Something weird nibbled my wifes leg while launching today

[davedkins]

Hey guys after coming back from our paddle my wife felt a few Nibbles on her leg, when we got up on shore she had about 10 very small cuts on her leg that resembled a razor knick. Anyone have a clue what may have gotten her?

[kayakhunter]

and they do have tiny but sharp teeth.

[Sdspeed]

Originally Posted by davedkins

Hey guys after coming back from our paddle my wife felt a few Nibbles on her leg, when we got up on shore she had about 10 very small cuts on her leg that resembled a razor knick. Anyone have a clue what may have gotten her?

Never knew he swam this far south

[lowprofile]

Originally Posted by kayakhunter

and they do have tiny but sharp teeth.

also if you catch them in the wash it could have rubbed her backwards causing skin abrasion... i get it sometimes landing sharks in the surf.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by Sdspeed

Never knew he swam this far south

Her teeth aren't razor sharp.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by davedkins

Hey guys after coming back from our paddle my wife felt a few Nibbles on her leg, when we got up on shore she had about 10 very small cuts on her leg that resembled a razor knick. Anyone have a clue what may have gotten her?

Was there a pattern to the nicks or were they dispersed?

A Leopord shark could bite you in the surf but it would have to be a pretty decent sized one and she'd of definitely known it was a shark when it bit her. It also would leave a jaw shaped pattern of nicks or cuts.

I'd say more likely would be a tiny crustacean or isopod.

A while back I did some Surf fishing up above Morro Bay with my girlfriend and her daughter.



Some of the spots we had to get in the water to fish, and at one point the daughter told me that something was biting her while we were wading and fishing. Sure enough when I checked her ankles she had several little nicks or bites smaller then a pinhead like you'd get from a deerfly. While I was checking them out I saw one of the culprits a small 3/8 inch long isopod swim over grab onto her ankle and bite her right in front of me.

It looked like this:


Kind of a smaller version of the kind of isopods you occasionally find in the mouths and gills of surfperch or lizard fish. The thing was fast, a good swimmer, when I tried to catch it I couldn't.

What was interesting was that they only went after the five year old daughter and left her mother and I alone. So I ended up carrying the daughter around on my shoulders whenever we wade fished the rest of the trip.

That's the only time I've seen anyone actually get bit by something in the surf in California. I have seen people that got scraped up by the spines on a thornback ray, but they make scratches in a linear pattern which tend to inflame and really sting.

If I had to guess I'd say it was isopod or something similar, but it's hard to tell without seeing it or looking at the bites.

Jim

[Sdspeed]

Ewe, I like the shark better

[Fiskadoro]

So I did some reading. The Isopod I describe above is one of thousands of different types of "freeswimming isopods" some of which are known to actually chase down and bite humans. Parasitic isopods spend their time on a host like a fish. Freeswimming isoapods are scavengers that swim around looking for food mostly the flesh of dead fish and animals.

Isopods come in all sizes, evidently the larger ones "gaint isopods" are kind of the deepwater vultures of the marine environment.

http://youtu.be/xeOSXtBCY30

Smaller freeswimming ones can swarm on people like insects.

http://www.currypilot.com/News/Local-News/Brookings-girl-victim-of-voracious-beach-bugs

“Very few crustaceans will actually bite you, but this nasty little creature is definitely one of them,” wrote Dave Cowles, a biologist at Walla Walla University in Washington. “Barefoot waders in an area with Excirolana find that the animals quickly swim toward and swarm over your bare feet, biting them so hard that blood will be flowing within moments. Since the animals are so small, the bites are tiny, but painful like a pinprick, and they’re often present in swarms of thousands.”

Jim

[jorluivil]

She probably scraped her leg on the kayak, if its not infected I wouldn't worry about. I get scrapes on my arms all the time when I'm out fishing, sometimes I know how/where I got them other times I don't..........add a little neosporin and your done!

[mtnbykr2]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

She probably scraped her leg on the kayak, if its not infected I wouldn't worry about. I get scrapes on my arms all the time when I'm out fishing, sometimes I know how/where I got them other times I don't..........add a little neosporin and your done!

Jorge, buddy...it's like this, when you become a "senoir", you just don't notice the cuts and bruises so much anymore, or where they came from, for that matter...lol...

[kantstudien]

Mothereffing isopods

[Roundeye]

Originally Posted by Fiskadoro

Was there a pattern to the nicks or were they dispersed?

A Leopord shark could bite you in the surf but it would have to be a pretty decent sized one and she'd of definitely known it was a shark when it bit her. It also would leave a jaw shaped pattern of nicks or cuts.

I'd say more likely would be a tiny crustacean or isopod.

A while back I did some Surf fishing up above Morro Bay with my girlfriend and her daughter.



Some of the spots we had to get in the water to fish, and at one point the daughter told me that something was biting her while we were wading and fishing. Sure enough when I checked her ankles she had several little nicks or bites smaller then a pinhead like you'd get from a deerfly. While I was checking them out I saw one of the culprits a small 3/8 inch long isopod swim over grab onto her ankle and bite her right in front of me.

It looked like this:


Kind of a smaller version of the kind of isopods you occasionally find in the mouths and gills of surfperch or lizard fish. The thing was fast, a good swimmer, when I tried to catch it I couldn't.

What was interesting was that they only went after the five year old daughter and left her mother and I alone. So I ended up carrying the daughter around on my shoulders whenever we wade fished the rest of the trip.

That's the only time I've seen anyone actually get bit by something in the surf in California. I have seen people that got scraped up by the spines on a thornback ray, but they make scratches in a linear pattern which tend to inflame and really sting.

If I had to guess I'd say it was isopod or something similar, but it's hard to tell without seeing it or looking at the bites.

Jim

Interesting... would have never guessed you were the women chaser type !

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Roundeye

Interesting... would have never guessed you were the women chaser type !

Everyone has a skill.

Damn Roundeye!!! This takes me back.

I mean when was the last time you busted my balls sometime back in 2009? I see you've greatly added to your post count since then. Skills are fine but there is something to be said for tenacity, nice to see your still active in the fishing community.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by mtnbykr2

Jorge, buddy...it's like this, when you become a "senoir", you just don't notice the cuts and bruises so much anymore, or where they came from, for that matter...lol...

Right.....I guess I'll worry about it when I get old--------er.