134 Lhe American Angler 
(called red-brook suckers locally) to 
take the lure that they rose within three 
inches of the surface to do so ; that they 
have been seen in large shoals in Pine 
River, jumping in front of the hotel at 
Charlevoix Mills, Mich.; that numbers 
of the so-called ‘‘ hammer-head ” suck- 
ers have taken a bait before it reached 
the bottom—this in the Schuylkill 
River, near Phcenixville, Pa.; that they 
have been known to rise to the surface 
and seize falling grasshoppers, and have 
been caught with this lure trailed on 
top of the water by Elijah E. Churchill, 
of Prattsville, N. Y., who took forty 
suckers by this method in a morning's 
outing; that their instinct approaches 
very nearly the reasoning quality, for 
they have been seen when going down 
a rapid, where the water was not of 
sufficient depth for them to swim, to 
turn broadside to the current, which 
caused them to roll over until they 
reached the pool below; that such is 
their tenacity of life, that when frozen 
solid they can be thawed out, animate 
and frisky as when in their normal con- 
dition. 
With this testimony before us, we 
should not place the sucker below the 
plane of the catfish as desirable objects 
for the pursuit of the hand-line fisher- 
man, excepting always that grand mem- 
ber of the catfish family—the channel 
or spotted cat—/ctalurus punctatus—ot 
the pure water streams. The suckers 
we have described spawn in the spring, 
ascending small streams, when acces- 
sible for that purpose, but, like all other 
fresh-water fish, they quickly accom- 
modate themselves to their environ- 
ment, and spawn under certain condi- 
tions in large waters. At such times 
their flesh is flaccid and unfit to eat, but 
if taken in the winter, in cold running 
waters particularly, the sucker is by no 
means to be despised as a table fish, 
and in the last ot the winter months, 
when the eggs of the female are ap- 
proaching maturity, the roe is a delicious 
morsel, equal in flavor and richness to 
that of the shad. Having broadened 
out so far in treating of the sucker as 
a line fish, it may be well to tell how to 
catch them, but, as my experience has 
been limited, I relegate the duty to Mr. 
S..M. Harper, of Mechanicsburg, O., 
who wrote me some time ago: 
“In February and March is the best 
time. Red angleworms (or brandlings) 
are the best bait, if well scoured and 
lively. Wheat flour and cotton paste 
balls are the next best bait. A strong 
light line, with single gut snell and No. 
g hook, may be used. Two feet from 
the hook fasten a B shot and use no 
float, but plenty of line. Insert the 
hook in the worm on the back, midway 
from the head to the band or lobe; 
make the worm come round the bend 
of the hook so that the point may be 
inside the worm, and allow all the re- 
mainder of the worm to be perfectly 
free, in order that it may squirm 
around. 
‘Approach the water as you would 
for trout, as the sucker is very easily 
alarmed, and will not take the bait at 
all when scared. Cast in with as much 
care as if casting the fly, in such man- 
ner as to leave the hook down stream 
from the sinker, which must be allowed 
to lie on bottom. Let out line long 
enough that the current will not carry 
it beyond the sinker, and by watching 
the line where it enters the water you 
can readily ascertain when it is being 
moved bya fish. Wait until it moves 
rather lively and then make a slight 
strike and you have him hooked. 
Handle with care, give time to tire, and 
you may land your fish. All this must 
