Spear Fishing - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[GrowingLad]

Had a few days owed to me due to upgrade work carried out over the weekends.

I checked the weather yesterday and saw that today was going to be a good one. Cleared it with the boss at work and the other one at home and took a sneaky Friday trip on the boat.

She's sat on the trailer for a couple of months so there was a couple of maintenance jobs to take care of, then I'm off.

The Good.

It's like a mill pond, so I puttle along at tickover with a trawling line out and knock up a couple of bacon rolls whilst I chug along. Tasty they were too!!

Get to the spot I'm gonna try for Spear fishing/Harpoon Gun.
Catch a couple of okay fish that on their own, not much to write home about but together they'll taste good with a nice Salad and Ouzo.

The Bad:

Bad luck for this fella:

Spotted this fella and tried my luck at herding him into the shallows..Worked better than I could have hope for, went into a dead end rock pool where I managed to get a nice clean shot.

He's going to be very tasty in a few hours

The Ugly:

Sitting on the swim platform, cleaning the fish when I suddenly notice something in one of the fish that I've cleaned.

Now I've read about these but never seen one in the flesh. I believe it's a parasite that sits in the mouth of the fish.

Glad I found him before the wife started cooking them....I can just imagine the scream coming from the kitchen when this fella poked his head out.

I don't want to find out if he's tasty!

 

[Rum_Pirate]

The parasite is an 'isopod'

also known as Isopods (sea lice) are crustaceans that are widely distributed throughout the world in marine and estuarine environments, with a few species found in fresh water.
These parasites adhere to fish gills, skin, and fins and may also live in the mouth and gill cavities.
Isopod infestation is confirmed by gross observation. The presence of this parasite can interfere with feeding, cause chronic stress, and result in growth retardation and make the fish susceptible to bacterial and/or parasitic invasions.
Injured tissues are frequently invaded by secondary bacterial pathogens, and this may lead to disease or even death of the fish.

I like your fish

 

[Rum_Pirate]

Ever seen one of these?

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In most wahoo you fillet you will find the trematode (Hirudinella ventricosa), a parasite which inhabits their stomach. They are medium to dark brown and slug-like in texture and appearance. Usually about the size and shape of a human thumb, but can much smaller, especially in small fish.

 

[GrowingLad]

Ever seen one of these?

Oppphhhh, that could really put you off the fish you are about to eat.

Took the boys out for their evening stroll. Pleasant evening, so stayed out for quite a while.

Got back and I can smell cooking fish.....I quite had my eye on the large one, but the wife got there first and cooked it for our daughter. I thought she'd only eat half and I'd get the other half....oh no, polished off the lot, she's only two and a bit!!!

To rub salt into the wounds, for our bed time story she wanted to read a pop up book she has about the ocean....kept pointing to fish and rubbing her belly...oh well, at least she appreciated it!



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[Rum_Pirate]

My daughter wont eat fish, no how, no way, full stop!!!

 

[GrahamHR]

parasites

I remember catching a ca. 10 lb pollock when I was an "A" level zoology ""student" (= 6th former). After gutting it, I was amazed at the number of parasitic worms in the flesh, particularly around the body cavity. They stayed alive for quite a while after they were removed. Loads in the stomach and intestines as well. Not so keen on eating fish since then !

I've also come across a few flies flying around crazily; gave them a smack and out came loads of maggots of some kind; horrible ! But I don't eat flies so I'm not that bothered!

Graham

 

[taz]

I remember catching a ca. 10 lb pollock when I was an "A" level zoology ""student" (= 6th former). After gutting it, I was amazed at the number of parasitic worms in the flesh, particularly around the body cavity. They stayed alive for quite a while after they were removed. Loads in the stomach and intestines as well. Not so keen on eating fish since then !

I've also come across a few flies flying around crazily; gave them a smack and out came loads of maggots of some kind; horrible ! But I don't eat flies so I'm not that bothered!

Graham

Neither am I, now.