Cutthroat Autopsy

[G-Man]

I’ve seen a few topics on the weather or not power bait and other man-made baits are digestible or detrimental to a fish if ingested. I recently caught a Cutthroat trout that may provide a bit more insight to the debate. The fish was caught in Lake Washington, put up a good fight for its size and looked abnormally fat. A closer examination showed that a length of monofilament was protruding for the fishes’ vent and a solid “lump” could be felt in the abdominal cavity. The fish was kept as it was believed it would not survive its present condition and a non-formal autopsy was performed. The findings were as follows:

Subject is a female Cutthroat Trout.
Approximately 16” in length and a weight of 2 pounds 5 ounces.
The subject had signs of recent saltwater travel as there were several dead sea-lice attached, all in similar states of decomposition.
The subjects head, mouth and throat did not have any signs of previous trauma, healed or otherwise.
Approximately 7” of monofilament was protruding from the vent of the subject.
The stomach contained a balled up “soft” bait resembling an 8” Berkley Power Lizard (pumpkinseed color) along with a barrel swivel attached to approximately 12” of monofilament which was threaded through the bait. (no hook or remains of a hook was found) The “lizard” was quite stiff, missing 3 of its limbs and had taken on a rough appearance, giving the impression that the fish was digesting the organic elements of the bait. The smell of the stomach contents was abnormally foul and not consistent with those of other Cutthroat trout examined.
Also, the stomach contained the remains of 2 smelt and various other foodstuffs in an advanced state of decomposition preventing their positive identification.

It is my belief that this fish would not have survived the summer, as the “lizard” had become wadded into a ball and proceeded to block off the digestive tract, evidenced by the abnormal smell emanating from the stomach. I know that at least one of the many bass fishermen who are a part of washingtonlakes.com will be able to positively identify the “lizard” found in this trout’s stomach. How this fish came to have ingested such a bait remains a mystery, and is open for speculation especially since no evidence of a hook was found. However, I think it is important to note that even though this was soft bait, possibly even one made with digestible elements, that it had an adverse effect on the fish that swallowed it. I hope this can serve as a gentle reminder why we throw all baits that have gone past their prime into an on-board trash bin and not into the water we were fishing.

I have a series of photos of the "autopsy" and will post a link as soon as I figure out how to accomplish the task.

[Lotech Joe]

G-Man,
That was a great report. Good detail and very usable information. The pics were gruesome, but the report was spot on.
Thanks for your effort.

[Marc Martyn]

Very interesting. I would be interested as to what the bait is made of.

[BassHole]

Very good report indeed!

BH

[AaronE]

The absence of a hook is probably because it rusted into nothing - just look at that swivel and you'll see it's been in the water/fish for a while. It may have already been rusted away by the time the trout hit this discarded rig.

[G-Man]

Thinking about it more and looking at the non-swivel end of the line, gives me the impression that a hook was not present at the time the fish took this bait. The end is straight and looks like it was cleanly cut. Had there been a hook that rusted away I think the end would be curled/twisted and may even still have the knot left in it, depending on which knot was used.

[delyakguy]

AWESOME Report!!! I thought this was CSI Seattle for a minute. lol. But it was interesting to see what really happens to the lost lures and snapped lines. That lizard is crazy!! If the hook has already decomposed and lizard is still there, they need to take a hard look at the environmental effects of the plastic baits on market today. Once again, Great post, nice to see pics and hope to see more like this. I would like to see a bass with senko or other large plastic in same situation.

[HillbillyGeek]

Very good information.

I wonder if some plastics are more digestible than others. There are a few that are composed entirely of "food", and others like Gary Yamamoto baits that are 50% salt.

[Anglinarcher]

I don't question your observations, or the conclusion that one should not discard your waste overboard, but I do have reservations about your assumptions.

First, you assume there was no hook when the fish took the bait. This would mean that the bait could have been taken at any time, last year, or last week, or even yesterday. Let us assume you are correct, than it would be normal for thinner elements of the lizard to be digested before the thicker elements were. There is no sign what so ever that digestion had stopped and that the bait would have been fatal.

Second, assuming that the hook was present when the fish took the bait, than the lizard would have been taken while fished in Salt Water (see your comments on dead sea lice). Fishing a lizard bait in salt water is pretty much unheard of, so again, you must assume that either the fish has lived for a year already with the bait (non fatal), or that the fish has taken the bait within the last few days (sea lice don't remain on the fish -dead of alive- for very long after returning to fresh water.

Third, you assume that because the smell was not usual that it was abnormal. Without the ability to determine what the unidentified organics were, and my own observations on how variable smell is, and lacking any information in your report on how long the fish was out of water, keep on ice, etc., etc., the smell is inconclusive at best.

No indication was made on the location of the smelt or other foodstuffs relative to the ball of lizard. Was some of the bait in front of the lizard and some of it behind it? This would allow us to determine if indeed there was a digestive blockage or just a temporary obstruction.

OK, I'm not trying to be cruel, but CSI this is not. In a court of law, you lost.

A side note, the previous discussions on power bait that I saw were about the dough bait style, not the powerbait flavored plastics.

Now, if your still talking to me, how about filling in some of the details and commenting on the above items. I'd like to know more myself. I have taken several fish over the last 40+ years, and some of them have had plastics in them. A lot of the fish were taking the plastics long before they had flavors or scents, or even biodegradable materials. In fact, I caught one fish in Idaho several years ago that looked like it had a tumor in the stomach because it was so large. In fact, it was full of rocks, yes you read it right, rocks. Rocks have no digestible component, no scent, no flavor, and are not even soft - go figure.

[kevinb]

Very good information.

