what causes bass to fade?

[brushhoggin]

had my first decent outing last sat and sun. water temps finally in the mid 50's, but it looked like coffee with half and half. i couldn't even tell my first fish was a bass till i lipped it cause it was so white looking. looked albino. the more fish i caught the more pigment they had, but still not much. why were they so white in color? they were florida bass, which usually don't have prominant patterns like other bass anyways. does it have anything to do with the cold temps that were just letting up? that was my first guess. thanks in advance

[J Francho]

had my first decent outing last sat and sun. water temps finally in the mid 50's, but it looked like coffee with half and half. i couldn't even tell my first fish was a bass till i lipped it cause it was so white looking. looked albino. the more fish i caught the more pigment they had, but still not much. why were they so white in color? they were florida bass, which usually don't have prominant patterns like other bass anyways. does it have anything to do with the cold temps that were just letting up? that was my first guess. thanks in advance

There's your answer.

[brushhoggin]

ok, but why? why does super murky water make them pale?

[J Francho]

No sun penetration, no melanin in the skin.  Think of it as a tan.

Deep water fish from early in the season:

Late summer, shallow fish:

[Dwight Hottle]

As usual J Francho has it right again. Dirty water & fish laying tight to the bottom gives fish a bleached out look with minimal color. I see it in bass, walleye & pike. 

[Paul Roberts]

Fish can adjust their color (to a point) and pattern (quite a bit) to the photic environment around them. Special cells in the skin called chromatophores have the ability to match background lighting patterns.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Chromatophores are pigment-containing and light-reflecting cells found in amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, and cephalopods. They are largely responsible for generating skin and eye colour in cold-blooded animals ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridocyte

In fish like bass, washed out background lighting offering little contrast results in a washed out appearance. Very clear water with sharp contrasty backgrounds result in higher contrast patterns (lights and darks). Strong lighting from above can cause strong countershading too. Dimmer lighting can cause fish to be more even shaded. Fish in clear water and deep shade may be nearly black. Those in bright light with little contrast (open water, or muddy water) may be silvery metallic. I've caught LMs wearing something akin to pelagic silver, almost like an open water trout or salmon. Brightness is required for light to reflect. Under dim conditions fish are less metallic/reflective and more opaque. It's an amazing ability, one that allows for amazing camouflage, or contrast (as in advertising spawning individuals).

Fish health, mood, and specific behaviors can affect coloration too.

If I find time, I'll post some pics. I have a pic like J's second one, but it was a late winter fish. Has everything to do with what the specific environment dishes out.

[brushhoggin]

once again, i feel i'd be a more knowledgeable angler had i remembered my early science and biology classes. thanks guys, you are my mentors 

[Fishing Rhino]

Nice fish, but your buddy really needs to restrain his jubilance.   ;D

[brushhoggin]

are you smuggling foreigners? ;D

[Paul Roberts]

are you smuggling foreigners? ;D

That's how he pays for gas.

[J Francho]

Nice fish, but your buddy really needs to restrain his jubilance. ;D

There is a special version, just for my bud, Kasey, LOL.

[Paul Roberts]

OK...Here's some I already had in Photobucket. Not perfect for illustrating the range, but interesting anyway I think:

Winter/earl spring bass not long after ice-out. I don't know what causes the yellow color exactly. I believe it's a wintering bass that has been holding on bottom (they often have mud on their bellies) and was just moving in-shore.

John's pic of his dark, yellow, bass was probably from productive algae-rich waters at the height of phytoplankton production a pea-soupy backwater in a shaded environment is my guess. I have photo's (in print and slide format) of bass like this and they came from shady pea-soup.

Actually, looking at the pic background, it's from Sodus Bay (not Port) with its summer algae blooms. I've seen similarly colored fish in Mendon Ponds in summer.

Bass caught under dark overcast in shade of heavy veget. in rich pond. Note yellow belly.

