Silver/ grey LMB

[David 7]

The new pond that I’ve been going to has a typical mix of NLMB and bluegills. With the bass some are the usual green/ black and others are almost silver/ grey looking. Is this some type of genetic mutation? Tried searching this forum and even googled it and still can’t find anything. The discolored silver looking bass make up a decent amount of the bass in the pond. 

Here is an example. Slight hint of green but appears grey more than anything.

[DINK WHISPERER]

Might just be the picture but it looks like any other bass to me. ?‍♂️

[David 7]

1 minute ago, DINK WHISPERER said:

Might just be the picture but it looks like any other bass to me. ?‍♂️

For whatever reason you can see a hint of green in the picture but it is grey to the human eye. Other people who fish the pond have also mentioned to me that the bass are “the silver kind” whatever that means. 

[Jig Man]

Might it be a hormonal thing connected with feeding activity?

[MN Fisher]

Light levels, food type, even chemicals in the water can cause coloration changes. It's unusual, but not a 'mutation'.

[TnRiver46]

I believe the best strategy here is to make up a reason and stick with it

[the reel ess]

When I catch one that has been shallow for a while it's darker green/black. When I catch one deep it's usually "grey" as you say. When they're shallow they tend to darken up. They're prettier to me when they're darker.

[David 7]

2 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

When I catch one that has been shallow for a while it's darker green/black. When I catch one deep it's usually "grey" as you say. When they're shallow they tend to darken up. They're prettier to me when they're darker.

Agreed that the darker a bass is the prettier/ healthier it looks.

[Mike L]

The darker they are just means they live in shallow heavily weeded water. 
 

The lighter colored fish usually live in deep clearer water 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[David 7]

6 minutes ago, Mike L said:

The darker they are just means they live in shallow heavily weeded water. 
 

The lighter colored fish usually live in deep clearer water 
 

 

 

 

Mike

Whats strange though is the water in the pond is pretty dark. Visibility is only a couple feet, I’m not sure how deep the water is but I don’t think it’s more than say 20 ft at any point. 

[gim]

I have caught a blueish colored bass.  I caught it last year on a lake an hour away from my house.  I submitted the photo to the local fisheries office and received an email from a biologist.  He indicated that it wasn't genetic mutation, but rather a simple rare color change that an individual fish can undertake (he said it was kind of like an albino).  He also said he's seen it in walleye and northern pike, but this was the first time he's seen it in a largemouth bass.  I attached the photo of it.  It was actually a decent sized largemouth too, which I released.  Other than the color, there appeared to be nothing wrong with the fish from a physical or behavioral stand point.

[David 7]

4 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I have caught a blueish colored bass.  I caught it last year on a lake an hour away from my house.  I submitted the photo to the local fisheries office and received an email from a biologist.  He indicated that it wasn't genetic mutation, but rather a simple rare color change that an individual fish can undertake (he said it was kind of like an albino).  He also said he's seen it in walleye and northern pike, but this was the first time he's seen it in a largemouth bass.  I attached the photo of it.  It was actually a decent sized largemouth too, which I released.  Other than the color, there appeared to be nothing wrong with the fish from a physical or behavioral stand point.

This definitely provides some insight, thanks for this. Due to the fact that there are many bass in the pond that are like this, I’m thinking environment or genetics have to play some type of role as many of the bass are making the same color change. 

[roadwarrior]

Stained (dirty) water and/or deep water will fade a bass to silver, too.

[T-Billy]

All of 'em I catch right after ice out are very pale. I get the same way by the end of winter. ?

[WRB]

Depth of light, ph and water clarity all contribute to coloration.

Sparse vegetation, ph toward alkaline and depth of light greater then 8’ tend to lighten coloration.

Tom

[NoShoes]

I’ve caught them so silver I thought it was a striper at first in a black water river. 
 

While there’s factors I think that tilt the scales, I think there’s a range everywhere. 

[Tatsu Dave]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I believe the best strategy here is to make up a reason and stick with it

Yeah it calls for some research for sure, actually I've never seen a bass so light looking but our water is so dark maybe the fish are dark for concealment. 

[Koz]

6 hours ago, David 7 said:

Whats strange though is the water in the pond is pretty dark. Visibility is only a couple feet, I’m not sure how deep the water is but I don’t think it’s more than say 20 ft at any point. 

That's the reason. I've seen this in dozens of lagoons over the years. The more stained the water over time, the more pale the bass.

[ironbjorn]

Bass can and do change color based on water temp, water clarity, depth, and whatever they're using as cover. For example, clear, deep, cold water bass are often white and gray for me, and dirty, warm, shallow water bass hiding in thick veggies can be almost black.

[Scott804]

15 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

Bass can and do change color based on water temp, water clarity, depth, and whatever they're using as cover. For example, clear, deep, cold water bass are often white and gray for me, and dirty, warm, shallow water bass hiding in thick veggies can be almost black.

Me and my brother did an experiment where we had two buckets, one white & the other black and we put a small largemouth in each bucket for a couple of minutes (with an aerator) and the fish got lighter and darker depending on which bucket it had been in. It was pretty interesting how quickly they are able to adapt. We did the same thing with a rainbow trout and had the same result. Very interesting. 

[mfnew]

That fish is starving and consuming itself. Look how the stomach area is indented.

Seen it before in small ponds I fish. They are hard pressed to put up a fight.

[Aaron_H]

3 hours ago, mfnew said:

That fish is starving and consuming itself. Look how the stomach area is indented.

Seen it before in small ponds I fish. They are hard pressed to put up a fight.

 

Looks like a pretty standard summertime bass to me....

[MGF]

I don't know why but here's what I've seen. I used to fish a lot of stone/gravel quarries that were relatively new and many of the bass were extremely pale. The water also had a unique look/color to it although it was fairly clear. That was 50 years ago and those lakes have silted in a bunch and there's a lot more vegetation now. I see pictures from people who still fish them and the fish look more "normal".

 

I've also seen bluegills that are very pale.

 

Our local river is quite clear for most of the summer. Most of the smallmouth fit into what I would describe as a normal range of coloration. Most look about the same with some just a little darker or lighter. At times they're extremely dark (almost black) when other conditions appear (visually) about the same.

[Captain Phil]

Bass often change hue depending upon the water they come out of.  Here on the Harris Chain, you can tell if a fish has been caught in the open lake, in a canal or in the pads.  Open lake fish are pale and much lighter than those caught inshore.  Back water bass are much darker.  Okeechobee bass are dark green with very distinctive black eye pigment.  The bass that come out of tannin stained lakes like Blue Cypress are almost totally black.  The most beautiful bass are in the Ocala National Forest lakes.  They have white bellies, green backs and their markings are highly detailed.

 

Years ago a major cheating scandal was uncovered by an angler attempting to weigh fish in a tournament that weren't caught in the tournament lake.   This came to light when an experienced angler noticed the difference.  The scandal brought down a major organization that was competing with Ray Scott's B.A.S.S at that time. 

[Bankc]

On 8/10/2021 at 12:19 PM, roadwarrior said:

Stained (dirty) water and/or deep water will fade a bass to silver, too.

Most of the fish I catch just have a hint of pale green.  Not like that deep, yellow-green that I see so often on TV or the internet.  And they're all variations of spotted, northern, and Florida strain largemouth.  Since most of the waters I fish are pretty heavily stained onto muddy, this correlates with my experience.