lingcod and sea lice

I've caught a fair number of lingcod in the Santa Cruz area this year, and at  least 90% of them have had been covered with sea lice. In fact, I've only caught 1 legal-sized ling that was more-or-less lice-free. That lice-free one was about 24", and it put up a great fight---way better than any of the lice-covered ones, some of which were significantly bigger.

So, just out of curiosity...
1) In your experience, what percentage of lingcod have a bad infestation of sea lice?
2) Have you noticed that sea lice affect the health of the fish, based on how much they fight when hooked?

Every single one! I thought they just came that way.....  No idea how they taste without.

Mmmmmm......sea lice

I find them all the time, but usually not covered. The remind me of the tongue eaters in "the Bay"

You want sea lice go down to Monterey and catch some sand dabs, they are crawlin' with 'em.

GS8 was the first time I noticed large numbers of lings with sea lice. About 1/3 of the Lings I caught had them scurrying over them. They were smaller, skinnier and faster than the ones I see on Dabs.

Is there any danger to handle/ eat these fish?  I caught a ling that was crawling in these but wasn't sure about them.

Is there any danger to handle/ eat these fish?  I caught a ling that was crawling in these but wasn't sure about them.

They are crawling on the outside. Just rinse them off.

Some places are more licey then others, at times. They're only on the outside. Whatevs.

Mo' pinnipeds, Mo' poop.
= Mo' paracites

The skinny little ones scurrying on the outside are no problem. Cut the lings' gills and hang it in the water on a gameclip for about 10min and they'll jump off...or they'll abandon ship while the dead ling rides in your tankwell.

At least you can see them, the worms in the meat are what gross me out! Just had to throw that out there, gotta love the added protein!

Is there any danger to handle/ eat these fish?  I caught a ling that was crawling in these but wasn't sure about them.

I've caught lings with so many lice on them that they were emaciated to the point that the meat wasn't that firm.  I'll not keep one in that condition again.

-Allen

At least you can see them, the worms in the meat are what gross me out! Just had to throw that out there, gotta love the added protein!

The worms ... uggh ... turns my stomach thinking about those nasty little bastards crawling out of an otherwise beautiful rockfish fillet.

Just wonder are sea lice larva worms in the meat first. 

Just wonder are sea lice larva worms in the meat first.

Both eggs and larval sea lice are free-floating and not attached to a host. Sea lice are purely an ectoparasite so you don't need to worry about them at all from a food standpoint.

At least you can see them, the worms in the meat are what gross me out! Just had to throw that out there, gotta love the added protein!

The worms ... uggh ... turns my stomach thinking about those nasty little bastards crawling out of an otherwise beautiful rockfish fillet.

You should see the ones I found on Cabbie, they are concentrated in 1 place, the whole reason I dont eat cabbie anymore.