesterday, Mark Kranhold and I were swinging for stripers on the lower American. We were mid conversation and my fly was about at the last 1/3 of the swing and BAM! Rod got almost jerked out of my hand and the line (I was carrying a loop) tore through my fingers and actually gave me a burn on one. Pretty intense fight for a minute or so and then she let me just sort of pull her in. We both thought it was a striper till it was within distance to tail it. Turned out to be about a 5-6lb squaw. We were both extremely surprised how aggressively that fish took the large "Smoltpin" pattern I was throwing. The fish had some tissue protruding from its anus and mark and I were unsure if it was spawning. Maybe if the squaws are spawning right now, they are feeding more aggressively????

[Randy Lee]

Rob,
I've had some good runs from suckers. Most were in their spawning season on the Feather low flow or the Yuba below the Hwy 20 Bridge. Caught them on nymphs, S.J. worms and even a Striper fly that was a Trout/Salmon fry pattern( the fly was all the way down its mouth, a larger than average sucker). It seems the suckers have a softer bite but pull harder than the Pike Minnow, Pike minnow slams your fly and then runs out of steam, in general. It can be a rush until you see color, then the profanity begins.
Randy

[robdog]

Was it a sucker or a squawfish (pikeminnow)?

It was a sucker