Worms in Bluegills.

[Retired-UAW]

Got back out again yesterday.  Kept 23 gills. Some were full of white worms. The gills with worms were really skinny. Hardly any meat on them at all. Not worth cleaning. Threw several 8 to 9 inch ones back because of no filets. Anyone else finding these.

[Gills-only]

Not here, ours seem far and sassy when u find them !!

[Weskimo1]

I have found them in gills and crappie at Fletcher, in the past.  I haven't been there in a couple years, so no clue if it has gotten any better.

[Piggyn]

Make sure you cook those thoroughly!   

Man pulls 5-and-a-half foot tapeworm from his body; doctor suggests sushi to blame

[Hog Daddy]

If I remember right, caused by the bird (heron) , snail, fish...... food chain cycle.  So if you have a pond or lake visited by blue herons, and a population of snails....the cycle exsists.  I've seen these in lakes like Yellowood down here, and also Whitewater.  At whitewater I actually saw the snail shells floating along submerged in the upper end.


HHD

Let me see if I get this right... fish eats snails, bird eats fish, bird poops in water, snails snack on poop?  and the cycle continues. 

[taxi1]

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_52259_10950_46202-26966--,00.html

[Hog Daddy]

LOL, Taxi... I had the cast of characters right, but screwed up the play by play.


HHD

[chevy hillbilly]

they wont hurt you. If they could, my blood line would have died 50+ years ago...or maybe thats why me and my kin are called crazy? tough call

Honestly only seen them in weedy ponds in the last 20 years, and even then, it was just 1-2 worms in the fish, easy to pick out.
A little extra protein never hurt anybody

[river_scum]

that article says the worms dont effect the fish much.  OPs decription makes them sound emaciated.  maybe its a different kind of infestation?  or something happened to the ponds food chain?  weed treatments maybe?

i havent found one of those yellow worms in quite a while.  the black spec parasites are pretty common though.

[bev]

Nice day

[chevy hillbilly]

The little white worms wont hurt you, ate pounds of fish that had them.
Black specks? No prob, add more pepper, problem solved

[taxi1]

LOL, Taxi... I had the cast of characters right, but screwed up the play by play.


HHD

You were close enough actually.

[taxi1]

they wont hurt you. If they could, my blood line would have died 50+ years ago...or maybe thats why me and my kin are called crazy? tough call

Honestly only seen them in weedy ponds in the last 20 years, and even then, it was just 1-2 worms in the fish, easy to pick out.
A little extra protein never hurt anybody

Weedy ponds have more snails which are part of the cycle.

[taxi1]

that article says the worms dont effect the fish much.  OPs decription makes them sound emaciated.

Depends on how infested the fish is.

[Retired-UAW]

Depends on how infested the fish is.

Yes I agree. 1 or 2 maybe. 10 or more .Sorry ain't gonna happen.

[taxi1]

Yes I agree. 1 or 2 maybe. 10 or more .Sorry ain't gonna happen.

I meant as far as hurting the fish. I think a fish could tolerate more than one thinks. And they aren't just in he flesh.