Worms in Perch on Couch?

Has anyone been finding lots of worms in their Perch on Couch?

I was out this past weekend with some buddies, and we filled a bucket and brought them home to clean.. they were all littered with worms, like not just a couple that you could pick out, like literally littered!

I wont ever keep fish from there again without first filleting one on the ice to double check, so much fish went to waste I feel terrible!

Anyone else experiencing this? And does these worms die off when the water gets colder?

type worms in the search and you will find lots of info...they are still fine to eat, no harm at all...also are easy to pick out with a knife...it is mainly limited to couch..perch from the main lake are usually fine...i only fish the east side for perch and may find 5 worms for every 50 fish

First off, shame on you for apparently throwing out the fish. That's a royal waste of the resource.

Secondly, no they don't die off.

Perhaps you should stick to Simcoe. Couch has always, and will continue in the foreseeable future, to have worms. You need to either pick through them to get rid of them or just cook thoroughly and eat. They're not hazardous.

They are not too bad at all. Out of the 14 that I have filleted, I've only had to take out 6 worms. They are tiny little white inch worm like things, flick em out with a knife down the sink and good to go.

Just think of it as surf and turf...

ah,dont judge the guy for being nervous,now he knows,,,,if i found worms in my perch i dont think i could eat them

extra protein thats all

The last post on worms in perch was suggestion of putting the fillets in salted water for a period of time.

Will trying that myself when I next catch perch with worms.

Why is one lake no worms and the other lake lots? They are attached . . . ?

Different type of water?

Thanks

Worms? Soaking the fillets in salt water?? Never heard that one. When do you add pepper? LOL.....

It is my understanding freezing does nothing. Just cook the fish properly. Fish is safe...... Just think of the worms as flavour buds......

By the way, what do you think is in your pork???

Numerous canned goods with an allowance of crickets, or ???????

Catfish from "other" countries being raised in brutal water. Many vendors / processors just focus on profits.

When you buy packaged, frozen fish, how do you know what is really inside? US does not demand more info on packaging nor do they have enough folks to check / test. They must post fish in their counters with country of origin.

That $$ beaaaaauty of a sword fish on your plate, may very well be shark.

Oh yes, what is a Chicken McNugget??????????

It is my understanding that Maple Leaf foods is an example of a company that has a tremendous focus on generating quality foods.

Enjoy your hard earned fish..................

i believe its cause couch is a shallow lake,ive caught perch in wasi lake which is shallow as well and there were worms in the perch....
i may be wrong,

salt might draw the worms out,ever put salt on a dew worm?

I agree that deeper water perch may have less critters.

So, what about bathing saltwater fish with worms?? In saltwater?? Freshwater??
I have never heard about the saltwater solving the problem. I started to ask around here.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997

S.O. 1997, CHAPTER 41

Abandonment or spoilage of fish

(5) A person who takes a fish whose flesh is suitable for human consumption shall not,

(a) abandon the fish if its flesh may become unsuitable for human consumption; or

( permit the flesh to become unsuitable for human consumption. 1997, c. 41, s. 36 (5).

The presence of yellow grubs ("worms") in the flesh of fish does not affect it's suitability for human consumption, so if you keep the fish you are legally obligated to consume it!

I found this article below for round worms.
Interesting that this states freezing solves everything. Every angler I have spoken to over the years has said freezing does not solve the problem.



"Are round worms dangerous?

There have been cases of human illness caused by the ingestion of live Phocanema or Anisakis larvae in countries where raw or lightly cured fish is commonly eaten. By 1980, there had been only one reported case of illness in the United Kingdom caused by larval round worms from fish; this is because in the UK fish products are normally cooked before consumption. Phocanema and Anisakis larvae are killed in 1 minute at a temperature of 60°C or over. In practice this means that cooking a fillet 3 cm thick for 10 minutes at 60°C will kill any worms present. The temperature of a cold smoking process, for example kippering, is not high enough to kill parasites, but in a commercial hot smoking process a high enough temperature is usually maintained for long enough to kill them. Freezing of fish at - 20°C for 60 hours kills all worms.

Anisakis larvae are resistant to salting; immersion in 80° brine, 21 per cent salt, for 10 days will kill all larvae, but in brine of lower strength they can survive for much longer. Anisakis is also resistant to marinating. When there is any doubt about whether Anisakis will survive a process it is safest to use frozen fish. The ability of Phocanema to withstand salting or marinating is not known, but it is probably similar to that of Anisakis."


I say, cook it properly and reflect on your day on the water.

Yellow Grub
CLINOSTOMUM (TREMATODA)
This is the common "grub" found in our freshwater fish as a yellow worm up to 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) long just under the skin, or in the flesh. Yellow grub has been reported from so many kinds of freshwater fish in North America that apparently no fish is immune to it. Normal cooking of the fish destroys the grub and the flavor of the fish is not altered

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-1...26966--,00.html

i believe its cause couch is a shallow lake,ive caught perch in wasi lake which is shallow as well and there were worms in the perch....
i may be wrong,

salt might draw the worms out,ever put salt on a dew worm?

Lake St John has hot water pumping into it and it feeds into Couch, that makes perfect conditions for the worms to survive. I've found Couch starts and finishes the hard water season with worms present but often thins out in the middle of the season.

I have heard and tried the soaking in salt water and it takes a long time to work.
Easy to pick worms out.
Close inspection of the fish will show worms in the ones that are heavily invested. If you can't see any from the outside then should only be a couple in worst case.