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Location: Orland Park, IL | neighbor got a chunky 22 incher with 2 small bleeding sores just above the belly near the back of the fish. Didnt look too back, but looked really close to the VHS stuff. All our short fish were very clean, just short.
DNR was checking the Pipe launch reviewing fish for the disease on Saturday. He said he got one guy with 3 sauger in the box. Said it was close to a $525 fine due to the sliding scale and being at the top end. (0 sauger bag so 1 sauger = 100% of fine). Seemed like a nice enough guy. He remembered our two fish when we broke for lunch (yep, Pipe Express fried chicken). And said only 8 more, when we came back. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | The only thing worse than the VHS virus is the number of armchair biologists who have reported catching a fish with the VHS virus. Did the DNR official look at the fish and identify the markings as VHS? If he did, what method of evaluation did he use? The only way to find out is to have the fish tested. Until then, it would best serve us to keep opinions to ourselves in order to not create paranoia.
M.Komo I'm not getting down on you. We've shared the boat together and I think you are a great guy. I just think it would be best to learn as much as we can about the disease, do what we can to defeat it or lessen it's effect, and make factual statements about the disease once the facts come in instead of everyone making comments about how many fish they've caught with the virus. To my knowledge, there has not been one walleye found in the Winnebago system at this point to have been positively identified with VHS. Until one is found with VHS I am not going to be gullible and believe all the rumors of fish die-offs and reports of fish being found with VHS not identified by the DNR. |
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Location: Orland Park, IL | Well said Jerry.
Based on the information that has been kinda circulated via the boat dock postings, some dnr information, and essentially what is read here and about, what else can I base this on? Clearly, the education of fisherman related to this menace is lacking to say the least. Was it VHS, not sure. Did it look like it had the symptoms of vhs? Maybe. Is this the first fish I seen up front with something like this? Definately in the last five years of yankin fish out of the winnebago system.
So, take it as you will. This is sore point and not a "chicken little" type statement. Yes, the DNR should keep fisherman up to date on their findings. My concern, as is all, is the impact this will potentially have. Hysteria, or creation there of, isnt on my agenda.
So, perhaps its the manner of information distribution. lots of dead floating sheepshead + walleye + open bloody sores + winnebago = what then.
Thanks for the input, though. And your point is well taken. Like I said kinda looked really close to that stuff. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | No problem buddy. The last thing I want is this to look like I'm getting down on a fellow WF'er.
I hope this thing isn't as widespread and as devastating as is being reported. I agree with the "hope for the best, plan for the worst" strategy when dealing with VHS, as we need to be prepared for what we'll see next spring when the virus will be most lethal. |
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| Jerry when was the last time you fished bago? I fish it alot and I think we definitely have a problem out there. I have around 30 plus days on bago this year and have had 17 to 20 of these "virus" looking fish! |
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| Then it's been in Bago for a lot of years. I've caught fish that have blood on them for years. I know lots of people that have. I have also noticed no more than the usual of floating sheepshead this year.
While I am concerned about what this virus is going to do to the fishery, I also am going to wait to see what the DNR Biologists determine. SO far, they haven't found any eyes with the virus. |
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| JFS has been around for years on 'Bago........(Jayman Filleting System).
I agree, the DNR annouces VHS and now we have VHS pandomonium on 'Bago and Green Bay. I'm a bit disappointed in the DNR. I think it's important to get as much info together and facts and rpesent it to the public in a way they will understand. Perception is everything.....and right now the perception seems to be far off from the truth.
I'm calling it...VHS will amount to CWD amoung sportsmen, other than it'll create a whole new plethora of pain in the arse rules that diligent sportsmen will follow and the rest of the boating community won't have a clue about. |
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Location: Berlin | I don't mind the way they did it. It gives everyone a heads up and now the boat launches are not as crowded. |
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Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | There it is in a nut shell, Jayman. There will be rules that are followed by the fisherman and the rest of the boating world will have no clue.
