I think that's what it was anyhow. I caught it on D'arbonne back at Crappie Masters and it was stuck on a crappie and fell off when we put the fish in the boat. Probably around 5" long. Have never caught another fish with one before besides catching salmon as a kid in the great lakes. Not sure if it was a D'arbonne thing or if they have them in Texas lakes as well. Didn't tell my kids they would probably never get in the water again! Any of ya'll catch them on fish here in Texas?

I just sent this to my brother who fishes D’Arbonne frequently. He caught a crappie with one the other day on D’Arbonne. He had never seen one and neither have I. Hope I never do.

I have caught hybrids below the dam at Lake Palestine with something similar,


MO

What is that thing?

I think it's a lamprey! Its got like a round sucker mouth with teeth and was stuck to the crappie and fell off when we landed the fish. There was a sore on the fish where it was attached Nasty looking little critter!,

Looks like a fresh water lamprey, I have been catching crappie at Fork with a wound on one side about the size of a 50 cent piece, hope these things aren't causing that.

Nope never have, but you did weight it with the fish, right?

Never seen them or heard of them, had to google "Lamprey" to see what you talking about.

This was a small mark smaller than a marble. I expect your seeing those pink blotches on the black crappie. It's some sort of virus I believe. Its nasty looking but usually just on the skin. I remember watching ACT when they filming Hayden and he caught a crappie on D'arbonne with a Lamprey and I thought that was odd! Never caught one before like that and I catch a lot of crappie. Went there this year and caught one. I've fished that lake several years for tournaments and never have caught one before so I don't know if there something new to the watershed or not.

He didn't make the top 7 or we probably woulda tried to stick him back on there! I held it back on the fish for a second trying to get a pic still attached to the fish but it fell off again and I didn't want to waste anymore time messing with it!

I called the LA Dept. Of Wildlife and Fisheries this morning and spoke with a very nice gentleman in the Fisheries section. He said this is not a new invasive species in Lake D’Arbonne. He said all lakes in Louisiana have native populations of Lampreys in them. He said that for some reason there may have been some sort of population boom of them in D’Arbonne since several have recently been reported there, but it is nothing to be worried about.

I also asked him about what causes the scuzzy pinkish infections that you sometimes see on the scales and fins of crappie. He said that is a secondary bacterial infection that initiated from a wound. He said the wounds could be caused by parasites, birds, gar, etc. I’ve caught fish with this type of sores on Fork, LOP, Cypress Springs, Toledo Bend and Murvaul.

I hope this answers some questions. This is a great forum. I really enjoy reading everyone’s posts.

Not a good thing on human skin that's for sure...if someone says otherwise, let them show you the money.

Dang it Todd....I just canceled my trip to D'arbonne. J/K but that's disturbing.

Never have seen a lamprey on any fish I’ve ever caught.

The pink virus sores are pretty common.