# Sea Lamprey



## kayak1979 (Jul 13, 2014)

I was reading this recent article in the PD regarding sea lamprey. Has anyone ever caught one and found a scar from one? 
http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2013/04/explosion_of_sea_lamprey_aroun.html

Also, in the article they mention the following 
_"Lake trout do not thrive in Lake Erie because of lamprey, but the USFWS keeps trying to bring back the iconic trout. In November, almost 250,000 lake trout from federal hatcheries and 125,000 excess steelhead trout from the Castalia State Fish Hatchery were poured directly into Lake Erie at Catawba Island, Avon Lake, Fairport Harbor and Ashtabula. This spring, Ohio's stockings of 400,000 year-old steelhead trout are being made in the Vermilion, Rocky, Chagrin and Grand rivers and Conneaut Creek. Another 40,000 lake trout were released at Catawba Island and Fairport Harbor in early April, trout raised at the renovated Allegheny National Fish Hatchery.

All of those trout will provide plenty of sustenance for sea lamprey if state and federal officials can't figure a way to kill the next generation of the saltwater invaders."_

What sparked my interest about that paragraph regarding Lake trout. I was not aware that they tried stocking them in Lake Erie. Has anyone here ever landed one?


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

I have caught both walleye and steelhead with live lamprey attached to them. They are really tough critters and difficult to kill. I've also caught walleye that had scars from one. Mostly down by Conneaut when I got them.


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## kayak1979 (Jul 13, 2014)

Misdirection said:


> I have caught both walleye and steelhead with live lamprey attached to them. They are really tough critters and difficult to kill. I've also caught walleye that had scars from one. Mostly down by Conneaut when I got them.



Did you still eat the fish even though they had the lamprey attached to them?


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

Yep. Just cut out around the wound. 
I also recall BeetleBailey caught a walleye with a lamprey on it out of Bula this year.


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## BigDaddy300 (Nov 1, 2004)

Got a steelie in the rocky about 17 years ago that had one attached to it. Only one I ever saw in person.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

I've caught a good amount of steelhead with lamprey wounds. Have yet to get one with a live lamprey on it though.

This year alone I personally saw two steelhead with live lampreys attached to them. Failed to catch and save either one. Who knows how much better the fishery would be without them...


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

kayak1979 said:


> What sparked my interest about that paragraph regarding Lake trout. I was not aware that they tried stocking them in Lake Erie. Has anyone here ever landed one?


Lakers were/are native to Lake Erie. Pollution and invasive species are top 2 blames for their demise in the 60's from what I've read.


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Yup, I remember hearing about the Lake Trout they stocked last year.

I, for one, am glad. I think they need to focus on stocking more native fish.
More Lake Trout & STURGEON, less non native steelies.


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## mdogs444 (Aug 29, 2012)

creekcrawler said:


> Yup, I remember hearing about the Lake Trout they stocked last year.
> 
> I, for one, am glad. I think they need to focus on stocking more native fish.
> More Lake Trout & STURGEON, less non native steelies.


Way too much poaching and way too slow reproduction rates for there to be any ROI on Sturgeon.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

anything that improves the fishing in lake erie would be a good thing be it lake trout or sturgeon. I personally don't fish for either one but there are a lot of people that would fish for them if we had them in lake erie. and who knows it might just be a blast to catch a big sturgeon.
sherman


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

From 2001 -



> "A Cleveland angler caught a 5 1/2-foot sturgeon
> on the Cuyahoga River last September. Two other adult sturgeon caught in the
> Maumee River last year could be an indication that sturgeon are returning to
> these streams."


http://www.fishlakeerie.com/news/articles-erie/178.html


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## Archer4life (Apr 16, 2013)

Used to see them spawning below Daniels in the spring back in the 80s. By the hundreds! Now with that dam gone and gates mills dam gone they have access to a lot more spawning gravel. The Sea Grant used to have a sampling trap at the dam.


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