Two out of 30 bass fish in Lake Orion sampled by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have been found to have a virus that can cause a disease that kills about 10 percent of the bass it infects.
According to DNR Fisheries Division Biologist Jim Francis, the largemouth bass virus was first detected in the south in 1995, starting in the area of North Caroline. He said the virus has spread north, and was first discovered near southern Michigan in a lake on the Michigan/Indiana border in 2001.
“Bass can carry the virus without dying from it,” said Francis. “We sampled lakes in the lower third of the state, with Lake Orion being one of them.”
The DNR did detect the virus in two out of 30 bass it sampled from Lake Orion.
“It looks like, from all past experience, that when the fish get stressed out, it triggers the disease,” Francis said. “Like with higher water temperature…you’ll have reduced oxygen levels…then the virus takes over and they succumb to it.”
The virus is naturally occurring and affects only fish, not people. Francis said you can not get sick from eating a fish infected with the virus.
Francis said biologists are still not entirely sure how the virus is being spread from lake to lake. They are asking local anglers to help them keep the virus contained.
“If (the fish) are hooked and then released, that’s additional stress,” said Francis. “We’re asking people to be as careful with the fish as possible…taking the same precautions as with zebra mussels.”
Francis said live fish should not be carried lake to lake, and boats, trailers and other equipment should be cleaned between trips.
Also, live bait should not be released into the water, and fish should not be hauled in livewells for long periods if they are intended to be released. Fishing for largemouth bass should be minimized from mid-July to mid-August, and should not be fished for during extremely hot weather.