Mattawoman Sea Lamprey

Type: Tidal
Region: Southern
Location: Mattawoman Creek

We were out fishing at Mattawoman Creek this past Saturday, the fishing was ok, water still murky from the rain. We caught a number of small bass 2-3 pounders on soft plastics and top water. We also caught something that I can't identify, and it's rare for something to come out of the water and me not knowing what it is - it resembles some kind of eel or lamprey. It has a sucker type mouth with teeth in it and seven holes down each side behind the eyes that I think are gills of some sort, and he was almost 2 feet long. We were shocked when this thing ate a white rubber worm. Can you guys tell me what this is?

DNR Response: That's a Sea Lamprey. They're native to the east coast and a pretty cool fish, they're jawless and fairly ancient. Of course, the folks in the Great Lakes area don't like them because they invaded that system through the lock and dam system that connects the lakes to the ocean.