Sea Lice

[Tony Buzolich]

With all these fresh salmon shooting up I forgot to mention the sea lice on them. Yes, sea lice.

I had noticed them on a couple of the previous fish I took the last couple of weeks. The other day when I took my boss fishing he pointed them out in the fishes gill area.

I didn't give this much thoughtto this until I was watching one of the fishing shows on ESPN or OLN and the guide was making a big "to-do" about the sea lice. He said that the sea lice drop off almost immediately as the salmon enter fresh water.

Well, if this is the case, these are really fresh salmon that are coming in to the river system and I've been fortunate to take several already.

Does anyone have any idea about how long it takes for a salmon to get from the bay to the Oroville area? It has to be a couple of hundred miles?

TONY

[Darian]

Hi Tony,.... Great story about taking the boss fishing.... 8) 8)

When I first started fishing for Salmon in the small north coast rivers/streams, the old timers (hmmmm,.... guess that's me now :oops: :oops: ) used to tell me that Salmon migrated at the rate of about 7 - 10 miles a day. 8) I've, also, read that in some of the literature on the subject. However, that info is dated.... may've been outdated by newer info.

Anyway,.... Assumming that Salmon move thru the Delta the same way they move thru smaller estuaries, Salmon probably would stop at the first hole (....where freshwater forces an adjustment). Not sure where, in the rivers, that occurs but it has to be somewhere above Rio Vista in the Sacramento, at this time of year..... Again, assumming freshwater starts at Rio Vista, AAA says it's about 103 miles to Orovilles. 8) So, if my speculation is reasonably close, it should take about 10 days to go from saltwater to Oroville. Of course, Salmon and sea lice have more to say about all of this than I do.... :? :?

Sounds like you're havin' a good season so far.... 8) 8) 8) I'm gettin' itchy :lol: :lol:

[ycflyfisher]

Tony,

It's highly unlikely that any fish caught anywhere in the Feather is actually still carrying sea lice. Most anglers tend to refer to any external parasites on anadramous fish they catch as sea lice. In most cases they are seeing other parasites and misidentifing them. I'm guessing that what you are seeing is a freshwater parasite of the salminicola species. The fish on the Feather tend to get infested with them and to a much lesser degree the fish on the Yuba. The infestations tend to be more prevalent from the spring and into the summer when the water is warmer. The infestations become present to a lesser degree into the fall and the winter on the fish I've caught over the years. If the gills are infested it's probably salminicola. I've caught tons of fish on the Feather that were so heavily infested in the gills with salminicola that the gill elements were damaged by the parasites and were turning white. Sea lice tend to be horseshoe crab shaped, dark and tend to anchor on the body of the fish near fin protrusions. Salminicola are usually tan/off white colored, and look like elongated pieces of rice attached at the base. I've never actually seen sea lice on any of the fish I've ever caught on either the Yuba or the Feather, but I don't fish for salmon and have never really inspected any caught this early.

[Tracy Chimenti]

I was steelhead fishing above Nicholaus about 10-yrs. ago and caught a couple a mint bright bullets that had sea lice. I must say I was surprised. Both fish had adipose fins and they looked wild as can be. I have caught salmon in the ocean that had the identical "horse shoe" with tail on them. That said, I've also caught fish with the rice-sized/shaped parasites.

Hard to believe a wild fish would make the run that fast. Maybe they were exceptional hatchery fish?

Tracy

[Digger]

Doesn't the water conditions play key parts in how fast they move up river?
I would think the temps and flows have to be about right or they hold up until such time.

That's interesting stuff about the paprasites; do any lampreys ever latch on?

[Darian]

Hey Digger,..... I'm sure that water conditions have a lot more to do with rates of migration and destinations than my cursory analysis.... Like I said in my note, just speculation (fun tho....)

According to my "Field Guide to North American Fishes,....", Pacific Lamprey feed only in the marine environment and only for about 2 years duration. Like Salmon, they ascend rivers/streams to spawn. Also, during that time, they do not feed and die after spawning.... 8) 8) 8)

The guide says that Pacific Lamprey do n ot have a major impact on marine species. 8) 8) 8) Sorry guys, the guide doesn't cover Sea Lice. :( :( :(

[Tony Buzolich]

I've only seen lamprey bites on fish taken from the American. (Round circlish ulser-like wounds) I assume those to be from lamprey.

