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Washington Lake Report
King County, WA

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09/20/2008
Trolling
Salmon
Dry
Other
Flatfish
Morning
09/20/2008
3
934

Well kids and I woke up ,and we were out on the water by 6:30am north side of 520 bridge had no takers except right at the last second I had a release , I followed through with the strike and pulled up a Sea Lamprey! WHAT THE HECK ITS UGLY AS SIN looked half snake half eel about 10'' to 12' long. At any rate all in all slow wet day on the lake , got to see a Sea Lamprey for the first time ever , ill try to post a picture I took of it but I can never seem to get any pics to load on web page any help would be nice . thanks Jacob


Comments

dreamer0131
9/20/2008 9:59:00 PM
wtf is that???
BassFanatic
9/20/2008 11:33:00 PM
yeah I agree with you dreamer what in the hell is it
abdullah
9/21/2008 1:11:00 AM
that's nuts!
snake7676
9/21/2008 7:21:00 AM
HERE is what i could find what they are google it and theres stuff on them!


Sea Lamprey
Petromyzon marinus


Length: 12 to 20 inches
Weight: 8 to 13 ounces
Coloring: grey-blue back, metallic violet on sides, shading to silver-white underneath
Common Names: great sea lamprey, lake lamprey, lamprey, lamprey eel
Found in Lakes: Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie, and Superior
In their natural habitat, sea lamprey -- like salmon and alewives -- are ocean fish that spawn in fresh water. But some sea lamprey have always inhabited Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, which are open to the Atlantic Ocean. In 1921, lampreys appeared in Lake Erie for the first time, arriving via the Welland Canal. From there, they rapidly colonized all of the upper Great Lakes, with especially large infestations developing in Lakes Michigan and Huron.

The sea lamprey is an agressive parasite -- equipped with a tooth-filled mouth that flares open at the end of its eel-like body.

When attacking, the lamprey fastens onto its prey and rasps out a hole with its rough tongue.

An anticoagulant in the lamprey's saliva keeps the wound open for hours or weeks, until the lamprey is satiated or the host fish dies.

In 1958, scientists finally found TFM -- a chemical that selectively kills sea lamprey larvae in their spawning streams -- and brought the lamprey under control. Lamprey numbers in Lake Michigan are currently only about 10 percent of their peak numbers in the 1950s. However, some biologists are concerned that these surviving populations might develop a resistance to the lampricide or, just as worrisome, an ability to spawn on the deltas at stream mouths -- deeper waters not suitable for lampricide treatment.
A more positive approach might be to harvest and market the lampreys. For centuries, river lampreys have been considered a delicacy in Europe -- King Henry I of England, in a fit of royal gluttony, is said to have died from a "surfeit of lamprey." But the unappetizing appearance of the eel-like fish and their unpalatable state when caught on their spawning runs has so far undermined their popularity as a food fish in this country.
trackster13
9/21/2008 10:31:00 AM
same thing happened to me when fishing for cutts....using red label herring and one of them attacked our bait. I've seen a couple of them while fishing the cedar river too
Denman
9/22/2008 9:16:00 AM
no thank you
G-Man
9/22/2008 9:39:00 AM
Hey Snake, what boat were you in on Saturday? I didn't see more that 3 other boats fishing while I was out there, we probably passed each other at least once. I'm in the 18' Aluminum Raider with the white115hp E-tec. I can't see that thing releasing your line off the downrigger clip by itself. I like to think you hooked it while it was still attached to a fish and it then detached itself before it was torn in two. The fish probably feels much better now!
snake7676
9/22/2008 3:41:00 PM
Hey whats up G-man , I was in a red / white 19' bayliner Quarter master had my two boys with me , I think I seen your boat ! by the way went sunday not even a sea lamprey lol , we were out there for 5hrs. nothing lots of boats trolling and going . I even had a cutt set up and still nothing !
G-Man
9/22/2008 4:23:00 PM
My guess is that the trout are heading up the rivers and streams to spawn as well, so the fishing may slow a bit on the lake. May have to switch over to bass and perch or hit the rivers until mid winter. I do better fishing the shallows with my pontoon boat during the winter on Lake Washington and I catch mostly rainbows. I'll give it a try again next weekend, see you on the water!
bigbowkes
9/23/2008 1:21:00 PM
man did you kill that thing?!?
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709