I read playas44 post and he said he caught a fish with WD.Now what are you supposed to do with that fish ?If its in the slot do you release it?Do you keep it and dispose of it or give it to the DWR? I am curious to what you do .
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The fish may or may not have had whirling disease. Just because a fish is disformed doesn't mean that it has whirling disease. I would release all fish in the slot, otherwise one has a high probability of getting a ticket. Just like Predator discovered a few years back, when he kept a undersized tiger muskie at Pineview, that was dieing after someone else had released it. The law is the law and little or no mercy is extended to one for breaking the law, even if it was done with the best of intentions.
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I agree with Kent. Fish can have natural deformities or birth defects just like any other creature on the planet. From what I know, fish that have whirling disease don't get very big before they die, so I doubt a fish with it could make it into the slot....just my 2 cents though. Maybe WnB or PBH knows a little more on WD and fish survival.
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That is the second fish I have caught there at Strawberry that was deformed like that. I put both of them back. It was in the slot, so I couldn't take the chance on getting a ticket.
We were wondering if the WD would have any effect on wildlife if they ate those fish.
I am sure some of you know, there are some eagles that hang around fishermen looking for a free meal. We were wondering if it would have some effect on the eagles if those fish were fed to them?
What do fellow BTF'ers think?
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Whirling disease does not affect humans. Also, it will not affect other wildlife specifically those that prey on diseased fish. Also, chances are that the fish you caught in Strawberry were deformed for reasons other than whirling disease--usually, affected fish die before they are large enough to be caught. Those fish that do not die because of the disease usually don't exhibit any unusual characeristics.
http://wildlife.utah.gov/fes/whirling_disease.html
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That website somewhat answered my question.
"Infected trout develop very persistent spores which can survive in moist environments for years. When an infected fish dies and decomposes, the spores are released into the environment and can survive transit through a predator's digestive tract or could be transferred on muddy boots or other equipment."
So I am thinking we shouldn't feed a suspect fish to an eagle.
It also said, "If they survive, fish may develop head deformities or twisted spines."
The fish I caught was twisted for sure. Behind the head and again just in front of the tail.
I don't know what it was, it was ugly looking.
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I thought that cutts didn't get WD and that it was primarily a problem with rainbows.... Maybe I got bad info. Maybe cutts are less likely to get it? What about other kinds of trout (browns, brooks, etc)? Does anyone know? I guess I could read the article....
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From my understanding, most of the salmonid (including kokes) species can be affected by WD. The brown's seem to be somewhat more resistant, and I've heard there is a europeon strain of trout that is nearly resistant to the spores, but importing them is a problem. Browns are harder to catch, and much less gullable than the bows and cutts, so planting them on a regular basis I don't think would be a good idea. Not sure about brookies though.
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No the browns are not any harder to catch then rainbows it is just that you must fish for the browns deferment then the rainbows to catch them.....
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WD has been found to be nearly non existant in both browns and brooks in known infected water (fremont river basin) that is the primary reason for the development of tiger trout by dwr, they are wd resistant and have become a very popular fish to catch. It's one of the best successes of the bioligists cross breeding experiments along with splake (also resistant) For furthur evidence look at montanas madison. wd threatened to destroy the trophy rainbow population, while the brown trout have been almost un effected. Just my two cents worth.
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I agree that all trout can carry the disease,( thats why I use the word resistant, not imune) However some trout spieces have shown the ability to survive the disease and maintain a higher survival rate unlike the rainbows which seam to be much more effected for whatever reason. I'm certainly no expert on the subject. I've just read some articles about the disease, and have had some conversations with a few biologists. The above mentioned reasons are why the experimental fish were tested in the freemont area. Particularly mill meadow/forsighth/um creek/fremont river where the disease was first discovered in utah. Fish in mill meadow have included brownbows/tigers trout/ and splake and others in an effort to find more resiliant or imune fish. And hopefully find a way to develope an imunity. from what I understand riding the waters of the disease is virtualy impossable. Lets just hope they can find a solution. In the meantime I for one enjoy catching thier experiments, most perticular the tiger trout.
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