When fishing off of his pier on Cattail Creek in Severna Park on Friday, Paul Spadaro caught a white perch—a common catch in the Magothy River and its creeks. This one, however, had a growth that concerned Spadaro, president of the Magothy River Association.

Spadaro contacted the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) who responded that from the photos it looked like an injury, not a tumor or threatening growth. Spadaro said that since the incident happened on a Friday, the DNR could only look at the photos but would have liked to have tested it. He had to dispose of the fish before Monday.

"We have to assume it is a nonthreatening thing. On the other hand, we did have very serious infection off of Henderson Point last year," he said.

Last July, an elderly man who had an abrasion on his ankle went swimming in the main stem of the Magothy River near Henderson Point.

A physician determined that the man’s leg was infected by vibrio, a marine organism that entered the Magothy from the Chesapeake Bay due to warm water temperatures and increasing salinity levels.

Spadaro would like residents to email him at president@magothyriver.org if a fish of any variety is caught that has a growth.

"I'm really looking for people to let me know if there are more fish that show up like that. I'm hoping that it is a one-of-a-kind fish. But we shouldn't take it lightly," he said. "I've lived here since 1986 and I have never caught a fish with a tumor on it on Cattail Creek or even the Magothy."

When fishing in the Magothy or Severn River, have you ever caught a fish with a growth?