a question i hope someone can answer

[devondave]

today whilst carp fishing i caught myself a bream almost as soon as i set up! this little chap was covered in what i can only describe as white/clear lice i sent him on his way caught a few carp all of which had these same small lice on them i caught another bream again with lice on him too but he also had white spots which when i touched them they were rough a bit like barnicles!! i sent him on his way but thought i better investigate what these lice and spots are as i was quite concerned for the fishes health!

does anyone have any ideas?

are the lice or spots common?

ive never seen them before so thought i better ask for advice!

[fishypaul]

these white spots dave are almost certainly a result of spawning,bream seem to get them more than any other fish,
not sure about the lice though

[baitmaster]

yes dave what fishypaut says i agree with what the lice are about i too not got a clue did you imform the fisherie about these lice ??

tightlines
kevin

[devondave]

no kev i didnt but i think i will mention it as 2 of you have now seemed to show no signs of ever seeing something like this before... its mainly a match lake 7acres carp (supposedly) to 32lbs.. personally i caught nearly 20 carp not one of them over 4lbs!!! and alot of them had scales missing/damaged and bits taken out of there backs.. (i presume some of this is spawning damage) the rest i think is careless match fisherman and keepnets!! i bl**dy hate keepnets was such a shame to see and i was going to call the fishery and tell them about this anyway

[geffski]

thought white spots on a breams back wher just breeding colours?

[master_angler11]

id say them are spots that they have been around other fish that are spawning cuz i've been told carp will eat eggs if they are hungry enough not for sure.

good job though catching them

[Greenheart]

Make sure you dip your landing net to steralize it before going to another fishery. Don't want to spread anything nasty.

[devondave]

oh i steralize my net when i come home anyway and then dip it again at the venue... comes from sea fishing i guess as i always take my landing net sea fishing with me and seasalt can ruin a net if you aint careful!

[nimue]

hi dave,
Yeah white nodules are from spawning, lice on freshwater fish I've never seen before and I fish a lot.
Fished today and got a few carp to 16lbs as usual, never gonna break 20. sea fish with lice is quite common, i agree with previous replier...tell fishery manager, I think he has a problem he needs to deal with pronto.

Cheers, tight lines. Jules.

[Bigdave]

Originally Posted by devondave

today whilst carp fishing i caught myself a bream almost as soon as i set up! this little chap was covered in what i can only describe as white/clear lice i sent him on his way caught a few carp all of which had these same small lice on them i caught another bream again with lice on him too but he also had white spots which when i touched them they were rough a bit like barnicles!! i sent him on his way but thought i better investigate what these lice and spots are as i was quite concerned for the fishes health!

does anyone have any ideas?

are the lice or spots common?

ive never seen them before so thought i better ask for advice!

Hi Devon Dave, the 'barnicles' are spawning tubicles, they rub them against the females to induce her to shed her eggs during spawning. Roach and rudd can have them too but not always. The lice are a nasty little parasite that live on the fishes protective mucus but can also cause a loss of condition in the fish. Your fisheriey manager/owner should be told about this as the water can be treated and the lice alliminated with out causeing harm to the fish or other wildlife. The environment agency can help with this. Hope this has been of help and tight lines mate .