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I'm with you Frank... I believe it is something else completely unrelated to W.D.
It is definitely not Whirling Disease. I sent John Viar a pic of a brown I caught in Ossipee this year that had the same deformity. He said it was the first brown he had ever seen with the same characteristics as the lakers he had seen. He said it was not Whirling Disease that that brown or the lakers have and they really have no explanation other than that it could be a vitamin deficiency. One thing he did say was that it didn't seem to stunt the fish or make the fish not fight as well as a "normal" looking fish. I can attest to this because the 4 lb brown I caught that had that deformity fought like a champ.
Should you release them?
If it is whirling disease, then why is it only affecting lake trout and not other salmonids like landlocks, rainbows, ect. to such a degree?
My biggest question about all this was the fact that if these lakers (and my 4 lb brown) spin like the name says, they wouldn't be able to achieve the size of the lakers I have caught. One other thing Tom, although not prolific, salmon do reproduce in NH lakes and Ossipee is one of them. The fact that lakers are not susceptible to the disease but rainbows are "highly" susceptible leads me to think that it must be something else that causes the zigzag spine of the lakers. Otherwise, if it is Whirling Disease, you would see a greater number of bows with the same zig zag spine, and I haven't EVER seen a rainbow with that type of spine.
Hi Joe, hope all is well with you. First, Whirlings Disease affects all salmonoid species. Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is freshwater Char. Both Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) and Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) are all in the Salmonidae family, therefore they are all susceptible to the disease. Again, take the time to actually read the links I posted and learn the facts. Excerpt taken from Monatana.EDU and I quote "Whirling disease is a serious health problem for trout and salmon. It is caused by a microscopic parasite called Myxobolus cerebralis. The impacts of the parasite and the resulting disease are variable. However, whirling disease remains a concern for trout in streams and hatcheries of North America. Physical signs of the disease include blackened tail, spinal deformities, and erratic swimming. In severe infections, whirling disease can cause death. Whirling disease is most infective to rainbow trout and cutthroat trout, but can infect all salmonid species."Source http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/about/anglers.htmIt cannot get anymore clearer. Research shows that some, not ALL, fish die young and can achieve a lengthy life. So again, I'll leave the readers with another FAQ check to read before inserting their opinions. Someone once stated "there is truth in knowledge" and when the facts are presented, no solid argument can be made against them. http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/about/faq.htm
So this disease is only present in natural environments or we would see this much more often in hatcheries?