Lake Cumberland parasites from KDFW

[stripernut]

oh boy.........

[JUSTINHALL]

.

[stripernut]

on my mark initiate "damage control sequence"....3....2....1.....and MARK!

[Jim Durham]

StriperFun will have multiple guides fishing the next four days out of fishing creek. I will report back if we see any infected fish down on our end of the lake. As I reported previously, I have not seen any yet.

No damage control - just fact.

Thanks

CJ

[-G3]

I too was curious about the extent of the lake that was effected by the parasite. All accounts I had read referred to the lower end of the lake.
I fished Faubush Creek on Monday. I caught two stripers. One was 20" and one 27". Both fish had the parasite. The 20" had very few. The 27" had a whole bunch. I fear that if it hasn't made it to fishing Creek, it wont be long.

[stripernut]

had a friend catching stripes at night under lights in late sept from white oak to fishing creek that had the parasites in their mouth.

i think the issue of where they are, when they got there, is so 27 seconds ago.

the issue now is ??????when will they leave AND what impact will it have on the fishery in the meantime ?????

p.s. and are the parasites better grilled or fried

[Jim Durham]

If that is the case, unfortunately we may begin to see them at our end too.

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to cut the parasite off of the inside of the fish's mouth without hurting the fish, or maybe pour salt on them like a leach and they will release?? if so, we could maybe help infected short fish.

[cast-a-way]

I caught a few stripers from Pittman creek in November, they all had the parasites and appeared very thin.

[stripernut]

If that is the case, unfortunately we may begin to see them at our end too.

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to cut the parasite off of the inside of the fish's mouth without hurting the fish, or maybe pour salt on them like a leach and they will release?? if so, we could maybe help infected short fish.

i just hope its a case of "weather the storm" for a few months.....and then they go away (or at the very least become a "non-issue")
as for cutting the parasites out they kind of scrape off but it leaves an ulcer where the parasite was attached, i couldnt even speculate as to whether it heals or how long it takes.

research points to the population being cyclic, if this is the top of the cycle for infestation then maybe good times are ahead? not much else we can do.

i was reading that one opinion from a researcher is this :
under circumstances where the host population (stripers) was so adversely affected that total numbers crashed the number of parasites were drastically reduced. i guess its like coyotes....if theres nothing to eat they move on.
while this problem exists it may be worth looking at more liberal size / creel limits. this may not be a situation that "works itself out" without some help.
right now untold amounts of money are being spent to determine how to erradicate asian carp....feed em parasites !

[HURRICANEBOB]

asian carp....feed em parasites !

Ohhhhhhh......duuuuuuude! You are so on it.

I think my next political donation will be in Lake Cumberland Striper fillets to my favorite politician. If he eats them and survives, then we all will feel safer. If he doesn't survive.........next. (Repeat as necessary until public discloure is made in some mass media forum).

To keep the parasites from being spread by the lures we use, so we be covering them with Trojans?

[JoeB]

The copepods are pretty much established throughout the striper population on the lake now. If you haven't been seeing thin fish w/ parasites, you aint been looking.

[jcb]

Dang, Joe, the man said he hadn't seen them and that's good enough for me. I'm not ready to call anyone a liar if I'm not 100% sure.