Sick Bass

[Jeff Cozadd]

I found a 20" bass today while fishing that was on the top of the water having a hard time so I netted it. It had eyes that were clouded and it could not see. The eyes appeared to have sunk in the head and it had sores on its body, mouth and gills. I then found another 17" one in the exact same situation a few hours later in a totally different part of the lake. I let the park know and they will notify the fish biologist at the state of Illinois next week. Does anyone ever seen anything similiar? I have fished this lake several times a week for 5 years and have never seen this. Looking for anyone who might have insight as to what the problem could have been.

Thanks

 

[Larry Harp]

I thought at first you might have found some fish suffering from Large Mouth Bass Virus but after looking it up I'm not so sure. I got this from the Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife:



2. What are the signs of Largemouth Bass Virus?



Most bass infected with LMBV will appear completely normal. In those cases where the virus has triggered disease, however, dying fish will be near the surface and have trouble swimming and remaining upright. That's because LMBV appears to attack the swimbladder, causing bass to lose their balance. Diseased fish might also appear bloated. The occurrence of lesions or black spots is not necessarily a symptom of LMBV. Adult bass of two pounds and more seem to be the most susceptible to disease.



Harpo

 

[Mike Levesque]

Hey Jeff, I notice you said Illinois, what lake was this on? That seems strange, 2 fish on different parts of the same lake with the same symptoms, hope whatever it is was just isolated to those couple fish..........egMike

 

[Jeff Cozadd]

Lake Argyle at Argyle State Park. West Central Illinois, about 10 mile from Macomb, where I live. I saved the fish and have them in my freezer in case the biologist wants to look at and or test them. Illinois does have a few lakes with LMBV but this is not one of them, at least it hasn't been up to now. Sure hope that it isn't the virus or something worse.

 

[stan jones]

they could also have been over handled. sad but better than disease. stan

 

[Greg Meyer]

Jeff,



How is Lake Argyle for fishing? I go by there on my way to Quincy (take Blandinsville Rd to avoid Macomb) to visit family.

 

[Jeff Cozadd]

I bass fished there about 40 times last year and 25 times or so this year. I average over 3 fish an outing, 30% were over 15 inches. This is only my 3rd year bass fishing so someone that knows what they're doing I'm sure could do a lot better. I caught a few five pounders and quite a few in the 17 to 19 inch range. It has a good amount of weed beds and lay downs. It has some steep banks and quite a few pronounced points. A good portion of the lake is 20 - 30 foot deep. It also has walleye, I caught a 24 inch one last week. I seem to catch one about every 4th trip when I'm bass fishing (most are in the 14 to 20 inch range). It's a 10hp limit but since it's only 90 acres you can just use the trolling motor. I do use the outboard to load though. I think it's a quality bass lake for a state park, best part is I can be in my driveway and in 15 minutes be unloaded at the dock. Give it a try some time if you get the chance.