Corpusfishing.com

ltorna1 · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 3240

Mr. gulftrout was generous enough to donate his big male trout carcass today so that it could be aged. Him and his wife are good people, and we had a few laughs when he dropped off the fish before I had to go back to work. A big thanks goes out to the Fisheries Ecology Lab at the Harte Research Institute. They provided the expertise, and Ruben offered to help us prepare the otoliths so we can make some estimates on the age of the 27.25" trout that looked to be a male!

I figured I'd share some pictures about the process for those who are interested, and provide an update with how old the fish is when we get some results.

The olotiths were cut from the trouts skull. The bones in this particular pair were ~3cm long. The first step is to cast them in clear resin. This sits for over 24 hours to harden.

Here is an example of what one looks like after its done setting. This is an otolith from a red snapper.

The next step is to use a diamond saw to take cross sections of the otolith.

Here you can see the casted otolith against the saw blade. Ruben makes several paper thin cuts.

The cross sections are then mounted on a glass side, and once the glue dries we will put them under the microscope to count the rings.

The trout should be ready in the few days, so when I get results on the age I'll post an update. Maybe we will even have a photo of the rings.
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noskunks · Horse Mullet Joined: 25 Apr 2006 Posts: 157

I volunteered with parks and wildlife in Bryan, TX in about 1995. Our equipment was more primitive but pretty cool deal, when you rip the fishes head back from the body the little ear bones are usually floating right there where it separates. With catfish we would cut the barbs at the groove with a jewlers saw and count the rings under a microscope.
Looking forward to seeing the results on this.

Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:33 pm Post subject:

Luke, Thanks for going the extra mile and enlisting the lab to help out a fellow fisherman. Waiting for the results......

But I have dibs on 13+ years olds. Anybody else want to jump on a pool for the "correct age"? Very Happy

ltorna1 · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 3240

CS, 13 was thrown around by a few others as well. I'm going 11 myself. I'll thrown down a used super spook jr. with rusty hooks as wager.
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Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:46 pm Post subject:

Call. I'll thrown in a "beat up rock point spear tip" as my wager.

ltorna1 · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 3240

You're on buddy.

By the way, I should mention as a big **disclaimer** that their lab is extremely busy and this was called in as a big personal favor to me that I extended out to GT (I owe Ruben and his colleagues big time). I will go on the record and say that I am not advocating that people show up at HRI with a bag of dead trout expecting everyone to stop working and start ripping apart your carcasses! Laughing

Just putting that out there before people at work get angry with me Embarassed

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speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

.....7......

but I have nothing to wager. Crying or Very sad

ST

Bigun23 · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:55 pm Post subject:

MAN... whoever removed those otoliths should be considered a butcher... the tips are all broken and jagged Shocked

.... when i remove them i use them for jewelry... those "would" have been a great size but for the hacking... of course these were removed in the name of science and not for cosmetics but still Rolling Eyes

...

I'm going with 12 yrs.... when i took the class right when they got that saw we did flounder otoliths and we did a few trout and I got some about the 3cm size... i do not remember the age though....ARGH! Curious to hear the outcome... I have a speckled trout pattern "Mark Sosin" Super spook with rusty hooks up for wager!
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ltorna1 · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 3240

Biggun, unfortunately they came out of the fish like that. There were not tools used in taking them out beyond cutting into the top of the head. The otoliths just popped out. The dorsal surface was smooth but the ventral surfaces were crumbly and jagged. We'd never seen trout otoliths like it before. They looked mangled. I'm not sure why, but I thought the same thing. Definitely not jewelry material.
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AcousTennis · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 13 Sep 2010 Posts: 1319

Thats beyond cool....

I say 14.88...because 15 is a odd number and they bug me
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Chef Lefty · Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:43 pm Post subject:

Luke, did you sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night?

But really....very interesting. Maybe we can finally meet face to face at an IMS fish fry in the very near future.
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ltorna1 · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 17 Apr 2009 Posts: 3240

Chef, I'd love to. As of tomorrow morning 7am I'm to be heading to Okinawa and then China until August 1st, but anytime after that lets fry some fish, share a beverage and tell some fish stories. But in the mean time I'll post an update on the age of this fish, and I'll be checking in on the board of course.
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gulftrout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 1629

Thanks for the time and effort from you, Ruben and the Fisheries Ecology Lab at the Harte Research Institute. I left the backbone and tail attached so there would be no question about the length and took a picture of the belly as I was cleaning it, showing it is clearly a male. It will be very interesting to find out the age of this speck, for sure. My wife and I really enjoyed meeting you and the short tour! Wink

Also, I almost forgot, "Have a GREAT trip!" Smile

deputydawg · Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 4:02 am Post subject:

I dont have a cool on the age but that is very cool! I love the stuff I learn on this site!!!

ironmanstan · Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 4:10 am Post subject:

Neat, we do metal specimens in sort of the same manner by casting them into molds cutting them and then polishing them up to see the structure and grain formation under a scope. I'm sure you will be able to post a nice pic of the rings.
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