Crooked Spine Brookies

[Swattie87]

There was a post a while back with a picture of a Brookie with a spine deformity. I caught this guy today...first one I've ever personally encountered like this. I've caught a few that had a little bit of an odd curve to their spine, but this guy looks like the lower Conodoguinet. The second pic is a more mild example of this.

Like grouse mentioned in the other post, these fish seemed otherwise healthy. The first pic came from a pretty good, healthy Poconos stream, and the second was from a recovering AMD stream.

Genetic deformity?

 

[Stogie26]

could be whirling

 

[The_Sasquatch]

That first one is insane. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[redietz]

Stogie26 wrote:
could be whirling

I think you nailed it.

 

[pcray1231]

I'd be careful with throwing things like that around. It could be whirling, I dunno. But other diseases, and simple injury, can cause the same thing.

Whirling is generally a hatchery problem in the east. In the west it has established in some wild trout populations, and decimated them.

Submit it to the PFBC.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Probably a genetic abnormality. Whirling Disease, doubtful. GG

 

[wgmiller]

Scoliosis.

 

[TYoung]

If that fish got whirling disease, it would probably have died long before it got that big. That is a decent sized brookie. Fish tend to contract and die from whirling disease when there younger.

 

[midnightangler]

That happens due to electro-shocking when they are small.

 

[geebee]

That first pick is mental, in 30 years of fishing I've never seen anything like it.

You'd think it would hinder it swimming, feeding etc.

Incredible !

 

[osprey]

Talking to a fellow who owns a private hatchery and he says he loses more fish to lightening than anything....i vote lightening bolt.

 

[jbomb]

I was out the other weekend and spotted this little guy. Looks similar.

 

[Mike]

Multiple possible causes. See this once or twice yearly in wild populations around SE Pa. Also saw it in other parts of the state over the years.

 

[blueheron]

I always thought that those swayback fish survived a heron attack, I've seen them all over the state. That would be my best guess.

 

[Chaz]

In over 50 years of fishing I've never seen this, Pretty sure it's not whirling disease, though it's been present in PA streams since the mid-50's. It would kill the fish before it reached maturity. what stream, so we can look for more instances?

 

[tomgamber]

I used to fish a pay lake in Idaho (when i had no license) and I would see this a lot. Outflow of a hat hatchery flowed into the lake and you see them in there like that. They'd make enough commotion when swimming shallow that the birds took care of many of them. Just a type of birth defect according to one of the hatchery workers.

 

[FarmerDave]

I bought 100 channel catfish (4 to 6 inch) awhile back, and one of them had a crooked spine like that. I think I tossed it in the woods instead of taking any chances.

 

[JackM]

Yeah, I'm pretty certain it was just a malformation birth defect.

Am I the only one who cannot see a trout in the photo posted by jbomb?

 

[smj8322]

Ha it's there Jack.

Right smack in the middle of the picture. Head is facing the the right side of the pic...

 

[JackM]

Ahhh, now I see it.