Pelot's Bay this weekend

[ajsoma8]

What is this on this northern??? you guys see this a lot??  It was bleeding when i pulled it out of the hole!  i  have heard that the pike have a disease...different from VHS....but definately not a lamprey hit..have any of you seen this

[METOVT]

I have seen it on a few fish. Being fairly new up here I'm not sure what it is. A friend told me it was a growth of sorts and said a biologist had told him it will fall off.

Good thing it's all catch and release for me because it's appetizing.

[pooley]

 fish can have "ulcers" on them. that's what it looks like.

[Smada_Evad]

fish can have "ulcers" on them. that's what it looks like.

What you are seeing is called Lymphosarcoma it is a virus that only effects pike, muskie and pickeral, this is not related to VHS and pike actually heal from this virus however it is more fatal in muskie. what it does is cause cancerous sores on the skin and in the muscle of northern pike  It has no affect on humans and is not a threat to people who handle the fish. 
Aproximately how many of the pike that you caught had these marks?  What size, and where where the marks located.  The VTFWD is working on collecting information on this to track where it is found, most has been found north of Keelers Bay. 

I hope this helps

Dave

PS:  Looks like a hell of a time on the ice!  I was fishing off savage point and got into some nice ones myself, nothing in the teens but 3 10's  so it wasn't all bad   

[METOVT]

What you are seeing is called Lymphosarcoma it is a virus that only effects pike, muskie and pickeral, this is not related to VHS and pike actually heal from this virus however it is more fatal in muskie. what it does is cause cancerous sores on the skin and in the muscle of northern pike  It has no affect on humans and is not a threat to people who handle the fish. 
Aproximately how many of the pike that you caught had these marks?  What size, and where where the marks located.  The VTFWD is working on collecting information on this to track where it is found, most has been found north of Keelers Bay. 

I hope this helps

Dave

PS:  Looks like a hell of a time on the ice!  I was fishing off savage point and got into some nice ones myself, nothing in the teens but 3 10's  so it wasn't all bad   

Good info. thanks

[ajsoma8]

i don't know, i have seen lymphosarcoma before and it didn't look quite like that, it wasn't raised as much....but it could be, i sent a pic to th VTF+G just to let them know.

[Little Brown Dog]

It goes through stages.  Here is the fact sheet on it.

http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/library/Factsheets/Fisheries/Fish_health/Esocid_Lymphosarcoma.pdf