322 



THE SUCKER. 



fish, disappear almost immediately after death. It is a very 

 beautiful and distinct species." 



This fellow may not live altogether by suction, as he is known 

 to contain worms. A hook baited with worm would then be 

 a sufficient inducement to make him bite. Should you wish 

 to take him, use a Limerick salmon hook, No. 5, attached 

 to stout trout tackle, or spear him or noose, which you 

 will. 



A description called the Black Sucker, length about 13 inches, 

 is taken in Lake Erie, and at Walpole, Mass.,, where, says 

 Dekay, it is frequently called by the whimsical name of Shoe- 

 maker, probably in allusion to its being something of the color 

 of shoemaker's pitch. In the western rivers also, there is a 

 variety of the Sucker family, some of which bite readily at the 

 hook, and are also of superior quality for the table. 



The Kentucky sucker, Catostomus Fluxuosus, is a fine fish, 

 varying in size from 6 to 12 inches in length, and bites readily 

 at the worm baited hook. 



The Pittsburgh sucker, Catostomus Duquesni, grows much 

 larger, and is found in the Ohio river near Pittsburgh ; length 

 from fifteen to twenty-four inches. 



A very pretty fish called the red tail sucker, Catostomus Ery- 

 tarus, is taken in some of the western rivers. In some place? 

 he is called the Red horse. He is a lively fish, takes the hook 

 freely, and is by some sportsmen considered game. Length 

 about 12 inches. 



There are two other descriptions of this family taken in the 

 Ohio River. The Long Sucker, Catostomus Elongatus, a fine 

 fish, of from fifteen to twenty inches in length, and the Ohio 

 Carp sucker, length from one to three feet. The Carp sucker 

 bites freely at the baited hook, and affords some sport. In the 

 shallow, clear parts of the streams, at certain seasons, he is 



