Grubs in perch

[grampieshanty]

Whats your opinion? Eat em or not?

[sdredhead]

Everything is good when fried!

[JMailbox8]

I just hold the filets to the light and pick out what I can. Same with Cod when I go deep sea fishing. Cod can be way worse than perch and their grubs are more like 4 inch coiled worms.

[Chris338378]

I wouldn't eat them.

[troutcrazy]

I don't mind eating a couple.  I do my best to cut them out.

If I notice a perch is obviously wormy when I catch it, I throw it back.

Once or twice I've found them so wormy when I was cleaning them, that I ended up throwing them out.

[Troutmagnet]

I cut them out when filleting. Though they are harmless if cooked well done. 

[spot]

I try to avoid them.

[fishingidjit]

I don't mind eating a couple.  I do my best to cut them out.

If I notice a perch is obviously wormy when I catch it, I throw it back.

Once or twice I've found them so wormy when I was cleaning them, that I ended up throwing them out.

DITTO! 

[Crayfish2]

White ones get cut out or the filets get thrown away if there are too many.  I can't stand the thought of eating those little buggers.  Black dots get eaten all the time, even though those are some sort of parasite as well.

[grampieshanty]

I filleted 4 perch all caught in the same spot & only 1 had grubs. Anyone know how they get them?

[JMailbox8]

http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/health/vol2issue6.htm

[perch bait]

I filleted 4 perch all caught in the same spot & only 1 had grubs. Anyone know how they get them?

I just looked it up and it's actually a very interesting process! It all starts when a fish eating bird (heron or bittern) eats a fish that has these so-called "yellow grubs" in it. The grubs, which, at this point in their life cycle, are in their adult stage, will then lay eggs in the throat of their host bird. These eggs then mature and the next time the bird dips its bill/beak into the water, some of these tiny eggs are deposited and hatch into a tiny larvae. When in their first Larval stage, these organisms must find a snail of a specific genus to take up as their host. Inside the snail, the tiny parasites multiply up to 1000 fold! Once mature inside the snail, the parasite eventually strikes out in search of a fish host. During these transitions from one intermediate host to another (ex. bird-snail and snail-fish) the larvae only have a few hours before they run out of energy and die! If one does find a fish, and apparently there are no known fish with an immunity to this particular parasite, then it will burrow into the fish's skin where it will grow until eventually, the fish is eaten by a predatory bird. Thus, causing the life cycle of the Yellow Grub to repeat.  A little nasty? Yes. But really fascinating (at least to a teenage boy)!!

[spot]

Fishing shallower ponds this year, ice fishermen will be finding a lot of them.

[grampieshanty]

I just looked it up and it's actually a very interesting process! It all starts when a fish eating bird (heron or bittern) eats a fish that has these so-called "yellow grubs" in it. The grubs, which, at this point in their life cycle, are in their adult stage, will then lay eggs in the throat of their host bird. These eggs then mature and the next time the bird dips its bill/beak into the water, some of these tiny eggs are deposited and hatch into a tiny larvae. When in their first Larval stage, these organisms must find a snail of a specific genus to take up as their host. Inside the snail, the tiny parasites multiply up to 1000 fold! Once mature inside the snail, the parasite eventually strikes out in search of a fish host. During these transitions from one intermediate host to another (ex. bird-snail and snail-fish) the larvae only have a few hours before they run out of energy and die! If one does find a fish, and apparently there are no known fish with an immunity to this particular parasite, then it will burrow into the fish's skin where it will grow until eventually, the fish is eaten by a predatory bird. Thus, causing the life cycle of the Yellow Grub to repeat.  A little nasty? Yes. But really fascinating (at least to a teenage boy)!!

Thanks for the info.Very intreesting

[BomoBrown]

I wonder if I have any in my throat waiting for me to dip my mouth in the water?  Just kidding. But this is why I do not do sushi.

[Registered Kayak]

I find that champlain perch/sunfish are pretty clean for the most part in broadlake and the most disgusting fish ive filleted came out of colchester pond. looks like someone spilled oatmeal all over the fillets. haha gross

[JMailbox8]

Yeah, freshwater sushi is always a bad idea. They say you should freeze pike before pickling them to kill off the tapeworms because even the pickling process doesn't kill them.

By law sushi grade tuna must be frozen for a certain amount of time before it can be consumed raw because of parasites.

[troutcrazy]

I just looked it up and it's actually a very interesting process! It all starts when a fish eating bird (heron or bittern) eats a fish that has these so-called "yellow grubs" in it. The grubs, which, at this point in their life cycle, are in their adult stage, will then lay eggs in the throat of their host bird. These eggs then mature and the next time the bird dips its bill/beak into the water, some of these tiny eggs are deposited and hatch into a tiny larvae. When in their first Larval stage, these organisms must find a snail of a specific genus to take up as their host. Inside the snail, the tiny parasites multiply up to 1000 fold! Once mature inside the snail, the parasite eventually strikes out in search of a fish host. During these transitions from one intermediate host to another (ex. bird-snail and snail-fish) the larvae only have a few hours before they run out of energy and die! If one does find a fish, and apparently there are no known fish with an immunity to this particular parasite, then it will burrow into the fish's skin where it will grow until eventually, the fish is eaten by a predatory bird. Thus, causing the life cycle of the Yellow Grub to repeat.  A little nasty? Yes. But really fascinating (at least to a teenage boy)!!

Fascinating to a grown man, too.   Wow, I knew there was a multi-host life cycle, but I didn't realize that they actually layed their eggs in the bird's throat!

The black spots have a similar life cycle, I believe.

This is one more fact that makes me thankful to live here in Vermont where there aren't really any harmful organisms.  Studying biology in college, I learned that there are organisms very much like these in other parts of the world (the tropics) that can infect humans, and do great harm.

Yeah, I tend to overcook my perch to be sure.  Actually, I tend to eat crappies instead    Once I caught a sorry-looking crappie that had one grub.

[spot]

I took some of that sushi home and had it breaded and fried. It was good- tasted like fish. 

[Crayfish2]

Colchester Pond and Arrowhead Mountain Lake are where I've seen the most disgusting fish.  Wish I never killed those fish to find out they were LOADED with worms.   Colchester Pond was a very nice smallmouth that Perch Bait caught when he was probably 5yo and Arrowhead was a stringer of huge perch that Perch Bait, Mrs Crayfish and I caught.  Had to throw them all away as there was no picking all those worms out! 

We very rarely see worms in pumpkinseeds or bluegills, though, and they typically live in even shallower water than perch.  Not sure why that is.

[troutcrazy]

Colchester Pond and Arrowhead Mountain Lake are where I've seen the most disgusting fish.

Oh man those Arrowhead perch are nasty!  Which is too bad, because the place is full of big ones!  Everytime I've tried trolling to find the crappie in there, I can't keep the perch off my jig-- which makes it impossible to find the crappie.

[Icicle1]

Informative info. JMailbox8. The lifecycle of the grub. Very interesting. Herons be the mommy.

[dickbaker]

I wonder if I have any in my throat waiting for me to dip my mouth in the water?  Just kidding. But this is why I do not do sushi.

  ::)Sushi is made with rice and sea weed and doesn't necessarily require raw fish??  I love yellow perch fillets and I have no problem with a few grubs if they are to be deep fried in my favorite Butter Flavored Crisco??
Dick

[aquarium234]

Look in their throats when you catch them, really bad grubbed fish will have them there, also look near their tails for the exit holes from the adult grubs. IF it makes you feel any better remember 5% of hamburger can be bug protein..........;-)