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White Sucker

White Sucker

White Sucker is one of New York's most common freshwater fish, found throughout the state's streams, rivers, and lakes.

These bottom-dwelling fish serve as crucial forage for game fish like trout, bass, walleye, and northern pike, making them integral to New York's aquatic ecosystems.

Scientific Name: Catostomus commersonii

Physical Characteristics:
  • Characterized by their elongated, torpedo-shaped bodies with dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black backs and lighter undersides.
  • They can grow 12-20 inches long and weigh 2-6 pounds, with some specimens reaching up to 4 pounds and living 8-18 years.
  • White Suckers have distinctive fleshy, papillose lips positioned on the underside of their heads for bottom feeding, and males develop dark lateral stripes during spawning season.

What to know

Habitat Distribution

  • Found throughout the state's streams, rivers, and lakes.
  • Thriving in both coldwater mountain streams and warmer lowland waters.
  • Also found in the Raquette/St.
  • Lawrence watershed and Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes.

Key Locations

  • Ausable River system, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Pepacton and Cannonsville Reservoirs, East Sidney Reservoir, streams throughout the Adirondacks and Catskills, Catskill Creek, Wappingers Creek, Finger Lakes tributaries.

Specific Spots

  • Focus on deeper pools, areas with current breaks, eddies behind logjams, and slack water near stream inlets.
  • In reservoirs and lakes, fish along rocky shorelines and drop-offs.
  • Look for fish congregating in tailwaters below dams and waterfalls, especially during upstream migrations.

White Sucker FAQ

Answers from onWater's species guide.

What flies work for White Sucker in New York?

Small nymph patterns, scud imitations, and worm flies that sink quickly to the bottom.

When is the best time to fish for White Sucker in New York?

Late spring through fall, with peak fishing occurring May through September. April-May spawning periods should be avoided.

How do you catch White Sucker in New York?

Bait fishing on the bottom, 'pack bait' techniques using bread and grain mixtures molded around sinkers to create feeding areas.

What do White Sucker eat?

Omnivorous bottom feeders, consuming mostly insects, crayfish, snails, clams, algae, and plant matter - they're selective feeders rather than indiscriminate vacuum cleaners. These fish feed by sucking sediments and organisms from stream and lake floors.

Where do White Sucker live in New York?

Found throughout the state's streams, rivers, and lakes. Thriving in both coldwater mountain streams and warmer lowland waters. Also found in the Raquette/St. Lawrence watershed and Upper and Lower Ausable Lakes.

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