Brook Trout Black Spots

[Cdiegomcduff]

I had a great day on Birch last week and I really wish I took some pictures but didn't think too much of it at the time. It seemed all the brooks I pulled in there were 3 had black sand size dots on them and you could feel the actually bump. I've been catching brookies my whole life and have never experienced this. Any one else shed any info or experience? I googled it and found this article which I think is exactly what I was seeing.

http://www.tnfish.org/FishDiseasesPa...BrookTrout.pdf

[RavYak]

Black spot parasite which can be found on many different species of fish not just brook trout.

It primarily resides on the skin or just under the skin and is ok to eat if cooked or take the extra time to remove all the spots before cooking. Warning if you bite into one they are hard and almost sand/gravel like.

I found this out after eating a rainbow that had it... I choose to throw them back now and to avoid the lakes that I know to be infected. I have personally seen them on rainbow trout, brook trout, tiger trout, pike and perch so far but probably can be seen on all species although trout seem to be more commonly affected for some reason.

[JReed]

Had the same experience last week, but only on the brook trout, the rainbow I caught didn't have them