treesparrow
I caught two Quilback Carpsuckers  on a blade bait in Pymy through the ice this winter. Thought I had on a good Eye until I saw the scales. I had no idea what it was until I described it to a fella and he recognized what I described. One was 20 inches other 22+. I have a picture I could possibly share latter.

Lucky! I had no luck getting in to any Quillback in Erie last year. They're very picking feeders and seldom even caught using bait. I'd take a Quillback over an 'Eye any day, better fight and cooler fish!

I caught one of those on Pymatuning BTDT. It's a quillback, no?
Snagged him in the back. Thought I had a word record walleye on the line. :)

I caught a quillback a couple years ago at the Shenango on a tan caddis pupae imitation, and I believe my brother caught one that same day. Very unexpected. I'll try to dig up a photo. The redhorses are hard enough to target there, the quillbacks are nearly impossible haha.

I foul hook them quite often though. Many around the mouth/head but unfortunately not in. Feel the head shakes then am disappointed to see they didn't eat my offering. I've gotta say they're probably one of the hardest fish to catch in PA, besides the filter feeder paddlefish.

troutguy
I caught a quillback a couple years ago at the Shenango on a tan caddis pupae imitation, and I believe my brother caught one that same day. Very unexpected. I'll try to dig up a photo. The redhorses are hard enough to target there, the quillbacks are nearly impossible haha.

I foul hook them quite often though. Many around the mouth/head but unfortunately not in. Feel the head shakes then am disappointed to see they didn't eat my offering. I've gotta say they're probably one of the hardest fish to catch in PA, besides the filter feeder paddlefish.

Is the Redhorse fishing any good in the Shenango? I can't wait for this year's spring runs, especially on the Allegheny!

This was a pretty odd "catch."  Was fishing a creek and got tangled up in a bunch of line while wading. After wrapping up what seemed like an entire spool of line I find this at the end of it!!! 99% sure it's a stonecat madtom. Given the time of year and the location I doubt the person was using it for bait, so they got their line snagged up and lost it for whatever reason and the fish decided to eat the bait. Anyways, I unhooked the fish and it swam off. Had a similar thing happen at a different creek, but the fish on the end of the line seemed to have been dead for a while.
 

 
And my personal best golden shiner

" I'd take a Quillback over an 'Eye any day, better fight and cooler fish!"

Divemaster you better ease up on that crack your smoking  !  LOL .....

CAPTAIN HOOK

" I'd take a Quillback over an 'Eye any day, better fight and cooler fish!"

Divemaster you better ease up on that crack your smoking  !  LOL .....


Been breathing too much Argox. Apparently it's only for dry suit inflation, not inhaling. Shhhh, it's my secret! XD

In all seriousness, I still like catching Walleye here and there, I just don't target them like most diehard 'eye guys do. It was fun as heck dragging in a 12 pounder I caught in Erie back in June but the fight was rather disappointing. No head shakes, runs, dives, jumps, or anything. Just a consistent, heavy weight on the end of the line and it felt like I was pulling up a pair of bricks LOL. On the other hand, I've never caught a Quillback but they appear very similar to Smallmouth Buffalo which I have caught and I have to say they're some of the best fighting fish out there. Long, persistent runs taking out 100+ feet of line before getting pulled in 50 feet to take out another 100. They're like Carp on steroids!
If you're fishing for food, I can understand why you'd want to go for walleye, though. Nothing I like better than coming back to the cottage after 8 or 9 hours of trolling, filleting up a nice walleye or a few perch, and having a fresh fish sandwich before heading out for the evening inshore White Bass and Drum bite.

BeenThereDoneThat.
If ya truly would like to target these guys, here is some information provided by the Ohio DNR.  Note the area and foods preferred by the Quillback.  Also, these fish move in large schools which may be why they are caught by being snagged. Just like any other fish, they will immediately spit out anything that does not meet their food criteria.  Sight fishing is by far the best way to fair hook one of these characters then, hang on! Also, you Red Horse fans should try peeled crayfish tails or sometimes shrimp then, hang on.  Just remember to get the crayfish from the same water you are fishing.   The following information is provided by ODNR: Northern quillback carpsuckers are found only in Lake Erie and the first mile or two of some of its larger tributaries. They can be found throughout the lake but are most common in depths of 15-25 feet. The central quillback carpsucker is found throughout inland Ohio in most streams and rivers. They are most common in the low gradient streams of northwestern and southeastern Ohio. They can also be rather abundant in some of Ohio's larger reservoirs. Both adults and young often feed in large schools, moving slowly over a sand or gravel bottom. They feed on small crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates, protozoa, and filamentous algae. 

Thanks for the info BTDT! That's the main reason I was going for them in Erie, our pier in the main lake sticks out 20 or 30 feet in to the lake and is next to a cove so there's always decent schools of Quillback roaming around in the gin clear water in May and June and it's easy to sight fish them, they just scare so easily. If I move my arm too fast they'll all take off in different directions! I've also been consulting with the Carpsucker Underground recently, but you didn't hear that from me.

