Strange looking pike.......Help

Post by **Bass Addict** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:21 pm

Advanced stages...........

Ottawa River Oct 2008

Post by **Pints** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:27 pm

So then what is the best thing to do. If it is contagious between pike and muskie. Should we really be putting the fish back or keeping it and throwing it away? The regs certainly don't cover that situation! In actuality, you should only be keeping fish you intend to eat. A real Catch 22.

Post by **beachburger** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:40 pm

So then what is the best thing to do.

Since these fish are probably going to die and maybe wash up on a shore where they could be seen from a road and be considered garbage by someone who happened to be driving by, the only reasonable solution would be to have some government agency step in and simply ban pike and musky.

Post by **Fishing 24/7** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:04 pm

next timr i catch a pike or musky thats infested ill pulling out my DOCTOR skillz and operating the poor thing!

fillet that tumor right out!

Post by RJ » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:52 pm

Those tumors eventually do fall off and heal in time.....I had several muskies in the Kawarthas that obviously had them before and had healed up.....

Post by **CityIt** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:53 pm

My reasoning behind keeping it is that....If it is contagious then why put it back and possibly infest more fish.....If I had caught him out of season I would've done the same...Pike or Muskie.....

The link posted earlier in the thread is a study done on muskies by voluntary reports to the MNR.....and from what I've read...its in Muskies way more than Pike.....and if I've read correctly in other research, pike spawn before muskie...(correct me if I'm wrong).....so maybe the infested muskies' spawn get eaten by the hungry post-spawned pike...thus infesting it......atleast it would appear that way...no??

Post by **fishead-ed** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:21 pm

My 2 cents. Don't put anything back that looks like that until good science proves it's not contagious to other fish. Why risk it ? I realize you're not supposed to keep anything you don't intend to eat but ...COME ON.... any half-brained CO would look the other way. They likely care more about the environment than applying technicalities. Doing the RIGHT thing is not necessarily the "LEGAL" thing. Just my 2 cents.

Post by **I-make-stink-bait** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:34 am

Those Pike look delicious.

- Darryl Cronzy

Post by **highlander** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:17 am

Heh, just what I was thinking....

"just slap that in some beer batter, throw er on the fire and you got some good eatin"

Post by **DropShotr** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:21 am

I-make-stink-bait wrote:Those Pike look delicious.

- Darryl Cronzy

Post by **Chevy Champagne** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:39 am

DropShot'r wrote:
I-make-stink-bait wrote:Those Pike look delicious.

- Darryl Cronzy

HAHAHAH way to funny guys
proberoly true though

Post by **|D4|** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:56 am

Its pretty sick ! I've seen alot of them on the Ottawa. I guess its a disease of some sort !

Post by **Badger Shark** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:33 am

beachburger wrote:
So then what is the best thing to do.
Since these fish are probably going to die and maybe wash up on a shore where they could be seen from a road and be considered garbage by someone who happened to be driving by, the only reasonable solution would be to have some government agency step in and simply ban pike and musky.

Ok now thats funny!

Post by **uberfish** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:17 am

So what to do indeed.
there is not a lot of direction on what can be done. ONe reference says not to return them to the water. Other refs say that while a lot of infected fish die, some recover. Where does the infection come from and probably can't control that anyway. Bottom line: it's nothing we can control, been here before us and will be here after, just have to live with it. One thing there is agreement on - don't transfer fish from one waterbody to another.

Post by **Abraxus** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:52 am

Yes, and the hardwater leak at the reactor up river of course has nothing to do with such ailments within the fish population.

I am sure these sorts of things occur naturally, but lets face it, the mighty Ottawa has had a lot horrible stuff dumped in it as of late. I am not talking about what gets left on the ice at Petrie either. Lol There is no way I will ever be convinced that industrial pollutants leaching into our water ways do not effect the species inhabiting them.

Ab