Would you eat this Walleye?

[Bobber Down 921]

I would take a hard pass on this one.

 

[mad scientist 140]

Dermal sarcoma.  Ugly, but not dangerous to humans.

 

I still would have thrown it back.

 

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish_diseases/dermalsarcoma.html

 

[sinker7 114]

One for the in-laws!!!

[speckmaster 114]

3 hours ago, sinker7 said:

One for the in-laws!!!

Mother in law gets the first fillet

[Barrski 23]

I  have fished a lake up by Ignace that have produced several fish with the sores on them  A ministry friend that was on the lake told me it is usually due to overpopulation and not enough food source so the walleye bite or nibble at each other .  Nothing wrong with the meat 

If it’s more than a couple I usually throw them back.

When you clean them you will find a red sore on the meat which I carve out 

 

[Barrski 23]

The fish we caught do not have the same type of sores. Mostly around tail area and back of fish, sores more white than reddish as showed in link 

[mad scientist 140]

On 9/29/2023 at 10:24 PM, Barrski said:

 A ministry friend that was on the lake told me it is usually due to overpopulation and not enough food source so the walleye bite or nibble at each other .  

 

Not exactly.  It's a virus that is specific to walleye.  Think of it like warts on people (which are also caused by a virus)...the skin is affected, not the muscle underneath.  It can be more prevalent in large populations, because the walleye are in closer contact to each other...not unlike when they were telling people to isolate during covid.

 

It's not harmful to the fish, the spots usually go away over the winter that the fish can look normal the following year.

[Barrski 23]

Thanks for the clarification, it makes a lot more sense that it’s a virus as the fish have warts not scares 

The fact that it spreads more rapid if the walleye are in close contact as this lake is hardly fished and ur catching nice size fish every second or third cast 

Thanks Barrski