# Brown Trout Fungus



## BerryNut (Dec 29, 2008)

So I was reading Loah's report on the middle Provo, and he talked about the browns up there being struck with a fungus. I figured I would ask in this section rather than taking away from his report. I have never heard of this fungus before. I fish the Provo a little but not often. Is this just a problem on the Provo? Any info or places to look up research I would appreciate. I've caught fish with parasites, most from East Canyon, I'ver caught a few with whirling disease, but never one like the one LOAH caught.


----------



## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

I have seen it on trout and the fungus was growing in the shape of the hand that caught and released the fish.
It is very important that anglers wet their hand before handling a trout.
I cringe when I see someone pick up a trout with a dry towell!

I know that there are other things that cause fungue to develope on trout but mishandling them is one that just doesn't need to happen.


----------



## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Pretty soon I could see a rule in the proclamation about washing your hands with hot soapy water between handling fish.

I wonder if it actually is contagious? definately sounds like an external thing.


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I'm surprised that people aren't seeing these fish more often. They stick out much more than the other fish and they're usually taking it pretty slow.

I'm pretty sure it's come up a time or two in the past two years.

You can't see too much of it in this video, but a long time ago, I posted a video of a sick brown swimming in the Lower Provo. I'm not having any luck with my searches for the older posts, but I uploaded them again anyway.

Towards the head, there are some spots of discoloration. It was mostly under a bridge, so it's kind of dark.

The other side of the fish had some bigger marks. It stayed in the same spot for awhile and I watched it.



After the video, it nipped at my lure once, but never swam out of that hole.

I found some discolored carp downstream that had the same blotchy look to them. They didn't really seem to mind though since they're just swimming ****roaches.


----------



## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

LOAH said:


> I'm surprised that people aren't seeing these fish more often. They stick out much more than the other fish and they're usually taking it pretty slow.


Back in the day when I used to fish the Weber a lot, I would see these guys with fair regularity. Usually spring and fall. As has been said, the Provo too. Basically any river with high concentrations of fish will have a few fish succumb to it. Natures way of "thinning the herd".

While good C&R techniques are certainly important, and bad technique can definitely cause a fish to become afflicted, one of the biggest groups of victims are post spawn fish that are exhausted from the spawning effort. That probably is what got that nice one LOAH found.


----------



## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

I have seen a few on the Duchesne...


----------



## FishMogul (Sep 8, 2007)

kinda looks like a fishes version of Vitiligo


----------



## BRN (Sep 18, 2007)

Lakes and rivers naturally have a lot of microscopic life, including things that can be harmful to fish--fungus spores, bacteria, parasites, etc. Usually fish are protected from these by their slime coat. Anything that causes the fish to lose slime will lead to the fish being more susceptible to infection. Excessive handling of fish can certainly damage the slime coat, as well as rubbing against rocks, injuries, etc. In addition, unnecessary stress also causes fish to lose slime. Common causes of stress include exertion (spawning, fighting, competition, etc.), warm water, overcrowding, low oxygen. If a fish is generally healthy and conditions are short-lived, the infection eventually goes away as the immune system fights it. Some folks may have noticed the black spots on rainbows from Otter Creek, which show up during the warm summer months but go away as the water cools in the fall. Most fish that develop the fungus will also survive, unless conditions are already tough and the fish is in poor condition. For an overcrowded population like the Provo River, fish in poor condition or older fish often may not be able to recover. All of this is part of a natural process, however, and is not likely to threaten the population overall.


----------

