Worms in fish

[bent rod]

A friend of mine cleaned a couple gills this weekend and he notices a few small yellow worms in the flesh of one of them.  I never saw this before.  Is it common and are they harmful?

[thomps]

yup it is . some bass  had them also . I don't eat worms them fish go in the garden

[Chris338378]

They are actually parasites and I won't eat them.

[clayboy]

seen them in few perch.

[captain54]

Easy to remove and harmless.The tip of the knife and out. I've found a few in gills, I don't keep bass but sure there in them to. Similar to black spot parasites,also harmless. I've never seen either in crappie but out of same water as gills and I don't know why.

[Spider1]

The white worms aren't as common as the black ones. Both are harmless, especially if they are cooked. Personally, I cut them all out. The white ones are bigger and very unappetizing. Easy enough to find though. The black ones look like little black spots, usually just under the skin. They are easy to spot and easy to cut out but when I get a fillet that is covered with them, they usually get tossed. I always find them in pumpkinseeds, and most of the time in bluegills. I find them from time to time in perch. They come from herons that poop the eggs into the water, the eggs attach to snails and other small crustaceans which are eaten by the bottom dwelling fish like gills and perch, then the fish are eaten by the herons and the cycle continues. Crappie live higher in the water column and are usually clean as are trout. I usually don't find the black ones in bass either but often find the white ones. 

[captain54]

Thanks on the crappie question. I know all about cycle and the bird stuff.  I find them in almost every pumpkinseed but just  some of the gills.

[quickco]

im not very old but a back when i was young those little worms didnt exist around northern wayne county, now theres not a place without them.

[spoxick]

soak fillets in salt water works like a charm still gross but hey we eat mcdonalds ......

[1moslab]

soak fillets in salt water works like a charm still gross but hey we eat mcdonalds ......

[bent rod]

im not very old but a back when i was young those little worms didnt exist around northern wayne county, now theres not a place without them.

At least in my area, there seems to be a lot more Blue Herons than I can remember as a kid.  Maybe that's why the worms are more prevalent now.  I do remember seeing the little black spots, but never the bigger worms.

[ice-phanatic]

At least in my area, there seems to be a lot more Blue Herons than I can remember as a kid.  Maybe that's why the worms are more prevalent now.  I do remember seeing the little black spots, but never the bigger worms.

Common fish parasites in PA. The yellow small worms are known as Yellow Grub, while the black spots are known as Neascus. Both are in the Trematode family and are examples of parasitic flatworms. Yes scary, but a salt bath and proper cooking temperatures kills them. And yes to Mr. bent rod, birds like herons play a huge role in the complicated life cycle of trematodes. Birds carry them, snails eat bird poop then carry them, fish eat snails then fish carry them. Bird eats fish again then cycle goes round and round.

[JiggerMan]

Did you guys ever see any little balls inside the cavity of any fish you have cleaned?

I saw some once in a catfish I caught and a perch.   

If you poke or cut open the ball a worm comes out that is kind of coiled like a spring at first.  The end up being an inch or longer uncoiled.