Lamprey’s.. are the numbers dropping?

Has anyone else been noticing less lampreys this year? Not only less brought to the boat connected to fish, but far less fresh lamprey wounds on the fish compared to the last couple years.

Last year, it wasnt uncommon to catch a fish with a few attatched. I think the 63″ Whisker Hooked caught had at least 6-8 still connected, and several fresh wounds(yuck). On any given day, it was normal to get at least 6 in to the boat on any given day.

This year, I think I have seen 4 combined with well over 150 fish in the boat? That seems like a very drastic change. Are the numbers down, or maybe they havent shown up in full force yet while the fish are still moving at full speed in the warm water?

I am 90% certain that Eel’s eat lampreys… I know there is at least a fair population of them, but I dont think they eat enough to thin out the lampreys… too many shad around.

Anyone notice the fewer lampreys?

We’re at the 9th year of the 11 year cycle.

That and the sheepie population is up.

I saw the first one ever yesterday on a 35 incher. Last year I boated over 100 stureon and never saw one so I must just be lucky with that.

Can’t speak to the numbers as it was or first time out yesterday. We however had one in the boat and one on another fish that got pinched off by the wrapped up line on another fish. I didn’t see it come off, so after the release I searched high and low. I didn’t want an surprises, especially with bare feet.

Ps. Has anyone had one latch onto them. The one in the boat sure tried when I picked him up.

Hanson has a nifty tool for taking off or holding a lamprey…I think he called it a scissors.

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Hanson has a nifty tool for taking off or holding a lamprey…I think he called it a scissors.

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I’m a nature boy and I only kill those icky house centipedes.Even spiders catch a break from me, against the desires of the GF.

centipedes have feelings too.

I believe I read that the DNR recommends at least removing lampreys if not killing them. It seems futile to just remove them because they’ll attach to the next fish the get close to in a millisecond.

More research.

I was going to ask if it was illegal to put them back. Considering they are just going to find another host, next time I’m killing them. It’s not a hard decision, sturgeon health over a lamprey’s life.

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Ps. Has anyone had one latch onto them. The one in the boat sure tried when I picked him up.

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I heard from someone they make great pasties… let us know how that works out.

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I heard from someone they make great pasties… let us know how that works out.

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Oh my, that makes me shudder just thinking about it. I was talking to Manny at Bob’s and he had the same question I did. If they latch on to you will they rasp right away. My guess is they would, since that’s what they do. They need to get a good grip right away. If I have enough in me sometime I might be willing to put one on my arm just to say I did it. I said might.

After encountering a 4 or 5 inch lamprey, I am seriously reconsidering my desire to catch an eel.

How do you remove a lamray without injuring the fish? I’m not a sturgeon fisherman so I don’t encounter them. Just curious in case I run into the situation one day.

It is not just a sturgeon problem. I have pulled them off walleyes, carp, and I saw a scar on a sheepie one time. I have always grabbed a pliers and just pulled. I figured the damage was already done, and jsut getting rid of it was the best thing for the fish. I released the ones I got before, right into the garbage can at Everts

They secrete an anticoagulant, so I wonder if there is any risk in pulling a well established one?

45 acp

I fish lakes 99% of the time, and I don’t see lamprey in those waters. However, I want to make sure I do the right thing if I’m on a river and find a lamprey. I figure I’d just cut it with a sissors or the hook cutters I carry in the boat. I don’t know if the lamprey’s head should be pulled from the fish, or if I could cut the body and let nature remove the lamprey?

I think in that case I would remove it. I think is you left the head and it was stuck on there good, it’d probably be at risk for infection. Take it off and the fish will get a good slime coat going on it.

The thought has crossed my mind that why hasn’t anyone developed a CPR cream or oil. You know, something you could rub on a fish where you hooked it and any other wounds it may have. Something that wouldn’t interfere with a fishes own natural defenses. I’ve seen some pretty nasty infections and fungus on fish I have caught and it would be nice to have something to treat it. I suppose it isn’t very practical, because it would wash out pretty quickly and any medication that would work immediately would probably be too strong for the fish.

Am I boring you? Oh, I am sorry.

They will just fall of within a few minutes of being out of water.

I just pull/scrape them off and let them cook in the sunlight in the boat. Sometimes you can stick them to a flat surface(outside of livewell) and they will stay there for quite some time(until death).

Freaky little buggers. I hope I didnt speak out too soon, I seen 4 on Sunday.

It seems the Lamprey talk only comes up this time of year. Do you guys get them on cats in the Miss and MN rivers too?

I’ve never seen one on a cat…but I have seen marks on the sturgeon on the sippi. Certainly not as many as in the Croix.

I’ve never seen one on a cat, either.

The easiest way to remove lamprey is to take your pliers, latch onto it’s head and sqeeze the life out of it. The head will release from the fish and then you can toss it back for the crayfish and turtles to munch on.

Warning for the squeemish – If they wrap around your hand and wrists, it may cause you to scream like a school girl and drop your pliers in the water.

It seems to me that a cat’s skin would be tough to latch onto, especially compared to a fish with scales or a sturgeon with their sandpaper skin. Plus, any lamprey caught near a flathead isn’t a parasite, it’s dinner.

I caught a channel this year with a healed mark on top of its head, that is the only one I recall.

Dave, you think the lamprey’s tail got just a little too close to that cat’s mouth?

…or maybe one of his buddies he was paling around with in the river.

I’ve only seen one with a lamprey on it. Should I have taken it off? My friend wanted to but I said “let nature take it’s course” but I suppose they’re exotic anyways. I was reading they can be so devastating under some conditions only one out of 7 fish attacked will survive. But that must not be the case with sturgeon..

Not all lamprey here are exotic. I think the native ones are chestnut lamprey?

I looked it up and that’s a lot like it looked. Or, do they all look like that? This guy stuck one to his wrist.. Sure I’ll have respect for a native fish but I don’t think I’ll be feeding them.

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