Targeting Trophy Trout During the Spring Sucker Spawn

With the rising temperatures of late spring, most anglers are have forgotten the numb fingers and size 22 midges of last season and are ready to get some serious fishing done! At this point in the season, the rainbow trout have finished their spawn and are ready to EAT in order to regain some of the calories they expended on their redds. There are plenty of hatches to be fished in the spring including the Blue Winged Olive, early brown and black stoneflies, Hendrickson and Sulphur mayflies, clouds of midges, and a few amazing caddis hatches. One of the most amazing opportunities of the spring isn't coming off the top of the river but is happening on the bottom, and that is the sucker spawn.

There are several main species of sucker found in both lakes and rivers in all of our trout bearing states, and while truly large trout will frequently target suckers like a big texan will target a steak, sucker eggs are on the spring menu for every trout in the river! The suckers start their spawn shortly after the rainbows wrap up their own and you'll often find schools of suckers and rainbows holding close together during this season. "Eat as many calories as you can" is the name of the game in the river and trout will actively hold just above or behind spawning suckers during the late spring in order to gobble up eggs as soon as they drop.

One of my favorite waters to fish this spring sucker spawn and target truly large trout is the Miracle Mile section of the North Platte River in Wyoming between Seminoe Dam and Pathfinder Reservoir. Schools of beefy rainbows, cutthroat, and browns stack up behind the suckers and can offer you some of the best fishing action of the year let alone the spring.

Here are a few tricks tips and tactics to keep in mind when targeting trophy trout during the sucker spawn.

• Expect hot fishing above the inlet - While you will find suckers running up to a couple of miles above their home lake or reservoir, the deep river runs and pools immediately above the lake are typically going to hold the greatest concentrations and therefore hold more hungry trout.
• Drift above the sucker horizon - Suckers stick together in the river and will actively take your nymph patterns, so if you find that you are consistently catching suckers and not trout, it is time to adjust your depth. Adjust your indicator so that your nymphs are drifting 1' - 2' above the sucker school and you should start sticking trout.
• Eggs aren't always orange - While orange, pink, or red eggs patterns work well during the trout spawn when fishing during the sucker spawn you are going to want to switch to yellow, clear, or milky white (dead egg) patterns. Simply changing the color will turn a decent day on the water into one for the record books!