Tapeworm or parasite in bass?

Any idea what this is? Tapeworm? Caught a few bass out of lower Pigeon the other day and went to filet a few for a meal for the kids, seen this and was pretty put off.

This post has been edited by Mossy on Jul 09, 2020 - 11:19 am

It does look like a tape worm infection just as described in this article:
https://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2014/11/2...-fish-diseases/

Perhaps you should inform MNRF of Ontario. This is probably caused by introduction of foreign species like minnows or leeches used in fishing.

Hope that's an isolated case!

I’d say that’s definitely it. Thanks for the info!

Might just be its pyloric caecum

I thought bass from warm water are not safe to eat?

Once the water gets to warm they all develop worms I thought? Am I wrong?

I agree....not tapeworms

I cleaned up some perch fillets for our cat a week ago but the fillets had little white worms in them. Looked like little white spots till I touched one with tip of filleting knife and it wiggled. But this was not intestinal but right in "the meat" of the fillet. Cat had to eat canned food that night.

I’m no expert but I agree with petersaban it does look like the pyloric caeca. The worms warm water fish generally have are the small white worms in the meat, or black dots which are the eggs apparently. The meat is fine to eat once cooked but I prefer just cutting them out anyways to be on the safer side.

When I eat bass, which is rarely, they would be presumably SM bass from cold water lakes. The reasons are listed in the above threads, less issues with little wiggly things in the meat.

Cheers,

Yeah that's just the pyloric caecum as mentioned above. It's weird looking for sure if you never noticed it before. You would have or will be fine eating the fish.

yikes, not being preachy but this is another reason to release bass - I see this is all the time in the Kawarthas - Sturgeon water was 81 on Sunday. Way too warm to eat any fish in my opinion. (in the shallower lakes). They are extra wormy this year which makes sense.