I sell ski and wakeboard boats. They have tanks like a livewell on them to the weight the boats for a bigger wake. Many a person uses the wolf river chain and then goes back to there lake homes in waupaca and such. They will be transporting just as well as anyone. A while back there was a dnr guy at a boat show that was very curious about the onboard tanks. Him and I talked for months about what could be done to keep there bilges and such clean. He seemed to have lost interest after awhile. Bet he is thinking about it now. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Concerned,
I was out 10 days ago.....we had around 25 walleyes and some other fish in 5 hrs. I listened the chatter about VHS on Channel 68, hearing one guy after another talk about the walleye they caught with VHS.
Sorry, I'm not believeing it from the amateur biologists.
Signed,
Concerned Too. |
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Location: Rhinelander | There are several diseases that cause lesions on the side of the fish, and some have been around on Winnebago and the Fox for as long as I can remember. I've caught lots of Green Bay and a few Winnebago system walleyes with those lesions and growths long before any VHS warnings. It's good to be aware, and even better to know exactly what the VHS symptoms look like. |
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| I'll just throw in my .02.....Before this year when VHS was confirmed to be here, of the hundreds of walleye (or other fish for that matter) I have caught on the Winnebago system, I do not remember ONE that had these sores on it. This year, I have caught at least 10-12 walleye (+ 4 northern) that have had sores that look just like the pictures of confirmed cases of VHS. Not little spots- I mean red sores bigger than a quarter. If it isn't VHS, what a mighty coincidence that another disease with the same symptoms has affected fish so dramatically this year. I am not a biologist, but I like to think I have some common sense. I'm not saying it's the end of walleye fishing as we know it, I'm just saying when I look at the situation logically, it seems pretty obvious.
Dave S
Edited by thumper 6/28/2007 6:37 AM
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Location: Orland Park, IL | Thanks for the comments. I think DNR is doing an ok job, but it seems like some momentum has been lost. |
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Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | I have to agree with Dave on this one. I do remember catching an occasional walleye with a sore in years past, but never anything like I've seen on a couple of the fish I've caught this year. For the record though, I have yet to see even one dead walleye on the lake, one walleye that was anything other than healthy looking, or even a sheephead that looked like it was on its last legs...
My family and I take walks a few times a week along the shore by the boat launches south of Oshkosh and by Miller's Bay and I haven't noticed any more dead fish (sheephead) than usual. That said, I can't remember a year with so many weeds in the bays and floating around free out in the mud. Perhaps VHS has more of an impact on the weeds than the fish... Viral Hedge Shears? |
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| Good point. All the "infected" fish I have caught seemed otherwise healthy aside from the sores, and I have seen zero floating dead walleye also. One other thing to note is that I have not seen one sheephead with the sores on it, has anyone else?
Dave S
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Location: Berlin | I have not caught a sheephead this year let alone one with sores on it. |
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Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | Want me to teach you how? |
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| Rich,
You don't know what you are missing. I need to get you in the boat with me.
I once fished a lake in Ontario. The resort owner claimed there were no Sheepshead in it. I promptly went out and caught one. He said it must have been a fluke, and the only one in the lake. The next day I caught the same "one". 6 times!
I've been told that if there is a sheepshead in a lake, I would catch it. Whoever said that was a real prophet! |
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| I beileve i read that for it to be evan a questionable VHS finding they have to have bloody, bleedy icky mucous membranes.. eyes, mouth, gills, a$$hole. ect..
The reason you guys are noticing more fish with scaley sores is because you are now looking for them.. (virus first appears in mucous membranes, not scaled skin)
Before VHS was found it was consider normal to have marks.. Northern almost always have sores and battle wounds.. its rare to catch one with out.
Now any little nick or mark, "oh my god its VHS ive never cought a fish like this befor.. oh no, we are all going to die..!!!"
I agree with Jerry too many people over anylizing there fish..
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Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | ts_work -
Your entitled to your opinion. |
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| you guys are all in denial. it's here. if you spend any time at all on the lake you will see it. the northern seem to be getting hit pretty hard by the disease. but, i have caught walleye with the disease as well. my partner and i weighed one at walleye weekend with the disease. i believe they had two others with vhs come to the scales as well.
it will be interesting to see what happens this fall. vhs is more active in colder water. we'll have to wait and see... |
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Location: Berlin | I guess the real question is: If you have never heard of VHS would you give these fish a second thought.
