Cool Fish... in my opinion

[muddy]

Shocked this bugger up on the Cedar River this week. Threatened in Iowa, the Blue Sucker. Probably one of the largest ones I've seen and the only the second one I've ever seen outside of the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers.

 

[River1]

Looks fit for the pickle jar! I like the red horses myself.

 

[Ghost]

Never seen a Blue Sucker...

Just Whites and Redhorse...

Blast to catch in early Spring on the Upper Iowa River out of cold water.

Yummmm.....canned sucker on a Ritz cracker with a cold one to wash it down.

 

[Rudd]

time for a new hat Gilligan.

 

[River1]

Why are they threatened? Environment or over harvest?

 

[SaskGuy]

I'd call it pretty cool as I've never seen one. Just the reds and whites here.
Looks to be a pretty good size too.

The whites make for some action at least when spearfishing and the pike have headed for deep water. they fill the void for a little while.

 

[muddy]

I'd have to agree, best pickled fish are shorthead red horse and the smallmouth buffalo is good too. I think the blue suckers would be tasty, but since there aren't a lot of them around, I'll have to pass.

Reason they're not as numerous as they once were has a lot to do with the lock and dam systems. Blues are like paddlefish and sturgeon and that they like to migrate long distances to spawn. Just can't do it when the locks are in the way. Their numbers increase dramatically as soon as you get south of the Keokuk lock and dam and their numbers are also slightly increasing in the interior large rivers as well. Not as bleak of a future as some of the other fish, but still needing some help.

 

[youngmoose]

That's a first for me too. Cool fish, nice job.