RRanger66/67
6/1/2017 8:57:00 PMIt doesn't look like the copepods that are at Palmer. The gills themselves are covered as well as behind the fins at Palmer. Fish were jumping out of the water all day long over there last year, and this year, you don't see much or catch much but suckers and squawfish.
RRanger66/67
6/1/2017 9:15:00 PMCertainly I could be wrong, but they don't look the same to me. By the way, talking to a fly fisherman --Blue Lake (Sinlahekin) he had caught a trout there with gills full of copepods. I hope someone didn't catch some at Palmer last year and then clean them at Blue!!! Could be.....
JoshH
6/1/2017 9:58:25 PMI've only been to Stevens about 4 times this year, but none of the fish I caught had copepods like that. A few fish had one or 2 down by the anal fin, but nothing like that. Yikes.
Guitarfish
6/3/2017 11:52:21 PMOh man. Sucky. It looks the same to me as what I saw at Palmer last year. From what I've read it's usually all the same copepod species - salmincola californiensis - that afflicts kokes in the NW. It is native to the western US and is probably present in small amounts in more lakes than we care to admit. The population dynamics are not well-understood, but normally it is held in check (a few here ?and there) but for some reason it explodes periodically. Low dissolved oxygen levels have been indicated among other things. Hopefully it stays under control and does not wipe out the kokes in Stevens.. 3 out of 3 is not a good sign though.
the doc'
6/10/2017 9:25:02 PMcopepods. parasites that suck the life out of the fish. there is no cure for them. they are cyclic. nasty creatures. they have been in summit, as long as i have fished there. 35 years. so sorry to see this. this looks like a major infestation. some years, there are only a few. but, this looks way worse. doc.