On weekends, or those lazy days with no fishing plans, I often walk out the back door with my 5 wt. and chest pack to see what the muddy currents will give up this day. Usually a few walleye, an equal number of sauger or the odd pike will respond to my fly. If a caddis hatch is on, the goldeye will be active on the surface and usually once each session I'll get a strike that the 5 wt is not equipped to handle and I'll break it off just before the backing knot leaves the reel. Most often it's a large channel cat, sometimes a carp and hopefully never a sturgeon. Learning I had one of those on would likely break my heart.
On my last foray to the river I caught a walleye that had a number of unsightly growths that I have since learned is Walleye Dermal Sarcoma (WDS), an affliction limited to walleye populations. It is caused by a virus and is mainly propogated during the spawning season when many fish are in close contact. Apparently the tumours reverse their growth later in the season and fish often look completely normal again. The fish I caught fought normally and didn't appear negatively affected.
Apparently, these growths do not
affect the edibility of the fish or even it's well-being unless directly impacting it's feeding or breathing by growing on the mouth or gills. Despite learning the growths didn't affect the edibility of the fish, I'm still happy I passed on saving this specimen for the table.
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