From April 9, 2003... Yes, Bill Cody has been searching for this fish for at least that long!

 Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
Do any hatcheries raise lake chubsuckers? If not, why not? Does anyone know where I can locate some of these great forage fish? See notes below.

The lake chubsucker (Erimyzon sucetta) was favored by George Bennett "Management of Lakes and Ponds". His lengthy quote follows. "It is one of the most satisfactory forage fishes for bass in central IL. The adults rarely get more than 11" long are round cylindrical bodied, soft rayed (fins), golden color and capable of maintaining a sizable population in the presence of LMB". (Cody-Note: weeds are probably impt for this.) "In IL it begins spawning in late Mar early Apr and the fry are available at the time YOY bass are leaving the nest. It apparently fills a niche not occupied by any of the predatory or semi-predatory fishes. Its presence broadens the food web for basses. Chubsuckers are a clearwater species and do not roil the bottom; it is so retiring and unobtrusive that it is seldom seen except during height of the spawning season. It has been stocked w/ SMB for as long as 10 years where yields ranged from 27 to 89 lbs per acre. Lake chubsucker ranges from east MN to New England (so. Ontario) and south to FL & TX" (mostly in a area along Mississippi River).

Spawning. Spawning occurs from late Mar into July (72.5 to 85.1 deg). Eggs are scattered at random over all types of submerged living and dead vegetation including moss & filamentous algae. Number of eggs ranges from 3000 to 20000 per female. Young grow rapidly (up to 0.5mm/day). Young frequent weedy areas.
Life span 8 yrs, ave size is 6"-8" rarely over 10"-11", maximum size was a 15.1" specimen from FL.

They can tolerate low oxygen levels in winter kill lakes. They are hardy and tolerate handling stresses. Becker states it rarely overpopulates. Numerous references brag about its value as a forage species.

Beyer et.al 2003.LakeLine. Report stocking 200 lake chubsuckers into a renovated Big Muskego Lake in SE WI.

Why aren't they more popular today and why don't more hatcheries raise them??? What happened to them and where are they now?