Totally off subject (for bass fishers)

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Angellove78

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Sep 25, 2017
Messages
1,649
Location
Hart,mi.
I know this is not a fishing story kinda site, but I'm pretty baffled on this one! My dad went fishing last week. We are in Michigan. He caught a bass. The bass is orange. Anybody know anything about these??? I'm just curious.IMAG1789.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've caught my share of bass. After all there are 8 ponds located with in 800 hundred yards of my house. I practice catch and release, so I pretty much have caught the same group of bass over and over again through the years "pet bass". I've noticed that large and small mouth bass can change color from a deep Olive green to a dull Brown. There is a river speicies of small mouth here in Oklahoma locally called "Brownies". Their color is the closest ive seen to the color displayed on your pictured bass. That fish is certainly an odd ball.
 
They are quite rare but normally don't get that large as they are a target. In nature, a fish that color would have only a small chance of survival, it would have to beat some crazy odds to reach that size. I'd be curious if the offspring would carry that genetic anomaly known as xanthism.
 
Yeah! If I would've known my daughter put her figure print on the lens camera of my phone. It would've been a better pic. But this bass is orange like a pumpkin. It's crazy, and so awesome to see it. Just unreal to me, I looked it up, and I only found 2 that look like this one. Makes ya wounder.
 
I know, I'd love to know more. That's y I thought I'd post it. I don't do facebook. Anyways, DNR are looking into it. We called them let them know. So we'll see.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I know, I'd love to know more. That's y I thought I'd post it. I don't do facebook. Anyways, DNR r looking into it. We called them let them know. So we'll c.

I don't do Facebook or Twatter either! What a waste of time in my opinion. I think there are like 4 of us now and I'm sure we will be deported at some point:lol:

Did you keep the fish?
 
Yes! Dads got it in the freezer. He was gonna throw it. I told him don't u dare! Call DNR. Just sent pics to the officer today.
 
I always practice catch and release no matter the fish or species. Every fish I have on the wall is a replica of the original fish based on photos and measurements. I definitely would have released that one after properly photographing it.
 
And in my family we r country, A.K.A (rednecks) we were raised with hard blood (thick) we can survive off the land and we do every chance we get. And we can always make something out of nothing. Anyways, I would have released it if it was me. Odd ball fish r too much of a mystery to me. Jus wanted to state a fact: No body is the same! Everybody's different. Like it or not it's just how it is.
 
It's probably in one of those lakes filled with goldfish, eating lots of goldfish
 
Thanks! There was another one caught in Ontario Canada in a fishing tournament in 2015. I read about the 1 in Florida too, but I didn't c the article. The DNR said it was probably a genetic thing when I called them.
 
Yes, it is genetic. Here is an excerpt from the link above for those who don't feel like clicking on it:
"Experts say that largemouth bass with the coloration are incredibly rare---so rare that that researchers have only seen one confirmed case in Florida since the 1980s. What gives this normally olive-green or gray fish such a bright orange sheen? According to researchers, it may be due to a genetic anomaly called xanthism. Also known as xanthochromism, this genetic condition causes unusually yellow or orange pigmentation in animals, similar to how albinism causes a lack of pigment. The condition is especially common in birds, and certain species---like parrots---are deliberately bred for the trait. Sometimes xanthism can also be caused by an abnormal diet. "To put its rarity into perspective, our Freshwater Fisheries Research Long-Term Monitoring Program has sampled 255,632 largemouth bass from 175 different water bodies over a 10-year period and have no reported sightings of this genetic phenomenon," researchers wrote. "In fact, the only sighting our freshwater fisheries researchers have of these orange bass is one photo from an electrofishing trip nearly 30 years ago." Researchers did not specify what happened to Puckett's rare catch, but those close to the angler claimed it was released. In any event, catching such a fish is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
 
OK, update on orange bass! The fishers management biologist @ DNR emailed me this morning and said its a very very rare Albino Small Mouth bass! That's Pretty neat to know! So not 1/2 goldfish.
 
They are quite rare but normally don't get that large as they are a target. In nature, a fish that color would have only a small chance of survival, it would have to beat some crazy odds to reach that size. I'd be curious if the offspring would carry that genetic anomaly known as xanthism.

Yes, it is genetic. Here is an excerpt from the link above for those who don't feel like clicking on it:
"Experts say that largemouth bass with the coloration are incredibly rare---so rare that that researchers have only seen one confirmed case in Florida since the 1980s. What gives this normally olive-green or gray fish such a bright orange sheen? According to researchers, it may be due to a genetic anomaly called xanthism. Also known as xanthochromism, this genetic condition causes unusually yellow or orange pigmentation in animals, similar to how albinism causes a lack of pigment. The condition is especially common in birds, and certain species---like parrots---are deliberately bred for the trait. Sometimes xanthism can also be caused by an abnormal diet. "To put its rarity into perspective, our Freshwater Fisheries Research Long-Term Monitoring Program has sampled 255,632 largemouth bass from 175 different water bodies over a 10-year period and have no reported sightings of this genetic phenomenon," researchers wrote. "In fact, the only sighting our freshwater fisheries researchers have of these orange bass is one photo from an electrofishing trip nearly 30 years ago." Researchers did not specify what happened to Puckett's rare catch, but those close to the angler claimed it was released. In any event, catching such a fish is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Hmm a mod that doesn't read the whole thread shocking :lol:
 
Back
Top Bottom