January 29, 2023 — I returned to the Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam soon after my first trip. This time, in addition to my camera, I was armed with my flyrod. I was intrigued by the idea of catching a Sonora sucker, a fish native to the ecosystem. While most of the other anglers were hoping to catch a largemouth bass or a rainbow trout, introduced to the river by game managers, I couldn’t resist the urge to catch – and release – a true member of the biotic community.
I fished hard for five hours. During that time, I managed to hook several Sonora suckers, but I was unsuccessful in bringing one to the net. I was fishing with tiny flies on a fine tippet, a real challenge. And the sleek two- to four-pound suckers fought hard and broke my line each time I had one hooked. They proved to be more difficult to catch than I imagined.
In the end, I managed to land one rainbow trout, though. Honestly, the trout was a disappointment compared to the suckers. It was smaller and didn’t fight as hard. Many anglers derisively refer to them as “rubber trout” because they feel lifeless on the end of the line. These rainbows are reared in fish hatcheries and then released into the river when they reach a catchable size, usually 10 to 12 inches long. The stocked rainbows were no match for the wild Sonora suckers.
Catching a Sonora sucker would have to wait for another day.