worms in perch

[fish_finder]

 Hey guys, went out and got a mess of perch this weeknd and when i was filleting them i found they were right full of worms. Ive seen worms in fish before but never anything like this, the meat of every perch had them and so did the pickerel. Has anyone ever seen these things before?

[littleoldlady]

I"ve never seen anything like that...but I would save a chunk and take it to the Fish and Wildlife office and report it...their biologists
want that sort of information...I would hate for those to be the kind of parasite that gets spread around.
As well, I commisserate with you...there is nothing like looking at a mess of perch in the bucket, mouth watering, and then cleaning
them only to find that they are inedible..in some lakes here, we have the dreaded black spot...gritty little black nodules through the
flesh...but I have never seen anything like those worms...and in your pickeral as well.  Let us know what your Fish and WIldlife people say.

[percheyes42]

I've seen them before, but not quite that intense. Usually you might find 1 or 2 in a fillet. Those kind you can just pop out with the tip of your knife and the meat is fine. I've never encountered them like that though.

[rex]

These worms are very common in many waters of New York. They are safe when cooked but I remove them when filleting. I have found them in perch,bluegills,bass,and pike. The black spots are also showing up more and are also safe to eat after cooking. I wouldn't use these fillets for poor mans shrinp or under cooking recipies. I guess we will have to wait for a major contamination before our wonderful DEC does anything about them!!

[lotwfisher]

We have a small problem on lake of the woods with them.....Never that bad tho. They are starting to show up in walleye too. I was told they get spread by seagull feces. And the black dot ones are spread by shallow water ducks ie Megansers....Just something i have heard.

[jigmasterjr]

ive seen them before not so concentrated ,but their some kind of parasite that gets in fish from the droppings of ducks and geese

[fish time]

when i was filleting a bass  ;Dit had tape worms in i t i have gut trout like that and i have eaten them but in this bass was infested with them i have filleted bass and eaten bass but this i have seen nothing like this is it ok to eat

[icebucketjohn]

Nematodes... common, ugly, but not harmful to humans

[nepa old man]

Never saw them that bad, a few in a filet now & then, none this year yet, those make you want to blow lunch.

[Scientist]

Nematodes... common, ugly, but not harmful to humans

Correct; the picture is a bit out of focus but it looks like fish is infested with nematodes. As for harmless, they won’t cause you permanent illness or damage. If you swallow a live nematode it will try to bury itself in your small intestine causing discomfort, slight fever and “the runs.” However, humans are not suitable hosts for this parasite so after 7 to 10 days they will pass out of your digestive system. Fish tapeworms, on the other hand, can live in humans for up to 15 years. If the fish is cooked to a internal temperature of 140 degrees F it will kill off the worms, but in my opinion seeing that many parasites I would rather opt for a steak. 

[Jig4M]

We get alot of Perch all year around and I really enjoy eating them but after seeing the pictues in this thread I'm having second thoughts.

[Longwooddrive]

Yea that is quite an infestation,  I've noticed almost every fish I catch in and around our Tidal waters in N.B. have a heavy infestation.  Pickeral are another species hit hard around here.  I caught a nice big female last week that had a heavy infestation around the gills and I'm sure in the meat as well.  From my college years, I do remember that this parasite called the "yellow grub parasite" has quite the specific and complex life cycle.  The only suitable host for these grubs are great blue herons.  Once they injest an infected fish, the grubs are released threw the mouth(and maybe feces) and has to find a snail within a certain amount of time where it then continues its life cycle until the snail is eaten by a fish and thus continues the cycle. Pretty neat when you think about it but definately an unpleasant site for us. 

[slammer6500]

This is one reason why I catch and release....

[Whitefish Slayer]

I fish  the same waters as Fish Finder and it only seems that these are found in our shallow lakes...
Like our burbot, whitefish smelt all the others species in the deeper lake don't seem to have any of these or very little in any.

they seem to be in fish that are near shallows and weed beds
just a thought

[piscesman]

There was a thread on this very subject last year about this time. The great blue heron helps spread the grubs. Maybe one of the moderators can dig up the original thread?? I still wouldn't eat the fish unless very,very,very hungry!!!!!!!!!
      Kim

[putback]

There was a thread on this very subject last year about this time. The great blue heron helps spread the grubs. Maybe one of the moderators can dig up the original thread?? I still wouldn't eat the fish unless very,very,very hungry!!!!!!!!!
      Kim

Ditto, someone knows this subject well. I would sure appreciate the education.

[fshnfool]

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=36527.msg374748#msg374748

[Out4Trout]

And a lot of people from away are trying to tell us Mainer's how good yellow perch are.   

[putback]

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=36527.msg374748#msg374748

Thanks

[percheyes42]

And a lot of people from away are trying to tell us Mainer's how good yellow perch are.   

This grub infects more than just yellow perch. I have seen them in your prized "TOGUES"

[snaggerr]

I bet they taste like chicken?

[putback]

And a lot of people from away are trying to tell us Mainer's how good yellow perch are.   

tipping the hat, ya got me fair and square! Now what are those things standing up and waving on the fresh cod fillets in the frying pan!   

[happy perch fisher]

i would'nt eat those if u payed me 20 dollars each