Lamprey eels on walleyes

[walleyewizard68]

Until this year on Erie, I have never caught any walleyes that have had lampreys on them or marks indicating that one was attached. I have caught 2 this year that have had eels on them and several that were scarred. This has all occurred in PA waters, mostly around North East. Has anyone else been noticing this this year? Just curious.

[FreeByrd]

We normally catch a few big walleye each year that have them. They seem more common on Steelhead. I asked the Ohio Sea Grant folks if there was any particular danger associated with eating the fish that had these. Basically they said no problem. If the lamprey has been attached for a long time that area of the fillet will likely not look very desirable - just trim it away if you want when cleaning the fish. They also said to just kill the lamprey and pitch it - no need to turn it in to any kind of DNR office.
Steve

[B Thomas]

we got 2 out of conneaut that had spots on them where it looked like a lamprey latched on

[Buckeye]

I was on the Canadian side of the lake the week before last fishing for steelhead and I would say 20% of the fish we landed had either marks on them or still had the lamprey attached. I killed 3 (pinch with needle nose behind the head)and saw several fly off fish while they were doing cartwheels. Nasty looking creatures.....

I'm curious whether they are making a comeback or if they have been around in these numbers for a while.