A thought on parasites

Maybe the weather's gotten to me  .  So all trout and freshwater salmon anglers are bound to have come across these little copepod parasites that attach themselves to the gills and around the fins of salmonids.  I believe these are Salmincola, you can see them on the fin of this rainbow:

Salmincola don't really do anything unless there's a ton of them on a trout or salmon, and they are no threat to humans.  But they sure as hell aren't nice to look at, so many anglers (including myself) will release copepod-infested trout.  Now here's the rub: if we don't like seeing copepods on trout, then why do we typically release a copepod-infested fish BACK into the water so those copepods can breed more copepods to infect clean fish?  If they're no threat to humans, then why not remove those fish infested with copepods from the water so they don't go on spreading more copepods that could infect clean fish?

I think I've been going about this all wrong.  I mean, all you'd need is a wire pad or brush to scrape off the copepods, then you're ready to cook the trout.  Right?

Forget the parasites, that is a beautiful fish!

But yes, I like the way you think.  Rarely, if ever, have I released a fish with copepods for the exact reason you mentioned.  They can be scraped off rather easily.  Sure they aren't pretty, but I don't think they pose any risk to humans.

I'd think placing them in a cooler full of ice and Sierra Nevada would make them fall off after taking about 4-6 of the Sierra's out over a one to 1.5 hour period.   

I don't catch 1% as many trout as you, and I've never worried about such things on my salmon - I've probably consumed some...

Thanks for sharing your fish knowledge and documenting excellent trips and catches so well.   

I probably have tons of parasites in me already, eating a few more won't hurt  (j/k)  Thanks for the report and picture Clayman.

I thought this was going to be a thread about power boaters.

Parasites don't bug you guys , you should love Berryessa this Saturday the rainbows are loaded with them . Quit fishing trout because of them and started fishing kokanee/kings instead , best thing I could have ever done !