Guys – and any Ladies that may be looking,

Brian Brecka, WI DNR sent me this news release on the diseased bass – the original topic I started a while ago. Very informative.

News Release

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
West Central Region Headquarters – Eau Claire
PO Box 4001 Eau Claire, WI 54702-4001
Phone: (715) 839-3700 TDD: (715) 839-2786
For Release: December 13, 2002

Contact(s): Pat Short, Fisheries Biologist, Wisconsin DNR, 608-326-8818;
Scott Gritters, Fisheries Biologist, Iowa DNR, 563-252-1156;
Pam Thiel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 608-783-8431;
Upper Mississippi Refuge, McGregor Office, 563-873-3423

Bass virus in Mississippi Pools 10 and 11
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Iowa and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists are coordinating efforts to learn more about numerous largemouth bass with lesions and sores discovered during routine sampling of fish over-wintering areas in Pools 10 and 11 on the Mississippi River. While some backwater areas had no affected fish in some sections infection was as high as 38 percent.

Several diseased fish have been examined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service LaCrosse Fish Health Center in LaCrosse, WI. Lab results indicated that these fish suffered from a host of bacterial infections. The principle bacterial agent is a bacterium called Aeromonas hydrophila. In addition, a few bass did have largemouth bass virus, a pathogen never before detected in this area. Both these organisms are known to cause problems when fish are excessively stressed.

For anglers, eating fish from the Mississippi River does not pose a threat to human health. Bacteria A. hydrophila can infect people, according to Sue Marcquenski, a Department of Natural Resources fish health specialist. She explained that it is a fairly common infection in commercial fishermen and usually enters through open cuts or sores on the hand. Anglers should heed common sense when encountering dead or sick fish. Sick or dead fish should not be used for human consumption. Washing hands with soap and water at the end of the day also is a recommended preventive practice if sick fish are encountered.

The primary reason these bass became ill is unknown. Stress lowers the natural defenses of fish and allows opportunistic infections such as these a chance to gain a foothold. Bass living in the Mississippi face many causes of potential stress such as poor water quality, repeated handling by anglers, long distance overwintering movements and crowded conditions in backwater habitat.

To survive the winter conditions in the Mississippi River, bass use lakes that are too deep to freeze to the bottom and have little or no water current flowing through them. This type of backwater habitat is becoming very limited on the river due to siltation. Bass have been found to move eight miles to get to these high quality overwintering areas. In addition, since these areas are so limited, thousands of fish crowd into them. Crowding and movements elevate stress levels, weaken the immune system, and permit the rapid transmission of diseases among fish.

The bacterial sickness was also found in a few bluegills and a similar fish called warmouth but infection rates were much lower. Ice anglers who come across fish with lesions are asked to notify a local fisheries biologist. In this way, fisheries scientists can track this outbreak and document its impact on the Mississippi River fishery. Because diseased fish were collected within areas of the Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, fishery biologists are working with Refuge staff to document and seek solutions to this problem.

For further information, please contact Scott Gritters, fisheries biologist, Iowa DNR, 563-252-1156; Pat Short, fisheries biologist, Wisconsin DNR, 608-326-8818; Pam Thiel, biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service, 608-783-8431; or the Upper Mississippi Refuge, McGregor Office, 563-873-3423.

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The following counties are in the West Central Region: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon, Wood.

The public affairs manager for the DNR West Central Region is: Dave Weitz (phone – (715) 839-3715.

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Hey guys, I have been emailing Brian Brecka, a WI DNR biologist about the sick looking fish. He says the fish in the pictures which I will send have not yet been diagnosed yet, the IA DNR boys are working on it, and that LMBV does not have external manifestations; and he gave me an internet site that discusses the illness: http://www.fishingenet.com/Features/vgvirus.html. I looked it up and it is interesting. I wanted to set the record straight and don’t want to be spreading a false rumor. But I also hope they figure out what is causing the lesions on those fish folks are reporting, I want to know if it is something we should be concerned about or just one of those curves mother nature throws at her children, and has since the dawn of time.

Gonna reply to my own post here, just thought of something else in response to Bassman’s reply. I heard earlier this fall that lmv has been found in Pools 3, 4 and 7.

So that is what Largmouth bass virus looks like? Nasty! I just sort of figured that lmv was a disease that had internal manifestations, sort of a piscatorial equivalent of cwd, where the fish would just get sick and die. The Iowa DNR apparently discovered it in one of the lakes on the Iowa side of Pool 10, and they and WI DNR are looking into it. If anyone wants to see a set of pictures about it, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] and I’ll forward them. The file of photos is a lot bigger than 100000 bytes so I won’t post it here. Thanks to all who have posted, and no, I haven’t gotten around to reading Bassmaster for the last few months. That will be one of my winter projects and I look forward to reading up on it (and more uplifting things too).

Hey Hawger, I can handle the good words! Keep in touch, always looking for someone to wet a line with.

Thanks mavzer and Back water Eddy for the tips. I got maybe 80% of the stink out, plan to leave the boat out for a couple of days and will fish Saturday. so it should get plenty of sun.