Hello everyone,

I was going some culling of my bass today and noticed little black spots on the fish and inside the finished fillets. I'm wondering if these are parasites? If so, are the bass fillets still safe to eat with the parasites?

I believe these come from warm water, which makes sense, since I did not notice them earlier in the year when the water was around 17C (62F). Last time I checked surface temps were 23C (73F).

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Fyfer,

The veininess of the meat is common in centrarchids and as far as I know this is not any kind of parasite. Maybe nerves? Don't know.

Now the large black spots, this looks like black spot parasites. Cook the fish and they are harmless and you won't notice them if breaded in cornmeal and fried. Black spot, yellow and white grubs are symptomatic of rich water that supports a large standing population of snails. For the sake of your trout fishery, I would be reluctant to introduce other fish that might eat the snails. They might compete heavily for food supporting the trout. You may be able to establish or supplement papershell crayfish and/or Northern Crayfish if they are local to you in your part of Ontario. They provide forage for both Trout and Bass and in sufficient numbers can efficiently control snails.

Just so there is no confusion ... I have eaten probably hundreds of thousands of black spot parasites in the filets of LMB and GSF. So I am speaking from experience. You can eat the filets provided you cook them. Just don't give them a thought. They are merely additional protein

Here is a link to fish parasites and the Nebraska pond management guide.

https://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/2021/06/whats-bugging-that-fish-2/

Thank you for the detailed reply. I had thought the black spots were parasites. I will cook the fillets up breaded and hope it doesn't bother me. I don't think I will take any management steps to eliminate the snails. These parasites only seem to be present in the hottest parts of the year.

Thank you, that's a great resource.