Fishing

[greenwillowherefords]

We went fishing the other night out on our lease. I caught a three pound cat fish while Thomas was fixing the fence near by. He told me if we caught any he would clean them so we could eat it. We arrivled home around 9:30 and Thomas started cleaning the fish. He peeled the skin off of it with pliers and about two minutes after he did this about one hundred little white worms popped out all over the serface of the meat. Is this common or not. I have never in my life seen this. One guy told us that all the fish in the whole pond would be this way. Does any one know?
Thank You
Greenwillows wife

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

I'm not absolutely positive about this, but my understanding is that those parasitic little white worms are pretty commmon in pond raised cats, as well as bluegills. Supposedly they are not harmful to humans if the fish is properly and thoroughly cooked, but you wouldn't want sushi anyway would you :lol: ? I just bought some fingerling cats and hybrid bluegills a few weeks ago from Dunn's fish farm and I remember their website makes specific reference to stocking redear sunfish for the primary purpose of keeping the worm population down, in ponds that are stocked with cats or bluegills.

 

[Bez]

I figure these fish go in the garbage. Yuck!

Would aerating the pond help?

Bez

 

[greenwillowherefords]

I figure these fish go in the garbage. Yuck!

Would aerating the pond help?

Bez

It would probably help not only the fish, but the quality of the water for the cows. What is the best way to go about this?

The fish went into a hole in my garden.

 

[Bez]

Koenders windmills. If memory serves me - I used to buy them at the UFA in Alberta - but they are sold world wide.

Used them exclusively while in Alberta - best quality I have run into on the market - someone is bound to argue with me! :lol:

Worked from plus 100 to minus 60 degrees F. Turn and pump air with a real small puff of wind.

Be that as it may there is a pile of info on this site about aeration.

Buy them assembled. I built mine.

9,000,000,000,000,000 small pieces that go together. Takes a while.

Bez

 

[Bama]

When it get really dry and the oxygen gets low in the pond I use a pump to aerate it, just throw the discharge back into the pond. One drastic measure I have done is to drop the bushog into the water a let er rip. Be forewarned expect to get wet.

 

[bullred]

Although it is true that if cooked well the worms are not harmful to humans, they are harmful to the fish. The parasites are generally always present, but healthy fish are usually resistant. It's when the fish become stressed, and their immunities are reduced, that the problems occur.

The most common problem in pond-raised catfish is low oxygen content as has been eluded to in previous posts. The oxygen content should be at least 4 ppm. you can buy oxygen tests kits fairly cheaply. During the day the algae in the water and other aquatic plants emit oxygen through photosynthesis. At night this does not take place and the fish use this oxygen, and emit CO2. So oxygen readings should be taken early in the morning and also at sunset. When water temperatures reach 85 degrees the catfish's rate of growth accelerates, thus increaasing oxygen depletion. That's why these problems occur primarily in the warmer months.

Auburn University has a lot of information regarding raising catfish. If given a good sample of a sick fish they can diagnosis it and recommend actions for pond treatment free of charge. However, getting them a live sample is not easy.

CJ

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

EEks! I never heard of that. We have Channel Catfish that we are raising in our pond. Been catching 5-6# fish. Great eating - great fight. Deffinately would be plant fertilizer if I found worms in them. Yuk.
Of course, our pond would NEVER reach 85. Probably never gets above 65-70.
Just had catfish for supper last night. Yum. Deep fried battered fish & chips (french fries).

 

[frenchie]

Koenders windmills. If memory serves me - I used to buy them at the UFA in Alberta - but they are sold world wide.

Used them exclusively while in Alberta - best quality I have run into on the market - someone is bound to argue with me! :lol:

Worked from plus 100 to minus 60 degrees F. Turn and pump air with a real small puff of wind.

Be that as it may there is a pile of info on this site about aeration.

Buy them assembled. I built mine.

9,000,000,000,000,000 small pieces that go together. Takes a while.

Bez

Heres their website..


http://www.koenderswindmills.com

 

[eric]

I checked the windmill route also, but as I didnt see a large inheritence arriving anytime soon and I don't play the lottery, then windmills were ruled out fairly quickly. ;-) I just went down and bought a small aerator with a 12" diffuser, and then put together a large fountain, made from a sump pump and various pvc fittings and nozzles. Granted, you need electricity to run these, but since my pond is only about 1000 ft from my barn, I just ran some underground wire and put them both on a timer and the pond stays clean and the fountain looks pretty cool also. Without electricity, I guess you are stuck with the windmill, but be aware they can be kinda pricey!

 

[greenwillowherefords]

Thank You for all your posts. Do you guys think that all the fish would have worms in them. :shock: I really enjoy catching them and plan to go back over tonight to see if we can get any more. Your posts have been very helpful. ;-)
Greenwillows wife

 

[Campground Cattle]

Willow I know fish have parasites but I have never seen them in my catfish. My son skined a couple eight pounders the other day no visible worms.

 

[Bez]

eric - no inheritance needed - they run around 400 bucks Canadian - when you do the assembly. Significantly less when using U.S. bucks. At least that was the price about 2001/2.

I would never be without one again.

Bez

 

[9 ER]

Thank You for all your posts. Do you guys think that all the fish would have worms in them. :shock: I really enjoy catching them and plan to go back over tonight to see if we can get any more. Your posts have been very helpful. ;-)
Greenwillows wife

No, not all will have them. Some will. I used to pond hop quite a bit and every now and then I would catch one like that. Not sure why it affects some but not others, but my guess would be the health of the fish. Not much you can do about it except keep fishing. ;-)

 

[greenwillowherefords]

We went fishing again tonight and got another catfish. This one is 1 1/2 pounds, but it has no worms. It's really not that big, but it sure was fun to catch. I guess we will eat this one tomarrow.

 

[Bama]

Bez, do you have a website to order those windmills from. All I have saw were expensive. $2500 and way up.