SEDALIA, Mo. -- For some Missouri anglers the delight of catching a keeper-sized fish turns to dejection when the filleting process uncovers yellow grubs. While the grubs may not look appetizing, they will not ruin your catch. Fish that are properly cleaned and cooked present no danger of transmitting parasites or disease to humans.

Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries Management Specialist Dale Cornelius says fish have always been hosts for yellow grubs. He suspects the parasites are being found more because increasingly anglers are filleting their catches.

"The yellow grub is a common parasite that can affect any species of fish. In the past people probably didn't notice them because they would scale and clean the fish then cook them without skinning or filleting them. Now that many people filet or skin their fish, they have a greater chance of seeing the parasites that have burrowed into the flesh of the fish," says Cornelius.

The yellow grub parasite begins its complex life cycle in fish-eating birds. Adult grubs lay eggs in the throats and mouths of the birds. Those eggs are expelled when the birds feed. Larvae emerge from eggs and burrow into the bodies of snails, continuing to grow and change form. Once a grub leaves the snail, it attaches to fish and burrows into the fish's flesh. The cycle then repeats itself when a fish-eating bird eats the infected fish.

Anglers who catch fish that have yellow grubs may either remove them from the fish or thoroughly cook the fish.

Cornelius says because chemical treatments are not economically feasible and the grubs are harmless, there is no need to attempt to rid your pond of them. But for those insistent on attempting to control the parasites, stocking redear sunfish may be the solution. The sunfish eat snails and could possibly decrease a pond's grub population. Redear sunfish, which can grow up to 12 inches long also are excellent eating.

Taken from the Missouri Dept of Conservation Home Page. You may also find out more by writing them at:

Fisheries Division, Missouri Department of Conservation
P.O. Box 180
Jefferson City, MO
65102-0180.