Walleye Discussion Forums
| View previous thread :: View next thread | |
| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] Walleye Fishing -> General Discussion -> Great Lakes Silver Lampreys? |
walleye express |
| ||
 Member Posts: 2680 Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | In one of the Next Bite episodes, season 2 and titled Motor City Muskies, I watched with amazment as Pete Maina and his quests caught Muskie after Muskie that had small Lampreys on them. I knew from what I've ever learned/known about Sea Lampreys, that the ocean transplant variety that the Great Lakes has, especially at that size, have not smolted out of their natal rivers yet, and do not (for the most part) seek out and attach themselves to large game fish, especially ones with scales. But a recent article in the detroit news cleared all this up for me and heres the article with picture. In addition to the exotic and destructive sea lamprey, Michigan’s waters support populations of 4 native lamprey species. The Great Lakes and connecting waters of southeast Michigan are home to an abundant population of silver lamprey (Ichthyomyzon unicuspis). These parasites prey on many of the fish species present in Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River, including carp, drum, redhorse suckers, channel catfish, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, and walleye. The favorite prey for silver lamprey in Lake St. Clair are muskie and lake sturgeon, probably because they are large and have soft scales or lack scales. These lamprey attach to their hosts and rasp their skin enough to obtain nutrition from seeping blood. However, anglers need not be alarmed about silver lamprey populations in the waters of southeast Michigan. Silver lamprey have co-habited and co-evolved through thousands of years with lake sturgeon, muskie, smallmouth bass, and walleye. As a result, silver lamprey parasitism does not negatively affect the abundance of important sport fish species in these waters. A typical adult silver lamprey from Lake St. Clair. In a recent story in the Detroit Free Press, State and federal biologists say that lamprey numbers in those waters do appear to be up, but they probably don't present a threat to game fish because they are small, native silver lampreys, not the larger and more voracious exotic sea lampreys that nearly wiped out the Great Lakes lake trout populations 50 years ago. Gary Towns, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources fisheries resources manager for southeastern Michigan, said, "We've seen larger numbers (of lampreys) in those areas, but we're not sure why. They're probably all silver lampreys, although some of them can be very dark in color." "The silver and chestnut lampreys evolved with the other animals in the Great Lakes. They've had thousands of years to figure out how to get along," he said. But sea lampreys evolved in the oceans with access to much larger prey. When they came into the Great Lakes through man-made shipping canals, they preyed primarily on slow-moving, soft-skinned lake trout, which were the biggest fish available that the lampreys could easily parasitize. Within about 30 years, lake trout were virtually wiped out in most of the Great Lakes, because unlike native lampreys, the bigger sea lampreys drained the fish until they died. "Silver lampreys don't usually kill fish," Towns said. "They feed on them for a while and then drop off. I'm sure some smaller fish do die from the (parasitism), and if you had 20 on a big fish like a muskie it would probably kill it, but that's not they way they work. "There probably were a lot more silver lamprey in the pre-settlement days" before the rivers were polluted, Towns said. "But who knows? We may be seeing a resurgence, or maybe we're seeing the peak of a cycle. These (waters) are changing so fast, and we've got a lot to learn." Edited by walleye express 9/18/2006 9:48 AM Attachments ----------------  lamprey[1].jpg (91KB - 1079 downloads) | ||
| |||
| sworrall |
| ||
Location: Rhinelander | |||
| |||
| walleye express |
| ||
Member Posts: 2680 Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | sworrall - 9/20/2006 9:55 AM Ugly critters but not too harmful, as the article states. That thing looks like it belongs on a 1/4 Ounce jig! Actually Steve, I think they're kind cute with those little black beedy eye's and round head/face. Reminds me of an X foreman I had years ago at the foundry. He was a cute little blood sucker as well.   Edited by walleye express 9/20/2006 11:24 AM | ||
| |||
| Terroreyes |
| ||
| We were catching pike this spring with the ones in your picture on them around the Detroit River. Biggest was about 10-12". Fat enough that it couldn't get ot my splashwell drain holes. He went for a ride with us for a while. They do leave a nasty wound on the fish. | |||
| |||
| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] |
| Search this forum Printer friendly version E-mail a link to this thread |
