Warning : Mantua Itch

[Wasatch801]

Hit Mantua in my tube yesterday. Didn't wear my waders due to warm temps. Big mistake! Got swimmers itch from my lower thighs down. So do wear waders if you are tubing this lake! By the way fishing was so so.... But I didn't get on the water till after 11am. Caught a bunch of basslets to 14 inches, some big gillies, and a monster 13 inch perch.
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Things are going to suck for you in the next little while. While I itch for getting to mantua I have never itched for having gone to mantua. Hang in there.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Nice work. Toad perch.

Gotta question your thinking. When you were a kid and your mom told you not to touch something hot, did you?
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[wiperhunter2]

Thanks for posting your report and pics, too bad about the swimmers itch but glade to read you got into a few nice fish.
FWIW, members report this swimmer itch every year from Mantua, I hope others read your post and learn from your misfortune.
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[Wasatch801]

Pat, as a matter of fact I did once! [pirate] I will admit I knew there was a risk. However, I've avoided it there several times in the past and have never gotten it in 30 plus years of wade/tube fishing. Guess I shoulda wrapped my rascal(ly) self. At least I think I'm over the worst of it. It began itching right after I got out of the lake. Now the rash is erupting but not as itchy. But it looks horrible!

By the way, I did notice mass amounts of aquatic snails. For those not in the know, these same snails host the parasite. So beware if you see them! I attached a pic of what my leg looks like so people will know this stuff is nothing to mess with!
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[bassrods]

That means the skiers should thin out soon..[]
Or have they now??
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[Majja]

I think I need therapy after opening that picture up on my 17" laptop.
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[flygoddess]

I always wore a wet suit when skiing, but then I Always wear waders. No telling what is in the water.
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[RockyRaab]

I got that itch last year while wading for trout in Montana. It's miserable. I went through a lot of 2% hydrocortisone cream that week.
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[pookiebar]

A couple warm baths with 2-3 cups Epsom salt will help your body work the parasite to the surface and out. Still gonna itch though.

Nice to see you got a few!
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[Wasatch801]

That pic hardly does justice to how my legs look now!
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[wiperhunter2]

Has it got worse?
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[pacscrumhalf]

Oh man, sorry to hear about that itch. I've gotten it before, doing the exact same thing you did. Here is a link with some pics on what it is so others might avoid the same fate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimmer%27s_itch
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[fsh4fun05]

Good thing you were in a kickboat and only your legs got wet!
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[high_n_dry]

One good thing though. At least it was the thighs down and you weren't sitting in the water. []
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[Wasatch801]

Yeah John, I hear you guys! The agony would've been in a different realm! [crazy]
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[BigEZ]

Ooooh, gross!

And the rash looks bad too. [sly]

I kid. I kid. Thanks for the warning.
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[Dgallen]

That's a bummer. I've wet waded Mantua and fished it in a tube with no waders on probably a dozen times a year for the last 4-5 years and never got it once. Wonder why some people get it and some don't?
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[RockyRaab]

Some people are repulsive.





(to the parasite)

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[Wasatch801]

Interesting question you pose as I have also wet waded this place several times in the past. I can say that I saw LOTS of snails on that side of the lake both in the water and dead on shore. I have read that wind can really concentrate the parasite on the shoreline it is blowing against. Never felt the itch during the 2-3 hours afloat. But did so immediately upon getting out... even though I launched and departed from nearly the same area (either side of the dock on the far end of the lake near the restroom).

A month earlier my girlfriend hung her feet in the water off the very same dock without getting it. I also noticed snail shells on the bank then.
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