Hmmm, that's not a steelhead. Do I get half credit?

[ChezJfrey]

LOL!



Who in the world catches a carp while steelhead fishing with a spinner? I felt a tug and got all excited as it would have been my first steelhead, but from what I've seen/read, within about 10 seconds I figured it couldn't have been my target fish -- not enough fight.

Instead, it was a tail-hooked carp (see the spinner still lodged? ). By the end of today, I actually ended up foul-hooking in the tail TWO different carp today on the Clackamas! Talk about a let down.

Though, I suppose it could have been worse and my first steelhead could have been foul-hooked. That would have been a major disappointment! One guy down at the river gave me the consolation, "Hey, at least you got SOME action." Um, OK.

Guess I'll have to keep at it.

 

[Drew9870]

Largescale Sucker

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

You sure thats not a Northern Pike Minnow?

 

[ChezJfrey]

Largescale Sucker

Interesting. I've caught carp and the mouth looked exactly the same, so I just assumed that's what it was. I didn't even know what a sucker looked like.

 

[brandon4455]

yeah it's a sucker, and if you watcj one of anatoliy's old videos for salmon fishing on the willamette river he caught a few of those on a spinner

 

[CoastieFlo]

yup sucker, not carp......so hey its not THAT bad

 

[capblack]

yup sucker, not carp......so hey its not THAT
carp, sucker there all trash fish, and when your fishing for steelhead, there not that GOOD either

 

[Drew9870]

Ya, Carp have a 'whisker' on each side of the mouth, Suckerfish are leaner and lack the whiskers. No where near the size and power of a Carp.

 

[adambomb]

Look at it this way, suckers stay on the bottom so if you are hooking them, then your spinner is where it should be!!

 

[autofisher]

Look at it this way, suckers stay on the bottom so if you are hooking them, then your spinner is where it should be!!

x2. It's just a matter of time before you're fighting chrome.

 

[ChezJfrey]

Ya, Carp have a 'whisker' on each side of the mouth, Suckerfish are leaner and lack the whiskers. No where near the size and power of a Carp.

Then yeah, it was a sucker...I now recall that the 'whisker' was indeed probably absent and they certainly lacked some of the girth I've seen in the carp.

And I figure the good in all this, as was mentioned, that if I snagged them in the tail, my spinner was probably in the right spot for a steelhead; near the bottom.

My strategy, since I don't exactly know what I'm doing, is to first target the seams, tailouts, slots a spinner can reach the bottom (and even if they can't in that high winter flow...lol), and such where I think they might be. I let the spinner move with the current into those spots from a slightly upstream angle and across as I retrieve it with the tell-tale, moderately slow, thump-thump-thump. If I get nothing, then I cover every conceivable spot I can reach, with that same retrieval method. Then, if again nothing, I cover the entire area again, but slightly higher off the bottom, just in case I was too low (I bang a lot of rocks with my first pass and lose a handful of spinners in a day). Then, I move up/down the river and repeat...this goes on for several hours.

Nothing I can do but continue to throw line out and see what happens, eh?

 

[Mad dog]

Sucker! :lol:

I hate those things! There are sooo many of those things on the Umpqua! Lot's of guys usually give them the blunt end of the fish whacker! :clap: Some guys snorkel in the summer and spearfish them! They must feed somewhat by sight, we catch the frequently while sidedrifting yarn! What would a sucker try to eat yarn for! :think:

 

[plumb2fish]

What would a steelhead try to eat yarn for? lol big dumb trout

 

[Anyfishisfine]

Tag it and put it in the smoker. Just tell everyone its smoked steelhead and count on them being too polite to object.

 

[steelheader19]

yep thats a sucker fish,
hooked couple of theese on the sandy

 

[Moe]

tag it and put it in the smoker. Just tell everyone its smoked steelhead and count on them being too polite to object.

lol.

 

[Mad dog]

What would a steelhead try to eat yarn for? lol big dumb trout

Ha,ha.....Good point! :lol: