A flock of turkey vultures clustered along the shoreline of the Delaware River near Ten Mile River drew my attention to the body of this sea lamprey. My shoe provides perspective on the eel-like fish’s true length, which can reach three feet.
A gruesome beauty
What lacks a jaw, has horn-like projections for teeth, looks like an eel (but is really a fish) and is found in the Delaware River? The sea lamprey.
Startling in appearance, this anadromous fish spends the majority of its life in its larval, or “ammocoete” stage. When it reaches sexual maturity following a metamorphosis process, the adult sea lamprey travels from the salt water environment of the Atlantic Ocean to spawn in fresh water like that of the Delaware River.
For a number of years, Barb and I have heard stories at the Dallas Fly Fishers and Fort Worth Fly Fishers meetings of the big trout caught in the White and Norfolk Rivers, located in Northern Arkansas. On June 14, we gave in to temptation and set sail for the little town of Mountain Home, AR. We wanted to see how the trout fishing in these streams compared to those in the Delaware drainage. On Sunday, June 16, we arrived at our destination, the Days Inn Motel in Mountain Home.
