Deep Creek Trout.

[tmas]

I've been fishing Deep Creek Res the last couple months. I've had great days for Rainbows but i've noticed something weird. I catch and release but i've been noticing that most the trout have black lumps... mostly on their bellies, some covering the whole fish. My brother kept a few one day and i filleted them to find that the lumps were under the skin and even into the meat on some of them. I've never seen this before and wondering if anybody's got info on this and knows if they're safe to eat.
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[Everet14]

I believe its some type of parasite, other peopleon the site have talked about it before so I'm sure you will get some better information on the subject.
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[OvidCreek]

tmas,

Welcome to the board! Most of my Deep Creek Trout had parasites on them. Yes even in the red meat. BrianID has posted a lot about this and if you look into last months posts he talks about Chesterfield Trout with the same parasite on it. It is my understanding that Chesterfield, Devil Creek, and Deep Creek has this problem. It is my understanding that you can consume the fish.

OvidCreek
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[maniac]

They are a parasite that is passed to the fish by Snails.
The parasites wont harm you!
Tube Dude has a link that tells all about them.

James
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[tmas]

Thanks for the info guys! Does anyone know if the parasite is there to stay or does it come and go?
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[BrianID]

Welcome to BFT Idaho tmas. I hope you come back often and join in the forum discusion. This is a great place to learn about fishing in Idaho.
Below is some information I posted about the black spot diseas about a month ago. The fish in the below picture is one I caught out of Deep Creek about a month ago.



Based on everything I've read, black spot disease isn't anything to worry about. I wouldn't hesitate to eat a fish with a few black spots but I still wouldn't eat a fish that looked like this.



Here is what Jim Fredricks had to say about black spot disease. Jim Fredricks is the F&G's Upper Snake Region fisheries manager.
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[#000000][i]The causal agent for black-spot disease is a digenetic trematode whose larvae burrow into the skin of fish. ("Digenetic" refers to the need for several animal hosts, including fish, to complete its life cycle and "Trematode" is a class of parasites that includes flukes or flatworms.) The adult worm inhabits the gut of the definitive host, a fish-eating bird (e.g. kingfishers, gulls, and herons). Droppings from the bird carry eggs into the water where they hatch into miracidia, which attack several species of snail - the first intermediate host. From the snail, enormous numbers of cercariae emerge which infect several species of fish - the second intermediate host. The cercariae burrow directly into the skin and encyst as metacercariae or larvae. The fish surrounds this cyst with dark melanin pigment giving rise to the black spots (about 1-2 mm in diameter) in the skin, fins, and gills. If a fish is heavily infected, a condition known as popeye appears, in which the eyes bulge out from their sockets. The infected fish is eaten by a bird, which completes the life cycle. [/#000000][#000000]Although black-spot disease is aesthetically unpleasant to anglers, there's little evidence that it can affect wild fish populations (though at extremely high levels of infection, it is possible). The disease poses no known health threats to humans after cooking the infected fish. [/#000000]

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[BrianID]

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[size 1]Thanks for the info guys! Does anyone know if the parasite is there to stay or does it come and go? [/size]

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From what I understand black spot disease is something that comes and goes. Low water levels and warm water make the outbreak much worse than usual.
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[brdchsr]

Chesterfield reservoir had these before it went dry a few years back. I was hoping that after going dry it would eliminate these critters but it seems they have come back even stronger. I wrote an email to the fish and game back then and was told that they were introduced from some hatchery fish that got infected and not treated.
When I seen them again after the reservoir filled up I again questioned them about them and that is when I got the answer about the birds and snails causing them from Dick Scully. If it is due to birds I would think that the Blackfoot would have them as well as Devils creek which are both just over the hill from Chesterfield and Deep Creek. I have not seen them in these fish yet. That makes me believe they were put in with some infected hatchery stock and are probably here to stay. It is a real shame to see the beautiful trout at Chesterfield infested with these critters. Even though you can cook them and kill them it sure takes the enjoyment out of feasting on a nice trout fillet or baked trout.
I fished Flaming Gorge this weekend and caught some rainbows. They reminded me of what fish should look like. Footballs and silver skin without the black scars from the parasites.
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