Fishing Forum

Hey guys, I have a dumb question. I caught a fish with whirling disease yesterday in Hobble Creek. I got thinking that the DWR probably tries to track that stuff. Do you know if they do?  I took a picture and was thinking about sending it to them. It didn’t turn out that good but you can kind of see it.  Do any of you have an email address?  I couldn’t find one on their website. 

Did you keep the fish? I’m not sure they could tell anything from a picture deformations can occur from many things such as injuries to skeleton in hatchery or nature etc. I think they would have to test the fish to be certain.
Might be worth a call to division and talk to a biologist. Also if I recall correctly brown trout are much less affected by whirling disease. Rainbows are more likely to have it and be affected by it.

I agree Mildog.  I worked with the Federal/State hatchery in Eureka Montana for a short time and lots of fish in that certified hatchery had skeletal deformation.  They said it was more normal in the wild than we knew but most died in the wild if it was sever.

I also agree that Browns are considered immune to it.  Cutties have a resistance, but not immunity.  Rainbows get it quite easily if they are young, but if they catch it once older, they are carriers but don't show the disease.

Talk to a fisheries biologist to confirm this, but I think your fish was just fine.

WD will typically kill the fish when they are very small. A mature brown trout with WD would not be likely.

The fish in the picture appears to have a spinal injury -- but I would not call it WD.

(05-24-2021, 03:58 PM)PBH Wrote: [ -> ]WD will typically kill the fish when they are very small.  A mature brown trout with WD would not be likely.

The fish in the picture appears to have a spinal injury -- but I would not call it WD.

I agree, he should just eat the fish and not report it. I was just recently thinking about whirling disease in Utah. It doesn't seem the doom and gloom predicted by some came true. Is the Leavitt Strain for Whirling Disease still widespread in Utah after the family's Superspreader event? If so just how much damage is it doing to our fisheries?

Most of our rainbows are sterile plants, at about 9" long. If they don't have it by then it is highly unlikely they will be impacted by it. Because Cutties have some resistance (the parasite does not survive in the cold water Cutties spawn in), and because Cutthroat are the species that they are trying to reestablish, and because Rainbows are not naturally spawning in Utah anymore, and because Browns seem to be resistant to infection, the damage may have been adverted for the most part.

"Anglers are impacted by whirling disease because it affects the health of popular sportfish. Whirling disease is most infective to Rainbow Trout and Cutthroat Trout, but can infect all salmonid species. Brown, Grayling, and Bull Trout may become infected with the parasite, but appear to be resistant to infection. " https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+Brow...e&ie=UTF-8

Riverdogs Wrote:It doesn't seem the doom and gloom predicted by some came true.

Or, rather, managers are able to manage around it.  Or, even, that other things (mussels) have replaced the focus.  There's always something...

(05-23-2021, 02:05 PM)Thorny Wrote: [ -> ]Hey guys, I have a dumb question. I caught a fish with whirling disease yesterday in Hobble Creek. I got thinking that the DWR probably tries to track that stuff. Do you know if they do?  I took a picture and was thinking about sending it to them. It didn’t turn out that good but you can kind of see it.  Do any of you have an email address?  I couldn’t find one on their website. 

Thanks for the info.  I am glad to hear it isn’t whirling disease.  It was certainly strange looking.  First one like that I have seen.