This is Crazy!!

[Bassload]

Has anybody seen one of these before?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/fisherman_jersey_sea_monster_i.html#incart_m-rpt-1

[Leif]

Has anybody seen one of these before?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/fisherman_jersey_sea_monster_i.html#incart_m-rpt-1
See a lot of them up in NY on the branches of the Delaware.

Leif

[saxmatt]

I've seen them on carp up at the St. Lawrence but haven't seen one on a Jersey fish yet. This carp had a few hanging off of him and one even came out of his tookus. You can see one hanging on by the tail. I put one in a water bottle in the daytime and took come cool pics.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7087/7315926230_565430eb22_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7315924250_d25456c699_c.jpg

[MikeNJ]

Looks like that thing from Prometheus.

[catfishonthelake]

I foul-hooked a dead one (yes, you read that right) while I was catfishing in gap a couple years ago. It was probably 2 feet long and a couple of pounds and had already started decomposing. Stunk like hell. Only one I have ever seen, anywhere, dead or alive.

[catfishonthelake]

....btw....cool pic Matt.

[PGAProfishional]

Ahh, Reminds me of the days when I used to breed and raise Lamprey's. I'm KIDDING!

Jesus, WTF, that thing is really large and Gnarly! How'd you like that attached to your Back?! Yillll!:eek:

Sorry for the jokes. Thank you for posting.

Sea creatures are incredibly interesting. Even more so when they arrive in our rivers!

How's the saying go "we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the deep sea", or something like that.

Great find.

SAXMATT - Kool info, always informative...thanks brotha!

Cheers

[bigfishy]

I've seen them in a few catskill rivers and even caught trout with round scars from them but have yet to see any in NJ....

[FASTEDDIE29]

They are definitely in the BIG D and have been for a while. Guys that fish the river use them for bait but I personally have never used them. I was fishing the river 7 years ago in march and they were all over the place, floating around dead and decomposing. There was a was a gnarly stench that day. This was at the Delaware Water Gap @ rt 80. Nasty lil bastards but i hear they're awesome bait.

[Mark B.]

A sea lamprey, parasitic only in saltwater, they enter freshwater rivers to spawn, after which, they die. After one dies, the remaining mate stays close by until it , too, succumbs.
Both adults build a circular nest out of rocks, & guard their young. The young migrate to the ocean to begin their parasitic ways.

The only other NJ lamprey is the American Brook Lamprey. It is much smaller than the S.Lamprey, and totally non parasitic. Spends its entire life in freshwater streams. These are the ones that anglers harvest as primo walleye bait.

[acabtp]

A sea lamprey, parasitic only in saltwater, they enter freshwater rivers to spawn, after which, they die. After one dies, the remaining mate stays close by until it , too, succumbs.
Both adults build a circular nest out of rocks, & guard their young. The young migrate to the ocean to begin their parasitic ways.

The only other NJ lamprey is the American Brook Lamprey. It is much smaller than the S.Lamprey, and totally non parasitic. Spends its entire life in freshwater streams. These are the ones that anglers harvest as primo walleye bait.
good info, thanks Mark

[JerryC]

yikes crazy!

[calbo]

Has anybody seen one of these before?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/fisherman_jersey_sea_monster_i.html#incart_m-rpt-1


We used to "gig" these by the hundreds in the Raritan during the early 60's - they would come up river to spawn in the spring - the river bed used to by covered by their nests. As they swam upstream they would hang (suck onto) the spillway in Raritan - sometimes the entire width of the river - hundreds at a time.

We would walk along the spillway and get them with large gigs, or large treble hooks attached to the end of broom sticks. And - saw many on large carp. We killed as many as possible to protect our fish.

They still show up in small numbers - think poisoning efforts reduced their numbers.

[Wilson]

Oddly enough this article appeared in the Star Ledger today!

http://photos.nj.com/star-ledger/2013/02/sea-lamprey6zip_4.html#incart_m-rpt-2

[AndyS]

Saw one glued onto a salmon we got in the Great Lakes.

[dogfish246]

This is in the Raritan River over by the rt287 bridge...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkPdkkW4Y-g

[SaltLife1980]

Ugly SOB's