A Quick Bass Biology Question

[little_stephen]

So I just landed another fish Im really proud of this week. and I was looking back at my picture on my cell phone of it. then I compared it to a few I had caught in the same lake......   the coloration is tottally different on each of these fish..... its nuts. pictures to follow of all three fish so you can see what Im reffering to. Sorry about the light conditions and how theyre diff in each picture.

-The First Bass was from last year.  dark all over, couldnt really pick out the boundries of the black line going down the fish from the dark green of its scales.

-The Second Bass was from before the spawn this year. she was fat & full of eggs, but was a lighter more olive green all over, barely had the stripe.

-the Third Bass was from this weds. it has what i call a normal coloring but the black stripe was kinda broken up into little chunks.

What Im asking here is if there's anything that we know of that plays into the coloration of a bass? especially the black band, thats my favorite part.....?  :-?

[little_stephen]

ok, heres the pictures. again, sorry about the lighting differences, I caught these things at completely different times of the day.

[.dsaavedra.]

stuff like water clarity (light penetration), the depth the bass were holding at, surroundings in the lake (weeds, bottom composition, etc) all affect how a bass is colored. temperature might even have an effect too, not sure on that one though.

[etommy28]

if a fish is in clear, open water they will be very light. if they are in dark, dirty, or weedy water they will be darker, it just depends on what the fish is living in most of the time.

[daviscw]

if a fish is in clear, open water they will be very light. if they are in dark, dirty, or weedy water they will be darker, it just depends on what the fish is living in most of the time.

Hmmm.... Around here its completely opposite. Muddy water prevents light penetration, which keeps the fish a lighter color. Clear water lets the sun through which darkens the backs of the fish. That's why the bellies are white.

[Glenn]

What daviscw said.  The more light penetration there is, the darker the fish.  I presume this helps them blend in with the more pronounced shadows when it's bright, and more subtle shadows when it's cloudy, but I'm only guessing.

[.dsaavedra.]

if a fish is in clear, open water they will be very light. if they are in dark, dirty, or weedy water they will be darker, it just depends on what the fish is living in most of the time.

Hmmm.... Around here its completely opposite. Muddy water prevents light penetration, which keeps the fish a lighter color. Clear water lets the sun through which darkens the backs of the fish. That's why the bellies are white.

same here. they also get dark around weeds to blend in. but their bellies aren't white because light doesn't get to them, they're just white because thats the color of them, like most predatory fish. helps them blend in (looking from below the fish, helps them blend in with the lighter sky).

also, the fishes mood plays part in their color. i've noticed this from the fish in my aquarium. when they get scared or stressed they get pale, and when they're in an aggressive mood (fighting or eating) they get very dark and the colors and markings really pop out.

[little_stephen]

that makes alot of sense. my lakes dingy and has tons of mud and pads. The first and third fish, with the darker markings I hauled out of really shallow water in the pads, where alot of the time, the weeds are actually filtering out some of the muddy color...... ive heard people say the bass up shallow  get a "tan" on their backs from the sun....cheesy i know.

the big girl in the middle was on a deeper drop off at the edge of the flats..... right before the spawn. coming up to eat bluegill & shinners i presume. so maybe shes one of the fish we catch here who hangs on the deeper edge by the pier? (which was only about 45yards away...)

I think that makes alot of sense..... the two pad fish have to blend in with the constantly changing shadows up shallow in the pad fields?

[little_stephen]

good input guys.    that was an awesome answer to my question!   thanks.

[RoLo]

What daviscw said. The more light penetration there is, the darker the fish. I presume this helps them blend in with the more pronounced shadows when it's bright, and more subtle shadows when it's cloudy, but I'm only guessing.

My guess would be the same as Glenn's

There was a lake in Jersey that had perennially muddy water. The bass in that lake looked like silver salmon,

their color was pale and washed-out and the dark median line was basically absent.

Roger

[Micro]

Genetics no doubt play a part, too.