CAPTAIN HOOK
   DM,  I totally agree about the deep trolling method for Walleye on Erie... like reeling in a wet rag. Most of the time they pop up on top of the water a hundred feet back and slide across the surface when reeling in. If it weren't for the dipsy bouncing around with that Eye on, the fight would be even less. Watched a guy fighting a fish and said it was really tugging good only to find out the dipsy never released and there was no fish ! I will take drift fishing or casting up on the Sandusky area any time over deep trolling as far as Walleye fishing goes on Lake Erie. Even caught Walleye casting from shore at night up there and that's much more sporty. No doubt if your looking to fill that freezer and enjoy the fine taste of Walleye deep trolling puts up the serious numbers all Summer. As far as a fighting fish per size and weight Walleye are lower on my scale, but as far as taste I got to put them somewhere in the top three !   

LOL. I remover the first time I tried a dipsy last year. We were only trolling with downriggers until one day I decided to throw a number one dipsy on a $40 thick stick rod and spinning reel I had onboard with 25 pound mono line. Boy, that was a mistake. The rod was moderate action so it was bent in half the entire time and the mono line was stretched about as much as it could. Pulling it in in that rod took a solid 10 minutes with the diver only out 60 feet! Thankfully, I'm getting a pair of actual dipsy rods this year for Lakers and Steelhead.

And I have to agree with you about casting. There's always a few schools of 14-24" residents hunting emeralds around our pier in April and May and it's fun to catch those guys on a medium spinning rod with a floating rapala, adds a bit more fight to them.

troutguy

CAPTAIN HOOKTroutguy you have the best and oddest variety of fish I've ever seen. That Golden Shiner looks like the one I caught in Hartstown Swamp many years ago. Glad you got a photo of that one....I wasn't as lucky

 Thanks Capt....and there's more where that came from haha. My username may be troutguy, but I'll take anything that swims.......except for that batfish thing Mikastorm posted hahaha. With some exceptions, I've noticed golden shiners are mostly found in swampy/marshy areas with relatively clear water. Hartstown doesn't surprise me. There's a couple places that I know of that have a bunch of goldens, but very few other fish. Here's an oddball golden shiner from a couple years back. Very recognizable location......hope I didn't spot burn anyones shiner hotspot!! lol. That was the only golden I've ever caught there. Was it a wild fish or a bait bucket escapee....idk.  And a logperch darter from the same place   

CAPTAIN HOOK  

 As you very well know the redhorses that creek gets are massive!!

Mind if I ask what creek that is? I don't want to spot burn though, so no offense taken if you don't want to post the name.

Divemaster
Mine if I ask what creek that is? I don't want to spot burn though, so no offense taken if you don't want to post the name.

 
You'll have to message Captain or wait until he responds, since he targets other fish there and I'm not sure if he would want the creek mentioned or not. But I will say that those are lake-run suckers from another state.

Amazing pictures Troutguy ! Never knew half these odd fish existed around here till you posted them, and I've been fishing since Moby****was a minnow !  
 
Took a minute but that spot is familiar .....a Log Perch Darter ? Grass Pickerel ? Stonecat Madtom ? A two inch Brownie ?
 
What the hell is next ? Crazy stuff but keep them coming were learning as we go !
 
Giant Erie Sheepshead

get the net ready

treesparrow
This is the smaller of the two Quilbacks I caught. The wooden part of my gaff is 24" exactly.  

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I recognize the Quillback but is that a prehistoric fish laying beside it.  I don't believe I've ever seen (or caught) such a fish.
 
Congratulations on the Senior Fishing License Treesparrow, I became a member of "The Ole Coots Angler Club" last year and, I plan on getting my money's worth.
 
 
Ain't nothin like a big bucket of  and seeing some good pictures, keep em coming.

DM , Nice mix too ! That's the biggest Creek Chub I've ever seen ! Use to catch a ton of those Creek Chubs in Neshannock Creek many moons ago. Haven't fished it in years ...is it still loaded with Chubs in the Summer Troutguy ? The ones I caught were spotted up and had horns or nubs sticking out of their head. Tons of them , couldn't keep them off your line with small baits !

Dang that's the biggest creek chub I've seen as well!! And one of the biggest white suckers I've ever seen too!!! Gotta give that monster cat and drum some love too......but that chinook is a dink lol. I have no room to talk though since I've never caught a salmon haha.
 

CAPTAIN HOOK
Use to catch a ton of those Creek Chubs in Neshannock Creek many moons ago. Haven't fished it in years ...is it still loaded with Chubs in the Summer Troutguy ? The ones I caught were spotted up and had horns or nubs sticking out of their head. Tons of them , couldn't keep them off your line with small baits !

Yes and no. Many of the "chubs" people catch there are actually striped shiners. Neshannock has lots of em, and some big ones too. With that said, yeah it still has some big creek chubs as well as river chubs!! The river chubs on average are the larger of the 3, but I've seen some trophy creek chubs come out of Neshannock. Not as big as Divemaster's though.
 
All 3 get those "horns" on their heads especially during the spawn. I would post links from the PFBC's site, but the ODNR site has photos instead of drawings. I might have some on my computer of chubs from Neshannock.....
 
Creek Chub:  http://wildlife.ohiodnr.g...-index/fish/creek-chub
 
River Chub: http://wildlife.ohiodnr.g...-index/fish/river-chub
 
Striped Shiner: http://wildlife.ohiodnr.g...ex/fish/striped-shiner