Luring in the trout with a sucker pattern

January 22, 2008

How many streams or rivers have you fished for trout that had a good population of sucker fish in them?

My guess is that most of the streams you fish, with the exception of the coldest, have some type of sucker fish in them.

Suckers will spawn in the spring, and that means a free meal for browns and rainbows alike. That's something you should capitalize on from early to late spring of the upcoming trout season.

I was originally introduced to the Sucker Spawn pattern when I started fishing for steelhead in the Oak Orchard River. Located in Albion, the Oak Orchard is a Lake Ontario tributary river that holds spectacular runs of winter-spring steelhead and huge fall salmon and browns.

It was on my first trip to Albion that local guide/outfitter Ron Bierstine, at www.orleansoutdoor.com, shared some of his favorite steelhead patterns, in particular, the Sucker Spawn.

Most fly-fishing purists would shun using a fly pattern that mimicked a sucker egg spawn sack on our fabled Catskill waters. Consider, however, that you just might be losing out on an early season pattern for trout that produces nice fish in sometimes unpredictable spring weather. The Sucker Spawn is my spring go-to fly pattern when the early season trout fishing is slow and traditional deepwater nymphs aren't doing the trick.

Here's what Bierstine has to say about this peculiar but effective fly pattern:

"It was created to imitate sucker spawn in the inland streams which trout feed upon," he said. "It's perhaps the ultimate egg pattern. A small, soft, silhouetted fly that looks snotty in the water, not hard and unnatural. Drifts well and traps small air bubbles.

"It can be tied in multiple different colors, the most successful being flesh tones like cream and light pink. It can be tied with various yarns, but angora rabbit is the best for the soft silhouette. Can be tied blood dot style, or with two or three colors of yarn in the same fly. It's hard for trout to reject upon striking since the yarn may get caught up in the trout's small teeth.

"The Sucker Spawn can also be tied with or without a tail, although it should be tied sparsely. For the tail, you can use some white rabbit ... or various crystal flash."

Here's how he describes tying the Sucker Spawn:

"Tie in yarn at the back of the hook beginning with a loop of the yarn pointing toward the rear. Move forward on top of the hook shank, forming loops of yarn by tying each loop down. You can then split the yarn into separate strands or tie loops of who yarn, laying each to the side of the shank.

"Tie off cleanly at the eye or cut the yarn loosely, leaving another tuft of yarn to simulate another egg at that position. Whip finish and use head cement along bottom of whole shank on for a durable fly."

I recommend any standard nymph hook in sizes 12-14. Fish them deep by placing enough split shot 12-18 inches above the fly to get the fly bouncing off the bottom. Set the hook anytime your fly hesitates or stops in the drift.

You might get some strange looks when you use one, but those will soon fade as you bring in the trout.

dirksoutdoors@hotmail.com

this page gives a little better description of how to tie it.

http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/articles/old/sucker.htm