Hit Jordanelle for the first time after several BFTers recommended it. Had a great time and iced 62 fish myself! As I was filleting the perch, I noticed some had small (about the size of the point end of a pin), pearl colored egg like things in the meat. At first I thought they were perch eggs, then maybe cut ends of bones but soon discovered it was neither. Some of the perch had hundreds of them, others had several. I noticed them mainly in the back and tail regions. Has anyone noticed them before? Anyone know what they are? It sure turned me off from eating the perch from that lake, as I discovered that the majority of them had these egg like parasites. Also, anyone tried eating a chub before?
[signature]
The thing that is wrong with chubs is the bones they have lots......
.
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]I have never noticed any flesh parasites in the perch before. Most such critters are harmless to humans. The worst looking are the large maggot-like grubs in the bluegills and bass in Pelican. Even they look worse than they are. Most guys just cut them out. But, harder to do in a perch with a bunch of them. Batter 'em and fry 'em and fuggetaboudit.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Chubs are good eating, especially those bigguns. I had an aunt in Idaho that gladly took all the chubs I brought her. She scaled them, fried them and then ate them like trout. They do have flesh bones, but so do trout. The flesh is white and sweet. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you like pickled fish, chubs and suckers are both good candidates. The flesh is good, but the bones make them bothersome. Pickling destroys the bones. You can also pressure cook them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Pikeman and I had that conversation on the ice Sunday. We have both been around the country a bit and we agree that Utah troutaholics are a bit biased. For many folks raised in Utah, any fish that has large scales and doesn't have spots and/or stripes is a trash fish. Trying to convince a native-born Utah angler to eat even a whitefish is like trying to talk them into committing some kind of unnatural act.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Glad you got into the fish. [/#0000ff]
[signature]
As I recall, someone posted about parasites in Jordanelle perch meat last year as well. I have done "autopsies" on a few hundred Lake X perch myself in the past 2 years and have not found any parasites, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. If anyone is REALLY interested in finding out what they are and will put $15-20 toward paying the pathologists for a histologic reading, I could get a definitive answer for you. I would need a fresh or fresh frozen fillet, preferably one heavily infected for the best results. PM me for further questions.
Tight lines.
[signature]
As long as we're on things inside perch, I remember a few years ago when perch fishing was hot and heavy at Pine Creek. Many of the fish were full of what looked like a white noodle. I suspected it was some kind of tape worm. I have also seen a few in Rockport perch. They were all in the body cavity and were easily visible when filleting. Just curious what they are and if they eventually harm the perch. Thanks in advance for the info.
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Many species of fish (and birds and animals) can be host to various kinds of parasites. Most are harmless to humans, but can be anything from a nuisance to a killer when it comes to their host species.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Sounds like what you witnessed were "tapeworms". Different species of those beasties can also live in humans, but usually not the same ones as in the fish. They are usually removed when cleaning the fish. As parasites, they do harm the fish, by either sucking the blood directly from the host, or by living off the nutrients ingested by the host and robbing them of calories. That is not as much of a problem when times are good, but when food is scarce they can weaken the fish and make them more susceptible to other diseases...or starvation.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
Sheesh, no one will want to eat perch ever again once this thread runs its course.[
] I haven't seen that one either, but look on this thread and see what it looks like. My guess would be a cestode (tapeworm) but there are other possibilities.
[url "http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA041"]http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA041[/url]
Here is another article regarding parasitic risk to fish consumers from the meat. Most of it is common sense, but is a good read.
[url "http://www.charkbait.com/article/RAPC2.htm"]http://www.charkbait.com/article/RAPC2.htm[/url]
[signature]
All it boils down to is extra protein! Eat em all is what I say.
[signature]
Hey, yeah, that someone who posted about the Jordanelle perch parasites was me. I theorized they POSSIBLY are cysts that are in the intermediate stage waiting for a predatory fish to consume the perch and maturing into an adult tapeworm. Thus the perch would be an intermediate host. I have seen similar cysts in bluegill livers from various utah waters especially Mantua. Now I know for sure what develops from the bluegill cysts...they mature into a circular ringlike tapeworm within largemouth bass abdominal cavities. All bass at mantua have this affiliction. Next time you fillet a bluegill, look closely at the liver. Note that bluegill will never carry the mature tapeworm though.....only bass. Some young bass will carry both adult worms and cysts in their liver. I've known this for years through conducting my own stomach "autopsy" analyses. However I've never seen any cysts in bluegill muscle tissue. That was why I was horrified and shocked to see the cysts in Jordanelle perch fillets. Until further information about the parasite, please at least freeze those parasite infested perch if you plan to use them as bait elsewhere. I sure don't want to see this parasite spreading. As far as eating goes, I'm sure thorough cooking will kill them. But I'll admit I haven't eaten any perch from Jordanelle since I found the digusting little buggers embedded in the flesh. Some have hundreds of tiny little dots in the meat. Next, someone needs to do an autoposy on some smallies and see if they have a new giant tapeworm in their bellies sucking the life out them. Besides a bunch a perch died last year....I wonder if this cyst thing has anything to do with it?
[signature]
[cool][#0000ff]Good input.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]By the way, there were reports by divers of a lot of large smallmouth lying dead on the bottom in some areas too. That showed up in anglers' results this past year, with far fewer decent sized fish being caught.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Wonder if there is a parasite link, or if it is either year class dieoff or food chain problems. Too bad some of those fish were not recovered and "CSIed" [/#0000ff]
[signature]
While tapeworms (cestodes) are still a distinct possibility here, the nematodes or roundworms also have species where their intermediate stages "encyst" in the meat of the fish. Both groups have the potential to afflict humans. I have caught smallies in Colorado that had roundworms dangling from their anuses. (None in Jordanelle that I recall, yet) I agree, parasitism can be possible cause of the die offs we have seen but is also an inevitable consequence of a population explosion (ie Jordanelle perch in 2004). The offer still stands to render a definitive diagnosis on this. Any adult parasites can also be identified conclusively ( and probably w/o cost, unlike the pathology readings on the cysts in the meat) . I will post the result on the board if you like.
[signature]
Speaking of parasites-
Deep Creek Reservoir in Idaho has parasites in the flesh of the trout I have caught there....don't worry that hasn't stopped me from eating them. The flesh looks like it has specks of black pepper in them. Some of the spots are probably the size of a fully cooked tapioca. If that makes sense. I have seen that in other waters and was wondering if anyone has an idea of what it is.
[signature]
The fish at Pelican have the little white things in them.....
I wonder how many of our lakes and streams have this ......
.
[signature]