Page 13 - Mid America Boating - March 2024 issue

Ditto for minnows. I prefer freshly caught minnows, and before hooking I’ll crush the belly
cavity gently under my heel to release body juices. It makes a difference. I’m not above dosing
either of the above baits in bunker oil, sardine oil, or other scent attractant, or trying other
baits like doughballs, canned clams and raw shrimp, commercial baits, bits of fish, whatever.
Bullheads aren’t picky. Since they swallow a bait so rapidly, you’ve got to strike fairly fast. Once
the tip starts bouncing, lift it and reel quickly. Any hesitation and that bait is so far down his
throat, the tip looks like its touching China. Then the next step is to use a pair of long nosed
pliers, a hook disgorger, or run your finger down the hooks length and punch downward to free
the barb. It’s easier to strike fast.
When you take that first flapping fish, remember that they have sharp spines in their dorsal
and side fins, and handle them gently. Keep in mind that they’re easy to clean, too. Some
people like to nail their heads on a board and skin them with pliers, but I simply fillet mine and
remove the skin. Then dip them in cornmeal or a nice beer batter, and drop into hot peanut oil 13 [ MID-AMERICA BOATING ] MARCH 2024
or canola oil. The result is tasty indeed.
Bullheads aren’t the only fish you can find in March, especially in the last couple of weeks.
White suckers leave their deep holes in the Big Lake, and begin moving up tributaries with
spawning on their minds. You can catch them on exactly the same rigs and bait you’ll use for
bullheads. Suckers move up river at night and lay up in pools during the day, so pools are a
prime place to seek them.
One of my favorite spots for suckers is in the Huron River north of Milan. You’ll probably
need to do some door knocking to get access to the water, but given that, just relax on a grassy
bank, watch your two rod tips, and sooner or later, one of those tips should start to twitch a
little or bend gently as something out there sucks in a worm and moves leisurely off. Then you
set the hook firmly in that tender, underslung mouth, and enjoy a brisk, though usually quick
battle as a pound or two white sucker comes splashing ashore.
If there are any special techniques in this brand of lazy fishing, it’s to move occasionally.
Cast a line here, wait 10 minutes or so, and if nothing happens, cast there, and over that way.
If nothing develops in 45 minutes, there are probably no suckers in that pool, so you move to
another. Otherwise, in a good spot, bites will come frequently, and you’ll head home with a
dozen or so on the stringer.
Suckers are delectable eating, but they do have one problem - bones. The fist time I bit into
one I spent the next several minutes pulling small sharp bones from the roof of my mouth.
I solved this problem with advice from a couple of old times, and it’s worth passing on. The
easy way to handle suckers is to push fillets through a meat grinder, and convert the result into
“salmon patties.” They’re mighty tasty that way. Or you can score the fillets deeply with a sharp
knife, cutting lengthwise through those lines of small bones, then fry very crisp. Some cube the
fillets into inch squares and fry them with potatoes and other goodies. And one old timer loves
to can suckers and hot pack them with a little onion and hot peppers. “I eat them right out of
the jar sometimes. he said. “They’re really good that way.” MAB

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