Darian, a few weeks ago on Ford's Fly Fishing America they fished the Manistee (???sp) near the Great Lakes and almost every other fish they caught had a small lamprey hanging from it. Looked like a 10" lamprey on a 12" fish. Browns and rainbows both had them and they even showed the bite marks on fish that didn't actually have them attached.
TONY

[Darian]

Hey Tony,..... Not out fishing tonight :?: :?:

Anyway,.... I've never caught a Lamprey marred Salmon in the American but it stands to reason that Lamprey'd feed on 'em in the salt. I've seen net scars, etc. A couple of years ago, I found a bright 30 pound King laying on her side in the last throws of life. Closer look and I could see where a snagger had ripped out part of the gills and the fish escaped to die elsewhere..... :( :( :(

Apparently, the Lamprey in the Great Lakes has actually threatened the fishery for several decades. :( :( Not sure but I thought the stocking of Steelhead/Pacific Salmon in the great lakes was to introduce a natural predator in the ecosystem.... 8) If that was the case, it only worked for a limited period of time. :? :? :?

The Lamprey on the east coast are supposedly a different variety than the Pacific Lamprey and must be more aggressive.

[OregonSalmon]

I found a site from the University of Maine that stated sea lice can live up to 24 DAYS (always thought it was hours) in fresh water and have been documented on fish as far as 70Km inland. I guess the lil' pests aren't as a good an indicator of when a fish hit fresh water as we thought.

[Tony Buzolich]

Up to 24 days??? Geez, every TV show I watch shows some guide in Alaska talking about how fresh the salmon is because it still has sea lice attached.

In any case, these early fish are as bright chrome as any I've ever caught in the ocean, the meat is bright red, and they taste great on the BBQ. With a little teriyaki and wasabi :D

Yes, I keep a few. They're ALL going to die anyway and I'm not even putting the slightest dent in the spawning population.
TONY

[Digger]

So, if one is C & R fishing for trout, and you land one with a lamprey attached, is it better to remove the lamprey before releasing the trout, or let mother nature take its course?

I'm thinking removing it leaves that spot open for other infections? Leaving it on, will it eventually die from the lamprey?

[Jeff Edwards]

Growing up back east I fished a lot in waters where Lamprey spawn. The mentality was to stomp on the nests and kill/snag them from the water and through them up on land. The Delaware river and its tributaries will hold large amounts of Lamprey during the spring when they spawn.

I have a masters degree in Biology and in one of my Ictheology classes we shocked the streams for baby lamprey. Was disturbing the number that we counted in 1 mile of stream connecting to the Delaware river.

On an interesting note I did use a few of them for bait for the Stripped Bass in the Delaware. Apparently baby Lamprey have atleast 1 predator.

I also don't recall seeing that many fish with the tell tail sign of a lamprey bite.

Jeff Edwards

[Darian]

AHAAA :!: :!: :!: Finally, someone who can verify that Stripers feed on Lamprey..... 8) 8) Back to the tying bench..... :D :D :D

Tony,.... If you use a marinade, on occasion, try this one:

equal parts; soy sauce and apple juice.

Add some minced garlic (to taste).

Place your Salmon in a zip lock bag and pour in the marinade. Place the works in the refrigerator and turn periodically to assure coverage. Minimum time 1 hour..... 8) After you cook the Salmon, you can use you Wasabi, too. MMM, MMM.... 8) 8) Goes great with an ice cold premium Sake....

This marinade goes good with fish or wild game..... :D :D

Bon Apetit :D :D :D :D

[Hairstacker]

Jeff, now you've done it, Darian's back on that lamprey pattern kick again. :roll: Like a coonhound that just picked up a fresh scent of raccoon. . . . :lol: All kidding aside Darian, I'll be very interested to see what you come up with. 8)

[Tony Buzolich]

Darian, That sounds good, soy and apple juice and garlic.

Bill , maybe we need a new catagory for favorite RECIPES.

As to lampreys, there's never been any question in my mind about them being great bait, especially for stripers. We sell them at our shop for $10.00 each when we can get them, and we're always sold out. Bait guys love them.
TONY

[OregonSalmon]

The Yuroks on the mouth of the Klamath love the taste of lampreys. They were catching them right at the mouth in the surf. My Yurok friend said the smoked salmon he provided (which was excellent) was dog food compared to lamprey. Who'd a thunk them ugly nasty buggers would be a delicacy.

[Darian]

Hi Geller,.... Lamprey a delicacy :?: :?: You sure that guy wasn't smokin' a Candlefish at the time :?: :?: :P :P :P