question for Pondman or anybody else that knows

[grimes]

Catching good crappie in a large local pond. Some have a red worm coiled up burried in the meat. Pull it out and looks like a long piece of red thread. Been eating them. Just wondered what it was.

[pondman]

Grimes,

I have seen what you are describing, but I do not it is. In fisheries management, very little effort is put toward fish diseases and parasites. Mainly because there is little you can do to treat fish in a wild setting. Aquaculture (fish farms) is a completely different animal.

The biggest thing I remember is that there are no parasites found in freshwater fish of the Southeast that will harm human beings. With that in mind, I rarely cull fillets if they have a spot on them. You will also see fillets with black specks (looks like black pepper) and you will see fillets with the same "worm", but the worm will be a cream color.

Short answer -- I have no idea what it is, but its not going to make you sick.

Pond

[grimes]

Thanks. Hot grease will kill bout anything. I was just curious to know what it was.

[Wingman]

When we raised catfish I remember being "stung" by tiny red worms in the water. Usually happened when we were running egg cans.