Lampreys ???

I fished some backwaters south of Wabasha yesterday and got into a pretty nice pike. When we got the fish netted and in the boat we found that a lamprey had come in with it and dropped off when it realized that it was out of the water….like they do on lake trout in Superior. Upon a bit of an inspection of the pike we found four wounds that are like those I see on Lake Trout in L.Superior and all were recent with one being bloody.

This critter was about 5-6 inches long and it looked identical to those found in Lake Superior. Somewhere I thought I had read that we have some small lampreys that are and have been common in this area, but in all my years of fishing the river and the Rochester area waters I have never seen one.

We see so much about our natural waterways being assaulted by devious foriegn entities that it got me wondering if lampreys could have gotten shuffled into the big river system somehow. Wouldn’t that be a mess to try and resolve, given all the tributaries and watersheds that enter the Mississippi.

yes lampreys have been in pool 4 for sometime now. they are actually fairly common on northern pike. i have also seen them on paddlefish, but never a walleye or sauger. i, too do not like all of the exotics in our waters, funny the native fish actually survive as good as they do.

Here’s one from spring 06. Upper pool 4.

Check out those teeth!

Jason it looks like you snagged that ugly thing, ugh!!

Yup, dragging ringies in the shallows. Things don’t fight worth a darn!

Its not uncommon to see 10 a day on the st croix while sturgeon fishing. We have had 6 or more on one fish before.

Dave Koonce had one on a LM Bass yesterday. Sadly, it’s head fell off before I could safely return it to the water….

Note to self: Do not pick up Lampreys with scissors. Their heads fall off…..

Jason, why are you wearing a glove when holding that gentle little creature? Chicken? Me too!!!

Great Bait! …so I hear, although I would guess a person wouldn’t want to transport them.

I caught a crappie on the St Croix a few years back with one on. Did a little research and found they are quite wide spread. According to the research I did, they don’t kill thier host…If the host fish gets sick…the lamprey looses it’s free meal too…

PS…Jason, my good neighbor came over and removed the one I had in my live well. Dang Favorite Wife wouldn’t do it.

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Check out those teeth!

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YUCK!!!

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Jason, why are you wearing a glove when holding that gentle little creature? Chicken? Me too!!!

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That was actually my boss’ gloved hand. I’ve been taking him out during the early portion of the spring run for the past several years.

I’m not sure that I would have even handled it. Like Tom, I would have been likely to try to pick it up with a knife or a pair of scissors.

Snagged my first one this year on a crank in Pepin. Didnt have a scissors with but the needle nose did its job

Yep….that’s the little critter in the pics. Thanks for the lessons guys.

I have dealt with eels in the boat on the river and they are about as much fun as a skunk in your tent [had that happen too], but this lamprey thing was a bit past my limits. Time to employ the fish billie hanging in the garage.

When I was a kid I never had to endure this sort of negligence.

I would think what you guys are catching are the native lampreys. Not the ones that are in the great lakes. Maybe think twice about killing them.

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Maybe think twice about killing them.

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On second thought……yep, I would still pick them up with a pair of scissors and accidently decapitate them

I’m seeing a ton this year on the Croix and Namekagon rivers. Alarming actually.

I caught a fairly large walleye last year that had one on it on pool 8. Its the only time i’v ever seen one around here though.