Hockhockson Brook 4/17/12 - Sucker Sex!

[Lard Almighty]

Fished at the falls for about an hour during lunch, caught three brookies and a small pumpkinseed on a white Mr. Twister. All the while about a hundred suckers ranging from about 12 to 20 inches were going at it hot and heavy in the shallows. Their spawning habits appear to be very similar to striped bass; about half a dozen males would surround one of the larger females and bump into her, presumably to get her to release eggs.

So I can cross "witness a sucker orgy" off the bucket list.

[NJ Dave]

For a min there I thought I was going to get re directed to a porn site.

[FASTEDDIE29]

I gotta say that sucker sex orgy pic has me a lil FIRED up!!! OHHHHH YEEAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

[AndyS]

Looks like I can go there and load up on pike bait !!

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by Lard Almighty

Fished at the falls for about an hour during lunch, caught three brookies and a small pumpkinseed on a white Mr. Twister. All the while about a hundred suckers ranging from about 12 to 20 inches were going at it hot and heavy in the shallows. Their spawning habits appear to be very similar to striped bass; about half a dozen males would surround one of the larger females and bump into her, presumably to get her to release eggs.

So I can cross "witness a sucker orgy" off the bucket list.

They make great fish balls. Just put the filleted meat in a grinder machine with your favorite spices, fresh parsley, a little fresh garlic, soy sauce, dijon or hot mustard. Then make fish balls and roll them in italian bread crumbs. Fry them in peanut oil or canola oil. Delicious! But once the water gets over 72 degrees their meat gets too soft to use.

[surfrod]

always cracks me up because I never knew that little creek into where it feeds in the swimming river, would ever hold that many suckers!

there is also a sucker run up the yellow brook right at this time (though not as many concentrated because they aren't stopped by a dam)... but one other thing: in the yellow brook some honkin bass come up (I guess from some farm pond(s) downstream ? ) to spawn as well... just sayin... as I never saw big (or any for that matter) LMB in the Hock.

[shrimpman steve]

Originally Posted by Cuz

They make great fish balls. Just put the filleted meat in a grinder machine with your favorite spices, fresh parsley, a little fresh garlic, soy sauce, dijon or hot mustard. Then make fish balls and roll them in italian bread crumbs. Fry them in peanut oil or canola oil. Delicious! But once the water gets over 72 degrees their meat gets too soft to use.

I thought you could only get fish balls from male fish

[Billfish715]

On the streams with wild trout populations, the rainbows have been known to follow the suckers which are on the spawn. The trout gorge themselves on the eggs. On most of our streams, the only fish that gorge themselves on sucker eggs are baitfish or panfish. The larger rivers have other predators waiting to feed on the freshly spawned suckers or the freshly hatched ones.