Worminess in fish?

[Jec]

I usaully throw my fish back, but was thinking that a good mess of bluegills would sure sound good! My father in law says that panfish aren't good to eat this time of year that come from ponds or water thats a little more stagnant due to the drought. Is this true or an old wives tale?
Thanks

[Fly_Line]

I would just agree with him. That way you don't have to share .
I never noticed a difference in panfish, bass on the other hand seem to get mushy when water temps get higher.

[Jec]

He says fish can get some kind of worms in stagnant water that make them skinnier than they should be? Kind of sounds like an old wives tale, but I'm not sure.

[HideHunter]

There are several parasites that infest bluegills and they are more prevalent during warm weather. This is because these "worms" have a very complicated life cycle that includes snails, the digestive tract of specific birds and the fish.

I know a bad infestation doesn't look very appetizing but these parasites *are not* a danger to humans. First because humans can not be a host (you could eat a handfull raw) and second because 350 degree grease tend to kill them.

I just add a little more pepper to the breading and *smile* when people say they won't eat 'gills in warm weather.

[Russ C]

Speckled Trout (saltwater fish) tend to get wormy a lot--the worms look just like the fish flesh, but are long filaments. I have noticed that if people ask about it, and you say that they are worms, albeit harmless, a lot of people lose their appetite.

Russ

[Joe Hyde]

Every once in a while when I'm fishing in the summertime or early fall (when the water is quite warm) I will catch a bluegill that fights as hard as any other fish its length and, once boated, looks equally impressive when viewed in profile. So I toss it on ice to keep the animal cold and fresh for a bluegill meal later on.

But when I get this fish home and begin scaling and filleting it, I discover that its body is extremely thin and its flesh soft and mushy. I've always wondered what causes this condition.

If this is a parasitic infection it's not the same type of critter that puts those awful-looking skin lesions on largemouth bass. These 'gills I'm referring to don't exhibit any sort of surface imperfection or open wound whatsoever.

Possibly they've taken on a population of intestinal parasites and the parasites rob them of their nutrient intake to the point the fish gets progressively thinner because it is starving to death? Beats me.

I've eaten the fillets off such fish, but not very often. I say that because in most of cases there just isn't enough fillet thickness to justify keeping the meat; it's a "see-through" fillet -- whereas on a healthy 'gill of equal length you would get two fillets at least 1/2-in thick each.


Joe

"Better small than not at all."

[MOturkE]

Joe,
Seems a bit odd to me that those same bluegills would have a thicker fillet in the early summer when they've wintered for several months. I've never really eaten many gills in the late summer to know if ours are thinner, but now I'm curious.
Our water isn't really stagnant, but it does get pretty warm and the fishing slows greatly.


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There's almost nothin' wrong with the first lie, it's the weight of all the others holdin' it up that gets ya'! - Tim