Here's a new fishing gig with great eating

Jason Kuessner, Stockton, kept an old family tradition going this month as he slipped his jet boat into the cool waters of the Sac River.

"I guess I have been gigging since I was old enough to get into the boat," he said on a recent outing. "My daddy said when he was young enough to go with my cousins and uncles they were going gigging for food unlike for fun like we are doing here tonight."

Back then the male members of the family would go out and gig suckers and the family would gather around the fire for a big fish fry. Back then the guys would take wire and make baskets to hold pine knots they burned to light the clear water so the giggers could see the fish. Today Kuessner uses powerful halogen lights on the front of his boat and slips along the water in search for the suckers. He makes his own gigs that are around 12 feet long and with his jet boat he can move up the clear Ozark stream in shallow water as well as the deep holes.

Kuessner loaded the boat as darkness approached, a flock of Canada geese passed over and several blue herons took to the cool autumn air.

It was easy to see the experience our guide had when he started spotting suckers that we couldn't see. "There's a yellow sucker on your right," he said, but by the time the giggers saw it, it was too late.

Finally, after several misses, Les Jarman hit a hog sucker and followed that with another. In just a short time Jarman, Brent Frazee and I had 10 suckers in the boat with the best yet to come.

Kuessner was well organized, he had an old ironing board he set up to fillet the fish and a deep frier ready to cook them as the campfire lit up the gravel bar on the river.

"There are a lot of people who have never tried eating a sucker thinking they won't taste good, but once you try them, you will understand why they are the favorite fish to eat among Ozarkers," he said.

After the 20 fillets were deep fried, it didn't take long before they disappeared. People who haven't had a deep fried sucker don't know what they are missing. They are delicious when they are fresh caught, scored and deep fried. Add some potatoes and onions and then throw some frozen biscuits and then cover them with honey and you have a great meal.

Kuessner recalled his first sucker kill. "We call it killing fish as opposed to catching them because you are sticking them with a gig," he said. "My dad ran me around the Current River for hours looking for an easy gig. Finally he spotted a hog sucker laying in about two feet of water and I connected. There were plenty of fish in the river, but I just couldn't hit them. The water in the Sac is low due to the lack of rain this year and compared to the Current, it isn't moving very fast."

The gigging guide pointed out the Ozarks have a lot of streams suited for gigging. "North of I-70, the water is too dingy to see the fish, but here in the Ozarks, most streams hold plenty of suckers and as cooler weather moves in the gigging gets better. I have been out when the temperature is below freezing and gigged limits of suckers," he said.

The night we went out was near perfect for gigging. There was no wind to rough up the water and the algae was disappearing, and as the water cools the fish get lethargic making them easier to hit.

As we moved through the cool water, we saw waving fronts of moss and shad scurrying in front of the light.

When our guide spotted a sucker he would point it out and if our aim was true, which on occasion it was, we hit one of the best tasting fish in the stream.

Anyone who hasn't had the gigging experience and even veteran giggers can enjoy a night on the river with Kuessner. The Ozark native is starting a guide service to give anyone an experience that is unique to the Ozarks.

Anyone can give it a try by contacting Kuessner at (417) 276-7087.