I have had years where I caught a ton of fish with sores and I have had years where I caught almost none. I personally have not seen this on the fish that I have caught. I have seen other peoples fish (at tournaments) that seem to have the symptoms of sores on the body. I have NOT seen ANY fish with bulging eyes.
The disease is here but like others have said I bet this turns out to be another CWD. I also believe there is some behind the scenes motives for all the hype and if I am right, more power to the DNR.
One last thought. I was checking out a new spot last night and liked the way it looked on the graph. I wanted to really see what it was so I jumped in and walked over it. I was as carefull as can be and I still got cut up on zebra mussels. I am sure the fish have the same problem especially in the shallows when the wind is pounding. Try cutting yourself and letting it stew in lake water, nasty things happen to the smallest of cuts. |
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| All I need to say is CWD. How many big fish kill off's did you see in erie? seen none when i was there. Caught lots of fish all looked healthy...So yes we may have it...will it kill everyting off. Probably not. As Jerry said armchair biologists. More rules to abide by. More of a hassle at the boat launch but yet we'll open the lochs. This State always amazes me...I ouv it to hate it...lol |
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| So fishnfur you caught and weight one at a tournament and you had how many in your live well with the diseases fish? And did they put that one suspected fish in with all the other in the holding tank? |
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Location: Appleton wi | I remember kendal saying at spring sheboygan club meeting that infected fish die rather quick after showing symptons and i'm thinking he said within 36hours ? Anyone else remember? Jaymon or Jerry can remember what he said? |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Eye lunker,
I can't say that I recall him saying that. It may be true.....it may not be true. But, that is my point.
We need FACTUAL information, not speculation and heightened awareness based on rumor. And I'm not saying what Kendall might have said is not factual.....far from it. I think he is one of our best resources of information. But if we go into this saying that someone said something without knowing it for certain we run the risk of creating chaos.
I do not think this is an attempt for DNR's of all states involved to create regulation.....I think VHS is very real and a possible end-all to our fisheries. I am taking it's threat very seriously, as I think everyone should. I've written to fisheries biologists in NY, OH, and MI getting their impressions of what they witnessed so far and where they think this thing is going. As I receive information I'll be happy to share it with everyone here. My point is to search for facts, publish them as you find them, and stay away from rumor and inuendo.
Eye lunker.....I just found some notes I had from Kendall's talk and if he did indeed say that I didn't write it down. It might be best to send him an email to find out if that is true.
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| first off, i'm not an armchair biologist. my degree says i'm an actual biologist.
to our guest, obviously the fish with vhs was in my livewell. it helped me cash a pretty nice check. the winnebago system is all i fish now because i don't want to go through the whole decontamination process. i know the virus is going to spread to other inland waters, whether it's going to be from someone's boat or some unaware fisherman (kids) planting fish in other waters. this disease is going to end up everywhere the zebra mussel ended up. i think the only thing we can pray for is that it mutates into something less lethal.
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Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | It is a FACT that I do not remember seeing sores on this like this on 'bago walleye in the past.
Is it FACTUAL that VHS might be a "possible end-all to our fisheries" or is that specualtion on your part?
I don't see anything wrong in sharing a few stories about what we are and are not seeing on this. Nothing that we are going to do or say is going to change the course this takes for the Great Lakes and Lake Winnebago. Hopefully the attention it is getting will help stop the spread, but I am somewhat doubtful that we can do anything but slow the disease down.
I think it is also important to remember that while VHS has not been here for long, the virus has been in Japan and along the coastal US for decades. These areas have been able to survive, which suggests to me that there is a good chance that so will Green Bay and Lake Winnebago. |
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| I can recall back in the Mid 80's a huge whitebass die off on lake Koshkonong, virtually every whitebass that was there, died. There were thousands and thousands of dead white bass, what caused that? I don't know and the DNR didn't at the time. It stands to reason that I could blame VHS, because I know of it now? Right? (Insert sarcasm here).
