wheeler dam tailrace 3-9-2006

[slo-ride]

3/9/06

a friend and i fished a guided striper trip below wheeler dam last thursday starting around 6:00 a.m.
the bite was on early but faded to nothing by around 8:00.
between the 3 of us we only managed 12 fish ranging 7-20 lbs...all on jigs(not a stellar day for sure).
emoBang

the good news is that the stripers are starting to show up and should be in "full tilt boogie" mode VERY soon.

my BFOTD: 17 lbs.

i kept a few of the smaller ones for the table and upon cleaning them found these little critters in the stomach cavity....i saw the same thing last fall....does anyone have an idea what they are?

 

[drc]

Thats a great looking fish slo-ride. Iv'e got a trip lined up with rsimms in a few weeks, I'm soooo ready.

 

[rsimms]

I'm not sure what you were expecting, and I'm not familiar with Wheeler ... but 12 fish sounds pretty darn good to me.

 

[churly]

I dont know what it is but I have seen them in Rockfish out of Old hickory. It must be a some time of parasite. Fry one up and let me know how they are!

 

[slo-ride]

churly - 3/13/2006 10:35 AM

I dont know what it is but I have seen them in Rockfish out of Old hickory. It must be a some time of parasite. Fry one up and let me know how they are!

hmmmmm...kinda like flavor packets, huh???,,,,yummy!!!emoVomit

rsimms - 3/13/2006 8:55 AM

I'm not sure what you were expecting, and I'm not familiar with Wheeler ... but 12 fish sounds pretty darn good to me.

rsimms, if they're in there good and in the mood, 12 is a pretty short stringer....catching 200-250lbs. worth is not uncommon.

btw...good looking website!!! emoThumbsup

 

[Jmax]

churly - 3/13/2006 1:35 PM

I dont know what it is but I have seen them in Rockfish out of Old hickory. It must be a some time of parasite. Fry one up and let me know how they are!

Yep, hit the nail on the head. it is a parasitic worm that occurs natually in the fishes stomach. No big deal and nothing to worry about. I do not think I would fry one up though.emoVomit Jmax

 

[rsimms]

slo-ride - 3/13/2006 2:02 PM

rsimms - 3/13/2006 8:55 AM
I'm not sure what you were expecting, and I'm not familiar with Wheeler ... but 12 fish sounds pretty darn good to me.

rsimms, if they're in there good and in the mood, 12 is a pretty short stringer....catching 200-250lbs. worth is not uncommon.
btw...good looking website!!! emoThumbsup

Wow! Is it primarily a Live Bait Bite, or does it ever get a good Topwater Bite? I know many places, like Nickajack, you can rip 'em drifting threadfins. But I am an absolutely sucker for the topwater bite. And thanks for web site comment. I worked hard on it.

 

[slo-ride]

rsimms, there were some busting the surface thursday, but i couldn't entice them (i think it's still a little early for a topwater bite, but it shouldn't be long)
the fish we caught were all on jigs(swimbaits).....by the time we decided to round up some bait, the bite was OFF.
i'm no expert, but from what i've been told spring is usually better on live bait and fall can be a better jig bite......we did have some really good jig days last spring, though.

 

[polo-dog]

Great report, I think that the "worm" that you are seeing is some species of nematode, or in other words, a round worm. They are found in fish and can be found in humans, but I would expect different species. Here's a webpage about fish nematodes: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA091 I didn't do much of a search but I would expect that if you did a little research you could find out more about them. I catch some fish with parasites of different types but fewer than what I would expect.

 

[TennesseeTalker]

ACK!!!! Gosh can you eat fish that are wormy??? I wish I hadn't looked at the report Polo pasted. EEEEUUUUUU! I realize it's just extra protien .. but something to be said for "what cha don't know .. won't hurt ya!"

That just didn't look cool.

TT

 

[polo-dog]

Most of the animals that we eat, cows, pigs, fish, chickens are fed upon by parasites. Even the Veggies that we eat can have differing types of parasites whether they be macro or microscopic. The question is, are they harmful to humans too. For the most part, if the foods are cooked well, we won't get sick from the parasites. Animals that live outdoors where parasites are everywhere get infested. Just check out a dog that runs the woods or a squirrel, they have ticks and fleas and lots of other "bugs" on them but most of them are infested internally too. There are lots of organisms out there that feed off of all of us and our pets and other animals that are there whether we know it or not. Just learn about them a bit and you find out that it's really not that bad, just the way God lets it be. That's the way I look at it.