I have been catching allot of fish with cuts and scrapes and sometimes holes in them that are still bleeding when i catch em,

I would assume this is from spawning? Is anyone catching fish that are all beat up?

Yeah, both at Ray Roberts and on Lewisville ... at first I assumed that was from swimming in shallow water in the streams during the spawn, but on closer inspection, it looks very much like something tried to bite down on the tail end - it looks like tooth marks dragged down from the midsection to the tail.

Even had a couple I threw away at the cleaning table because the wounds were infected inside the fish (icky green meat).

Maybe the big cats know its easy pickins time?

I have seen this as well on Lewisville lately and attributed the scrapes from the spawn but they seem more beat up this year than I remember. I saw a couple of fish this year with puncture wounds which I beleive are caused by the HUGE numbers of comarants on LL this winter.
When I was a kid, we used to set trotlines on my grandparents pond and catch tons of channel cats. When the comarants came in each year - we would catch catfish with the same puncture marks.

puncture wounds is exactly correct, had one yesterday that was actually still bleeding!!! and the diameter of the hole is about the size of a pencil... or waterturkey beak!!!

If TPWD would ok it I would do my part every duck season!

at what point do they qualify as a nusance?

Some times depending on the fish species gator gar may try to eat them bu then give up on it or it could be thrown fishing hooks

I see this every year about this time, fish all beat up. Must be from the spawn.

I guess they like it rough

Saw that today to too, some really tore up fish!

Well if you guys ever venture up North you would have no doubt what caused that. LOL and it is not the spawn. Its the comorants. Here the past few months they have been in big and I mean big groups more then I have ever seen on Lewisville. They are what are biting and scraping the fish.

Danny I was gonna ask you... do you think the big cats are trying to eat the white bass as well???

Isnt this the time of year that the share allot of the same water???

It is water turkeys.
Johnny

It is water turkeys.
Johnny

I agree, since the Shad numbers here have gotten better, there have been alot of them here. Several Ospreys are fishing the lake also.