I wonder if some plastics are more digestible than others. There are a few that are composed entirely of "food", and others like Gary Yamamoto baits that are 50% salt.

Food Source is one but have not used it yet. They sell it at Joes on South Hill.I'll check it out and report back.

[G-Man]

Anglinarcher,

I wasn't looking to place blame on anyone or say that my conclusions were rock solid but just putting out some info on an unusual catch. I have also in my 30+ years of fishing found other odd objects in a fish’s stomach including rocks, cigarette butts and even pieces of cattail stalks. Recently we opened up a good sized cutt caught in Lake Washington and found several large carpenter ants in the stomach, now that's odd! Out of curiosity, I was more so looking for someone to be able to identify the bait and share similar experiences and observations. As for additional details, no problem, not being a forensic expert I was sure to leave out some important information and commit a few basic mistakes including tossing out the lizard, as the smell was absolutely wretched.
The fish was caught at approximately 8:00pm and kept cold in a cooler with what was left of my snacks until cut open at about 9:45pm. I agree with your point that it is unlikely the fish swallowed this lizard while out in the salt. But I still believe that the fish took the bait recently, while in fresh water. I just can't see this fish being in as good a condition had it been in there for a great length of time. I did mention that the bait was stiff, but to be more precise it was stiff to the point that when unfolded it needed to be held down so that I could take a picture showing its length otherwise it would refold itself. Oddly, as hard as it was it did not crack when unfolded but it was also no longer elastic. Almost all of the other foodstuffs and all of the smelt were found in front (input side of the stomach) of the lizard, with some being found with the balled up lizard, see photo. The way the lizard was positioned in the stomach cavity gave me the impression that little, if any, was going to be passing through, but hey I'm not an expert on these matters. As for how much of the lizard had been digested, take a look at the remaining flipper and the end of the tail. These thin parts are in relatively good condition while the other 3 limbs are completely missing suggesting that they were not present at the time of ingestion. Reminds me of what happens when perch nip at your curly tailed grubs and also raises the question of what happens to them if they swallow the tail. I'm interested in hearing any comments or opinions, this is after all why these forums were created.

[The Quadfather]

i don't know about you guys....? but i thorougly enjoyed the post:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[shawn]

I enjoyed the post myself.I dont think the point of the post was to place blame or to be CSI.Time to get some plastic lizards.LOL

[stanford]

that was very interesting I wonder how it ended up there to think the fish would swallow that huge power lizard?

[Smalma]

A friend recently caught a triploid rainbow from lake Stevens. While the fish had a "fat" belly over all the fish was quite thin. Upon cleaning the fish I found 2 small finese worms and 4 inch lizard in its stomach. Clearly the fish was "plugged" with that plastic and was losing condition (virtually no body fat) and I expect would have died before winter.

The may be a downside to bass anglers discarding used worms/grubs/lizards in the lake. I plan on being much more careful in how I dispose of such baits.

Tight lines
Curt

[fishnislife]

WOW! Good thing you got that thing out of there, now maybe he'll be ok and live longer.
This post just proves to me that I need to invest into some lizards for trout fishn.
Great thread G-man.




fishnislife

[VHMLLC]

my wife thinks i've lost my mind, i just sit over in the chair reading this stuff laughing my a-- off. thanks for the humor and the serious stuff too.

anglinarcher sir one word DECAF. wow. :bounce: lol.


:viking:

[SPARKY101]

A friend recently caught a triploid rainbow from lake Stevens. While the fish had a "fat" belly over all the fish was quite thin. Upon cleaning the fish I found 2 small finese worms and 4 inch lizard in its stomach. Clearly the fish was "plugged" with that plastic and was losing condition (virtually no body fat) and I expect would have died before winter.

The may be a downside to bass anglers discarding used worms/grubs/lizards in the lake. I plan on being much more careful in how I dispose of such baits.

Tight lines
Curt

You got something against bass anglers or ?Oh it must be the bass guys throwing stuff out you ever think that your trout take our gear hmmm seems to me its a lizard in its belly.So i have caught them on senkos twin tail grubs hundreds on d-shot baits so dont just say that we are careless with are disposal,and also why should you have to watch how you dispose of your plastic i seem to have no problem i throw all wasted crap in my boat then when i get home i clean it all up and line goes in my fishing line only garbage can and the plastics get crammed in the recycle box.

[Smalma]

Sparky -
I suppose that it would surprise that I actually bass fish (also target a number of other species).

You are correct of course the trout could and even probably had stole those plastic baits off a bass angler's hook. Howver having seen and heard of a number of trout that had ingested various plastic baits commonly used by bass anglers that a suggestion that we be careful with our used baits. I know that in the past I had careless dropped a used bait or the end of a shorten bait into the lake, have also seen others do so. Nowhere did I suggest that bass anglers as a whole has been that careless; I merely stated such discarded baits may contribute to the problem and that I hope to less careless with my baits in the future.

If you (and others) currently are properly disposing of your plastics I salute you!! Hoewver I see nothing wrong with reminding those of us that have not been as careful that we may be contributing to an unintented problem. But hey that is just me.

Tight lines
Curt

[Anglinarcher]

my wife thinks i've lost my mind, i just sit over in the chair reading this stuff laughing my a-- off. thanks for the humor and the serious stuff too.

anglinarcher sir one word DECAF. wow. :bounce: lol.


:viking:

Having a strict Science Background, and as a working Engineer, I just like accuracy. Often assumptions are made, not intending to place blame, and if not challenged they become the basis for mis-information and wives tales.

I'd bring up global warming/impending ice age right now, but I don't think we need to go there in this thread. (LOL)