132 The American Angler 
are the gray sucker—Caf/astomus griseus 
and the red horse sucker—C. ardens 
—both of which were found by Dr. 
Yordan in the Yellowstone lakes and 
river. The former—C. griseus—was 
very abundant and said to grow to 
eighteen inches; C. ardens was found 
in the warm waters of Witch creek, and 
the young were abundant in Heart lake. 
About one specimen in three or four 
was found to be invested with a worm, 
roving free in the abdominal cavity, 
and the infested fish did not appear to 
grow poor or become diseased or even 
oppressed by the infliction, which fact 
would appear to be another argument 
on the side of the angler that fishes do 
not feel pain, but fight hard when on 
the hook—only to get away, a mere 
struggle against restraint. 
The chub sucker—Erimvzon sucetta 
—(the generic name, from the Greek 
“to suck,” and sucetta from the French 
sucet, ““sucker’’) is not often, if ever, 
seen by the trout stream angler, its 
usual habitat being in slow turbid 
streams, and it is often found near or 
under the lily pads and other plants 
growing in waters adjacent to the tide’ 
ways. It is known in different sections 
as the sweet sucker, creek-fish, rounded 
sucker and mullet, and Mr. Charles 
Hallock states that it is also called the 
barbel in some localities. It is found 
in nearly all waters east of the Rocky 
mountains, from Maine to Texas. There 
is a northern variety of this fish, which 
ranges from Massachusetts to Dakota, 
and is very common; it, as well as the 
southern variety, may be distinguished 
by the absence of the lateral line. The 
most prominent differentiation, how- 
ever, between the northern and south- 
ern varieties, is observed in the scale 
system—the northern having forty-three 
scales along the lateral line, and fifteen 
rows of them ; the southern only thirty- 
six scales and fifteen rows. The latter 
variety is said to be abundant in Florida 
waters, where Professor G. Browne 
Goode first discovered and classified it: 
It is a much handsomer fish than its 
northern brother, having a larger dorsal 
fin and beautiful. scales marked with 
vivid color lines. It grows toa length 
of one foot, and Dr. Bean states that it 
is very tenacious of life, but has very 
little value as food. The young, which 
serve as excellent lures for pike, pick- 
erel and blaek bass, have a very distinct 
black lateral band. 
Notwithstanding the great abundance 
of the species of suckers, the average 
angler finds cause of argument and, 
from the fraternity standpoint, one of 
regret, in that these fish lack the essen- 
tial qualities of game fish when handled 
on a light rod and delicate water tackle. 
However, there is another phase to the 
sucker question which is entitled to con- 
sideration. Some years ago, under the 
stimulus of an animated discussion by 
intelligent and observing anglers, over 
the merits or demerits of the sucker as 
a game fish, it was ascertained that this 
much despised species had taken a sur- 
face-trailed artificial fly, cast and man- 
ipulated by Judge Fitz-James Fitch, of 
Prattsville, N.-Y., and, when hooked, 
made a sturdy fight; that this exper- 
lence was repeated in the case of a Mr. 
Quigley, a druggist, of New York city, 
who caught two black suckers on artifi- 
cial flies in a lake in northern New 
York, one of the fish taking the feathers 
on top of the water, and the other seiz- 
ing them a few inches below the sur- 
face ; that a string of fifteen to twenty 
was made at Woodville, Me., by Mr. 
Louis Papineau on a spoon fly, baited 
with worms and cast from the railroad 
bridge, and so eager were these suckers 
a a 
