Saturday I caught a lot of bass 4+ lbs. that had sores on their bodies. None of the fish under 4lbs. had these sores but almost all the bass over 4lbs. did. Does anybody have any idea what this is all about ?
Where were the sores? Were they at the base of the fins? That could be caused by yellow grubs. Stressed fish are more susceptable to the grubs and big fish are more stressed by low oxygen. If you had low oxygen problem, that may be the reason only the big ones had them.
Just FYI...Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, and Sam Rayburn have all suffered big fish kills, caused by a virus that seems to target mature LMB...you can contact the Texas Dept of Fisheries for some additional info...may be what your population is suffering from...
The sores were located in various places on these fish. Some on the lower section some on the back some on the gill/head area. The fish were in good health as far as weight is concerned. Based on the website in the above post not much is known about these things. I just wish that I knew whether to release these fish or take them out of the lake. I will continue to monitor this and see what happens.
David, I think this might have a correlation with your other post concerning mussels.
Every year, my favorite fisheries biologist Bob Lusk gets asked about grubs in the fins and hide of bass. Seldom is this a cause of long-term concern, Bob says. Rather, the grubs are opportunists, taking advantage of a fish recovering from the stress of spawning.
If you're genuinely worried, or the situation persists, look up your nearest fish supplier, and buy some adult redear sunfish. They'll chow down on the larvae that so often latch on to bass and other species.
Just make sure you buy fish large enough to elude predators in the established fish populations.
Mark McDonald
founding editor
Sounds like if it's not grubs you have a problem. I think you need to take one to a fish dealer or biologist. My supplier would know maybe yours will. Better to not take a chance.
Make sure you let us know the results