Picked up a brat yesterday on the sky, chrome bright, 'bout 10 lbs.
Dang thing had tiny egg sacs and also tiny sperm sacs.
Anyone seen this?
Maybe those boys up at Reiter have genetically engineered an asexual steelie.


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Rooster

its called the "Go Fu#ck Yourself"-kidding
Did the sperm sacs look like fatty deposits?

I bet that fish was a snake, huh? That's typical of a downstreamer, the egg sacs that you are referrig to are what's left over after the fish has spawned, the milt (gonads) that you talked about are most likely pieces of membrane which is leftover from the skeins after the eggs are released. They have been recycling the steelies in the Sky for a while now. Unless that fish was a very early summer run, it was most likely spawned out and what you found inside was "tiny" residual egg sacs and attached membranes. It is not uncommon for downstreamers to "mend" themselves and become bright as a silver dollar much like that of a fresh fish......not may chromer brats working there way up the Sky this late, most of the ones I've seen that are still around are pretty dark. Got a picture?


[This message has been edited by SAUKit2em (edited 02-12-2001).]

This fish was anything but a downstreamer. Chrome bright, still had a couple sea lice on "IT". I didnt think it was a summer run, even after I cleaned it. Nice and thick bodied, and apparently really healthy. I figured on some good eggs when I put "IT" in the boat.
The sperm sacs looked just like that. Sperm sacs. About 4" long and had the milky white/cream texture you would see in an immature buck steelie/salmon.
The egg sacs were about the same exact size, and a little bigger around than a pencil.
The guys I was fishing with couldnt explain it either. I have guided in Alaska for 10 years and cleaned thousands of salmon (very few steelies!) and never seen anything like it.
Any of you Reiter Rats seen the same thing?

For what it's worth, there was a article on NWCN yesterday about gender-switching salmon found in the Columbia, apparently at Ringold.
Biologists are puzzled, looking for answers. They are looking into radioactive materials from Hanford, and other theories.
Apparently bucks are changing to hens. No idea of what thats all about. Also no idea about if they are mature enough to spawn.
I have a theory, but it's too loosely wrapped to be worth expressing.

Pretty rare fish but I have seen a couple in the 40+ years I have been examineing fish insides, the first one I ever saw was in 1962 about a ten pound steelhead from a Quinault area stream, it was early December and very bright. Had huge gonads that were sperm like with small orange, tapioca looking, eggs evenly distributed throughout.
The other was a coho that had one gonad of each very normal looking fish from the gulf outside of Icy Strait in early August.

I never had seen this in a steelhead but I saw a lot of this in Pollock and cod.
We even had NOAA and NMFS tell us and they said it was indeed a sperm sac and eggs.
It was odd when they first heard of this but now they say it seems to be more common in these species.

Had a Bogey brat five or six years ago with milt sac on one side, skein of eggs on the other ... they do exist. Scary things sometimes, them inbreeds that the state puts out!

Hey Rooster:

I guess you'll just have to refer to that fish as "pat".

So when are we going to grab the "weasel" and guide Jerry's Kidds on the Sky part II?

Bobber Down

Hey Matt - I see you are still using bobbers. I am headed to Panama on Thursday to chase Marlin and Tuna around for three weeks. You can have all the fish on the Sky to yourself now. Guess I might have to drag you retrofits out to the coast........ I dont know if the Weas can break away from you know who for longer than a day though. Might be just you and I..
Shoot me an email and I will send you some pics from Panama.

Thats really trippy...because I caught one sunday 2/11/01. Chrome bright full bodied sea lice the whole nine. It had the same thing..tiny eggs and nuts. Guys where telling me it was a summer fish.....they were full of [Bleeeeep!]! It was a hermy. Any one ever grow.......*tomatoes* its a common thing to get a hermy. Never before had I seen this. You aren't talking about my fish are you? You caught one too......Trippy, thats all I can say.

I'm not trying to insult anyone but are you sure they aren't Atlantic Salmon? I've caught several the last few years. Small tight egg sacks and hopefully not able to spawn.

I am 100% positive it was a steelie. They dont look anything alike, I know this because I had the great joy of taking 2 out of the sky 2 years ago. I think its just a case of bad genes.