SEA LICE
 

Whats the deal with the schoolies inside the hurrican barrier up in Providence. Some have lice and some do not.... Is this because the ones with the bugs swam their ass' off to get there from the big pond or can lice sustane over the winter?

Michaels hair Salon.





sol...

Those are indeed fresh arrivals, sea lice come from the sea not the providence river. The color of those fresh run bass will also be a lighter than the winter over fish which have a much darker back......

That's not sea lice my friend.
That's regular ol' head lice.
All the school kids in Providence have it.

Thanks for that.... now my next question is...... if the smaller schoolies are up this far and finding their way is it safe to assume(iknow i know) that some of the estuaries will begin to populate as well?

sol...

To me sea lice mean the fish just came in from the deep ocean as opposed to a river or hanging in an estuary or bay ....

Those fish head up there because its warmer and yes they will also head up into the estuaries, you have warmth and food ....thats where the fish go. Acually there are fish at various spots in the bay now.

Not that uncommon to find lice hanging out "up in the warm spots".

Thank you all for your input.

sol...

You catch a bunch of crabs too up there I heard.:eek: Its true though.

the brown/orange sea lice that we so often see on SB in new england are NOT only found in deep coild water. Tbhe color of the fish is a much better indicator of being "fresh". Sea Lice are found in rivers, estuaries, and anywhere there is a soft muddy bottom. Sorry guys, this is one of my pet peaves and I tell everyone. a few years ago while fishing the SACO river in Maine, we were fishing near Pine Point and when we came out of the river our waders were covered in the EXACT same lice as we commonly see on SB. Ever since then I have become a bit of a Lice Nerd, learning and payiong attention to this condition.

Learn something new everyday. I always just agreed with the populas that they came from deep cold water. I do know that the color is a definate indicator of fresh run fish, you can really tell the difference especially up in providence. Steve and I had over 100 fish today up in providence and I would say not quite but almost half of those fish are new arrivals. Thats where the term "Bright fish" comes from...Anyway I stand corrected and I guess lice can be just about anyplace.

Mikey had them crabs once, was not apretty sight!
He even made it a point to show me!!!
AARGGHH!
Hijacking!
Rick

Exactly, where ever you find the bad smelling mud that one would quahog in is loaded with the lice. I see them all the time when hand digging.

good stuff....

the fish that I caught were brilliant colors of emerald green and so forth... great to see the little buggers on their way.

sol...