Lampreys.....

[Seafever]

Was watching an episode of River Monsters the other night.

He was down at the Klamath River and also the Columbia River.

Looking for Lampreys ( apparently in Lake Champlain, back east, they will actually go after swimmers from time to time).

The natives on the Klamath actually have a program in place to encourage the return and spawning of Lampreys

They say it's to do with their religion (which it may well be)........but the other side of the coin is:- they eat them and when cooked properly they allude that the Lamprey tastes better than a salmon and is a delicacy.

I know that we have Lampreys out here already in the chuck and in the rivers and lakes......

But I wish they weren't actively encouraging Lamprey reproduction out here......

Not a flame against natives..........but surely they must know they are putting a lot more salmon at risk......

Back east on L.Champlain they have devised effective methods for stopping the Lamprey dead in it's tracks.....

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

I actually had one attached to a P-cod I caught off Entrance Island two weeks ago. It fell off before I could take a picture, really strange looking thing!

 

[Seafever]

They are super-ugly..........

Back in the late fifties and early sixties they had an infestation in the Great Lakes.....they were sucking the life out of any fish they could glom on to......took 'em ages to control them........

An out-of-control abundance of these things could spell disaster.........

 

[Hookin'up]

back in the mid-late 80's there was a local guide that used them soaked in garlic oil for fraser sturgeon
apparently was the secret weapon of choice.

 

[leaseman]

back in the mid-late 80's there was a local guide that used them soaked in garlic oil for fraser sturgeon
apparently was the secret weapon of choice.

Yup, I would love to get my hands on some Lamprey.......!!! No need for the garlic though.

 

[arima arima]

I was swimming in Haslam creek last summer and saw a dead one in there thought it a bit scary so i called it in to DFO, I thought it to be a bit close to the hatchery ..... (they seemed not surprised how ever)

 

[Derby]

Yup, I would love to get my hands on some Lamprey.......!!! No need for the garlic though.

Still working on it...

 

[Charter Tofino]

I was swimming in Haslam creek last summer and saw a dead one in there thought it a bit scary so i called it in to DFO, I thought it to be a bit close to the hatchery ..... (they seemed not surprised how ever)

They are in almost all flows and you find them often when summer water temps get high and kill them or they get trapped from dropping water. They are not a threat to salmon compared to logging, fishing etc.

 

[KCW]

Lots in cowichan lake and they like the big cutties

 

[Englishman]

Lampreys were very popular fare in England in olden times. Indeed Henry the 1st is said to have died from eating a "surfeit of lampreys" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_England#Death.2C_1135

Which expression has given rise to the title of a book among other things.

This site has a detailed history on the cooking and eating of lampreys in UK, including lamprey pie!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/LampreyPie.htm

 

[Charter Tofino]

Landed a big spring in the chuck this weekend that had a lamprey on it.

 

[Canso]

They were all over the fish at thrasher on sat. Never seen so many. Keep them for sturgeon bait, I've got half dozen now.