black spots on bluegills?

[bmc]

I caught a bunch of nice sized gills the other day, but almost all of them had black spots on them. Are they safe to eat? My buddy said they're just nitrogen spots and that they aren't on the meat, and the fish are ok to eat. Well, I didn't keep anything, but am wondering about this. I was fishing a small lake I've never fished before and it looked like the water was fairly clear. I was fishing in 30 feet of water and graphing fish from bottom, up to 20 feet. Gonna take the wife and kids out there tomorrow and have some fun.

Brian

[Scott Steil]

Those fish are safe to eat. It is a parasitic flatworm that causes those Black Spots. The tiny parasite is actually white but the cyst that forms is the black spot. They are very common in Bluegill and are not harmful to humans. Just make sure you cook your fish

It is quite a complex life cycyle but it is fish eating birds such as the Blue Heron or Kingfisher that pass this parasite along. Again, they are fine to eat and are very common in Minnesota lakes.

[united jigsticker]

I'm with Scott.

We call these "peppered" fish. We joke that it adds a little flavor..Extra protien for sure.

They are fine to eat. Although there have been a few times I have caught fish so riddled with these little dark friends that I didn't want to touch them, let alone drop them in the hot grease for dinner.

Fish On! Fish Off!

[bmc]

Thanks for the replies guys. Well I took my daughter's, 9 and 4, out to this little gem. We didn't graph nearly as many fish, but we managed to catch 20 or so gills with a couple crappies mixed in. We didn't keep anything, just caught and released. The 4 year old thought all the fish were "baby" fish and should be sent back to be with mama. LOL The things little kids come up with, needless to say, she outfished me and the 9 year old........go figure. I did have a huge northern grab a gill right at the hole, but he pulled the gill off my hook, all the was left was a little piece of lip. I'm guessing the gator was in the 15-20 lb range. Woulda' been nice to CPR it, but oh well, next year i'll have to add a tip up to the bucket before I head out there.

Thanks Again,
Brian