I don't believe VHS is something terribly new to this area, I think what's new is that it has a name now. I agree the "markings" that I have seen on 'bago walleyes this year is something "new" that I've seen in 'Bago. At the same time, VHS is "new" according to the DNR. I posted a picture on a another thread, and can repost it if anyone wants to see it. But it has very similar "markings" to the 'Bago fish and we caught it in Green Bay in July of 2004...3 years ago. Those fish are still there and there hasn't been any major die offs that I'm aware of. So yes, I get tired of the Chicken Little comments, and the "we as sportmen... "don't care"... " need more rules"..."blah blah blah".
As Rich eluded to before (I think), the underlying factor in all of this is the politics between the DNR and The Friends of the Fox and the State. This is nothing but a game of "poker" and the DNR played its first card against the Locks opening. Opinioin, Yes, but the timing couldn't of been any better.
Now, with that said, I can't wait to go catch some VHS infested Salmons this weekend 
Edited by Jayman 6/29/2007 8:35 AM
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Hey Jayman, where are you going to be heading out for salmon this weekend? If it is anywhere near the Manitowoc area, give me a call. You have my number programmed in your cell phone. It's under your drunk call list. LOL! |
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| Bob, that would be the Drunk Dial list, please make a note of it
Will be going out of TRivers....but probably gonna head south to avoid the nets. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Smart move going South. I was going to recommend that. (Approx 5 miles hint hint) I gotta take the kids out on the bay tomorrow. If you are traveling on Hwy 10 on your way home, stop in for a cold one. I'm only 2 miles North of 10 off 43. I probably won't be out too late. Good Luck! Wow! Are we off subject for this thread or what? No more from me. |
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| Probably won't have time, Bob, thanks for the offer.
BTW, call my cell tonight, when I'm on the water. I don't seem to have you in my drunk dial list. hahaha |
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| Quick question. What do you guys do with the fish you catch that have these sores present? Clean them and eat them? Throw in the trash?
Thanks for your answer. |
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Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Please eat them. They are fine for human consumption. |
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| Caught a 22 inch walleye on Winnebago with a 3 inch by 6 inch patch of bleeding on one of its sides - all the scales from the patch were missing - also had smaller bloody spots all along the base of the dorsal fin - kept the fish to eat - all the bleeding was in the skin and the meat looked fine - one weird thing I noticed was the fish was still full of eggs - I have to believe that being full of eggs at the end of June is abnormal |
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| All the female walleyes I caught last week on the Bay of Green Bay had eggs in them. Some of the females had egg sacs with one being bright pink and the other being black and dead looking.
Is this normal???
Was anyone at the FLW Weigh-in? I had a friend there that said that most of the Walleyes were dead and that very few were returned to the water. He said so many were dead that it caused people to call their Representatives in Madison and ask them to look into banning tournaments on the Bay of Green bay because they are wasting a great resource all in the name of tournament fishing. |
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| Oh, man. Did I miss the tournament? What a waste of $300! And now there is no way I can make the finals. I wonder why my team mates didn't call me and remind me? |
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Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin | Hahaha... Shep.
I think Mr. GB guest either needs to get some new friends or figure out how to lie a little better.
FLW tourney is this coming weekend GB guest... a.k.a. = Mr. Honesty.
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| There are all kinds of viruses out there. Here is one recently found in Carp in the Mississippi! You never know what the bleeding is until it is officially tested!
I too am concerned that the armchair biologists are now everywhere, there are thousands of fishermen and very few that are taking the time to research the subject. I'll take a armchair biologist anyday if he does his part in reducing the spread......Doesn't concern me in the least, What I won't accept are the ones that are in the know are in denial of the problem and its severity!
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2007...
Good Luck
Tyee |
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| Here's one that Lauren caught on Poygan on Father's Day. I've caught several fish that looked like this over the years, on the Bago chain, other US lakes, and even in Canada.
The fish was fine, otherwise. I doubt it was VHS.
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 Bleeding Eye.JPG (71KB - 121 downloads)
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