Redfish question

[whichwaysup]

Hey all, 

Had a chance to hit the marsh for some topwater reds yesterday and managed  couple decent fish.   The marsh was full of lettuce-like vegetation that has never been there before.   No big deal but maybe a little annoying. . . until I brought the first fish in and found it growing on the fish as well.   

 

The fish had several injuries that looked more like diswase than trauma related and the "swamp lettuce" was growing out of every one of them.   The second fish was less injured, but had lesions on its dorsal fin and, you guessed it, swamp lettuce growing there as well.  

 

Anyone run across this?  

[George Seither]

http://www.scseagrant.org/pdf_files/Salt-Marsh-Tidal-Creek-Guide.pdf

[George Seither]

Look on page 40 and see if that's it

 

[bernieNC]

Are you referring to what we have always called turd grass? It is really thick dense stuff. Grows over the winter and thins and goes away after the water temps rise. 

[whichwaysup]

no defijitely sea lettuce, thanks george, but why is it frowing out of the fish so aggressively?

[George Seither]

Could be they are rooting thru the grass and bottom hard for munchies, it amazes me just how low they can go in a grass bed. I've also seen some fish after a hard freeze come out with tissue damage and vegetation either stuck to it or growing but this is usually in the colder months

[HewesYourDaddy]

Might be something the dept of natural resources research guys would like to see. I’ve got a friend at our Coastal Resources Div here in Brunswick that I will sometimes ask him about stuff along those lines.