A sucker's born every minute

A face only a mother could love.

You never can be sure what you're going to catch when it comes to fishing. Today, I was expecting to get into some big rainbows, but instead was fooled by two white suckers that took my hothead leech. They fought like brown trout, slugging it out deep, yet I was somewhat disappointed when I finally got them to the surface and identified their species.
Suckers and I go way back. As a kid, I loved to catch them during their spring spawning run in a local creek. Many of them ended up on the bank, rather than released back into the stream. At the time, I thought suckers were trash fish and should be removed to protect the trout.
I once wrote a feature story for the Bozeman Chronicle detailing some of the atrocities I had committed upon suckers. My fans thought it was hilarious, and for years people would bring up the story. It became the most memorable piece I ever wrote. Other people were appalled by the article. One irate reader even wanted to fight me over it.
Now, I realize suckers are native fish and part of the ecosystem. In fact, in the West where brown, rainbow and brook trout are all introduced through stocking, the lowly sucker has more of a right to be here than the more "desirable" fish.

A Hoovermouth brought to net.