worms in your fish....not so much?

Last year it seemed that every fish I kept had worms in it.  Didn't matter where I caught it from, SMC, fort ross, etc..or what species it was. This year I haven't seen any worms in any fish I've cut into.  What's the science behind the worms?  Do different conditions cause them to thrive? I eat the fish anyway, after a good freezing, so they don't really bother me, but it is curious.

Where's the worms? flesh?

wow you got a stronger stomach than i do.i dont eat smelt cause alot of people told me you can see the worms.i saw one fall out of a stripe bass last year as i was cutting into it dont eat raw striper anymore.but if i remember last year there was alot of parasites in the fish i caught.

 

Where's the worms? flesh?

Yeah, they're in the stomach, behind the gill plates, and sometimes in the flesh.  Sometimes you fillet the fish and the little red worm pokes his head out.  I remember last year a lot of complaints about worms in halibut too.  I wonder if people are noticing less worms this year then last and if so, what could it be?

The bigger Lings I've shot this year have still had worms, mostly in the belly meat...don't bother me much.

 

I take the visible ones out while cleaning and eat fresh after cooking well, or freeze before making ceviche.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Last year it seemed that every fish I kept had worms in it.  Didn't matter where I caught it from, SMC, fort ross, etc..or what species it was. This year I haven't seen any worms in any fish I've cut into.  What's the science behind the worms?  Do different conditions cause them to thrive? I eat the fish anyway, after a good freezing, so they don't really bother me, but it is curious.

There's different theories about what factors make an area "wormy", but it may be a combination of them.

It may have something to do with the amount of silt and bottom type in an area. Dirty, silty areas have been known to have fish with a lot of worms (especially black rockfish).

Another potential factor could be how much surge and water movement an area gets. If a cove has little water movement, and sits stagnant for much of the time, then it likely plays a role in the worminess of the fish.

Probably the most significant factor is the density of the pinniped (and possibly bird) population in an area, since parasites are often dependent on a cycle. I'm no biologist, but I believe they start out in a larval stage, get eaten by larger organisms, which in turn get eaten by larger organisms, and then the system repeats and continues when the eggs/larvae are released back into the water through feces.

I seem to notice it in fish that don't move around too much... especially big blacks and cabs.

Haven't found many at all in the fish I've taken from the SMC /North SC this year.

I hadn't thought about it until now, but last year I do remember getting some wormy lings. One had not only the big lice crawling out of its gills, but also worms in the belly. I just didn't mention it to my significant other and filleted it carefully .

BTW, my ling skin curing worked great. Just need to figure out what to do with the skins now

BTW, my ling skin curing worked great. Just need to figure out what to do with the skins now

I wanna see! I have often thought about the Ling and Monkey skins and that it wuld be cool to do something with them!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Haven't found many at all in the fish I've taken from the SMC /North SC this year.

I hadn't thought about it until now, but last year I do remember getting some  lings. One had not only the big lice crawling out of its gills, but also worms in the belly. I just didn't mention it to my significant other and filleted it carefully .

BTW, my ling skin curing worked great. Just need to figure out what to do with the skins now

Make some boots or a purse cor your wife!

sorry for the threadjack MBP.

I cured the skins according to "monkeyface news" Kirk and his how-to on the blog. It is a curing process as apposed to a tanning process. Kirk used his skins as bindings for his blog collection books. The skins come out dark (they don't retain their blue tones) and with a texture similar to rawhide-tough yet somewhat pliable. They are tough and don't smell at all.
I'm thinking they would work as a covering for a fillet knife sheath or something.

ok, now back to worms:
I just read about lungworms. These icky little guys live in crawdads and you get them from eating the crawdads raw. The worms burrow into human lung tissue and end up creating symptoms of pnumonia or lung tumors. They can be killed with a quick dose of antibiotics IF the patient goes to a Dr within a few days of ingestion. Yick!

that article also mentioned an increase in lungworm afflictions in the southern gulf states during the summer. Seems people like to go to the rivers and drink beer and cook crawdads. Some people (particularly young men) are susceptible because of the combination of alcohol and male machismo guy #1 "dude I totally dare you to eat one raw!"
guy #2  "F you, hold my beer and watch this..."

gross but kind of  too. We humans can be dumb sometimes.

I always hold my filets up in the sun or in front of a bright light. That way I can remove anything visible. As we all know, if you can't see it, it's not there... Right? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I always hold my filets up in the sun or in front of a bright light. That way I can remove anything visible. As we all know, if you can't see it, it's not there... Right? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Our local sushi chef did the same when we brought in a Vermilion for sashimi.....It was delicious but I don't recommend it.