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Was fishing Reelfoot this past weekend for Crappie, caught some nice "Gills" while fishing and noticed that most of them had what looked like a fungus or something growing, somewhat like blisters. Does anybody know what this is / if the fish are safe to eat?? Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lum
Lum.....
It's fairly common in southern shallow lakes. I fish a shallow local lake in LA and I see it often there. Wildlife and Fisheries claim it's due to heat stress during summer that reduces their resistance to parasites. Our southern lakes have prolific algea blooms and lack of clarity which absorb the sun's heat and super heat the water. They also say that it's safe to eat if the skin/hide is removed, but I don't eat them myself as fish are plentiful there. I see it almost exclusively on bass, but then I don't fish much for "gills." None of the crappie I have caught there have that particular syndrome. My personal opinion, I wouldn't eat them. I filleted three of them and all three had internal parasites in the form of tiny wormlike creatures imbedded in the fillets.
Doesn't make for attractive table fare for yours truly. Hope this makes your decision easier. Good luck.....
We see that a lot on white perch around here. I'm told they are still safe to eat, but if its real bad I send them on there way. Once in a while we'll catch a gill with that stuff on them. Safe or not, I throw them back too.
I get this on gills all the time here in sc.I too have been told they are ok to eat if you cut the infected parts out.I have a column about it in a book I have and they say it's a parasite that dosen't taint the meat.Usually looks purple around the spot where they bore in and it blisters up.Really ugly to look at , and I throw them back as they act healthy otherwise...E.
Here is the scoop from what I have read, and what IL's State Biologist told me. Those sores are indeed caused by a parasite. It is similar to a very small leach, bland yellow in color and does live off of the flesh and blood of it's host. Water temps do not have as big of a determining factor as you would think. These actually originate from Goose & Kingfisher feces. This ecco chain goes round and round. The fish eat, or are invaded by the parasites, the birds then eat the fish, but can't digest the parasite. so it commonly discards it back into the waterway along with the rest of it's waste.
Some of the parasites are ingested by the Bluegill, but more frequently they gain access to their hosts in the vuanerable areas where the fins and tail meet the scales. The fins often take on the appearance that they have been deep fried to a crisp when the fish is infested badly. Them are throw backs for me.
These parasites cannot live on human flesh, and are fine to eat provided the meat is cooked properly. I personally take the tip of a fillet knife and poke em out. I hold my fillets up to the light to make sure I get them all(I got enough crap bugging me!).
One other strange occurance that is commonly thought to have come from parasites has to do with turbulant water, and sand. In tailrace areas, and in other current concentrated areas, sand granules are often blasted so hard that they penetrate the sides of fish. Catfish and other smooth skinned fish ae the most suseptable to this, but I have seen it on lots of different species including Large Mouth, and Walleye. These injuries take on the similar appearance of a parasite's entry point boil, and frequently become infected making matters worse for the fish. These areas should not be consumed, and need to be cut out to be safe.
<,"}/>{ Rippa
I have to kind of agree with the sand granules theory myself. I have seen this in some crappie I catch in certain areas. I also think that some of these places on fish are caused by certain cover they hold around. I have caught fish from areas that hold jagged cover and those fish seem to have blisters on them where as fish close to the very same area do not have them.
This was the thread I think you were asking about Big Zig.
<,"}/>{ Rippa :)
I have also seen the yellow like worm in bass fillets, this was from a farm pond. Its run in came from pastures with cattle grazing in them. We did the same as Tim, hold it up to the light and cut out the the little bugers.