Clear water late fall fish. High clarity, lots of patchy vegetation offering contrasty background, and therefore well patterned fish. This is the same pond as the "yellow" bass in previous pic. Vegetation and algae have died back and clarity is very high.

Early spring fish under bright sky, in gin clear water with vege beds offering contrasty background, and therefore well patterned fish.

Fish from a clay pit a shallow pond with clay suspended in the water, diminishing contrast in the lighting.

Deeper caught fish in plankton filled water. Notice fairly even shading little countershading and little patterning.

Again, plankton rich water and even (overcast) lighting. Notice little countershading and little contrasty patterning (stripe or spotting).

Muddy looking smallie caught under dense slop (shaded) with LMs! Dark, but with very little patterning.

Really dark late fall bass in fairly clear water under low light low sun angle, overcast sky, shaded pond in woods.

Here's an interesting one. The darkest of them all. A nearly blind bass (probably cataracts) that is always uniformly dark, almost black. She is unable to adjust to ambient lighting much at all. Stands like a sore thumb -she's lucky there are no big cats in this pond.

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

here is one from a shaded creek area, dark on top and white belly, plenty of light with little to none reflecting off the bottom, and crystal clear water

[b.Lee]

Kinda sad for that blind bass. So it just hangs around in the shallows? you should bring it minnows.

[Paul Roberts]

Kinda sad for that blind bass. So it just hangs around in the shallows? you should bring it minnows.

That's also interesting. Look at her body condition -She's fat!

She isn't always shallow and visible. The pic was taken in early spring and she was sunning in the warm shallows. Difference is she doesn't spook at my approach -doesn't seem to know when she's visible. If an osprey doesn't get her, she may live a good long time. I posted about her last year, with some discussion about vision and bass feeding.

[Raul]

Muddy water bass, I 've caught lighter ones than this:

[Raul]

Clear water bass

[burleytog]

Wow, what glasses.

[J Francho]

I got these for fishing....

[WRB]

Stress has a lot to do with coloration patterns; diamonds usually indicate a bass* is starting to over stress and then fade as the stress levels increase and the fsih dies.

Water chemistry seems to play a part; high PH increased alkaline ,lighter coloration, lower PH increased acidity, darker coloration. I'm not sure about sunlight factors, as bass caught at night have similar coloration as bass caught from the same lake area during the day time.

I have caught bass out of very deep water with very light coloration and very dark. Agree that bass can change coloration to some degree, as stress conditions indicate.

Lakes with very little weed growth are generally high PH, clear water and the bass coloration is usually vivid lighter coloration verses water with heavy weed growth, low PH, the bass tend to be muted dark coloration.

WRB

* largemouth bass.

[Raul]

Wow, what glasses.

After getting slammed on the face with a lipless crank and getting hooked on the cheek glasses for fishing, bigger ---> better.

[Paul Roberts]

Stress definitely does play a role, esp oxygen stress. Such fish seem to lose their metallic glint (created by cells called iridocytes) which tells me oxygen or energy is somehow important for iridocyte activity. This I rarely see in bass; you'd have to abuse one to see it -like crowded in a live-well in 85F water. But I see it in trout during summer in high temps. The look is of such fish is "chalky" -lacking metallic or iridescent colors. Take such fish out of the water and they fade and die in front of your eyes.

Raul, that upper pic is a good one showing suspended clay and an equally pale bass.

John, Raul's glasses would go great with that hat of yours.

[Raul]

Yeah, nothing can compare to a charro hat to protect you from the sun, it 's like wearing an umbrella  , my grandpa used to wear charro hats for the hacienda chores ( herding cattle, checking crops n 'such ), habit he didn 't drop even though he no longer performed those chores when he was older.

The consequences of a pneumonia finally dismounted him at the young age of 85  .

[Paul Roberts]

No, I meant John's winter hat, in the "get a scale" thread. It's a hot topic of late. And should be. That guys got cajones!

[burleytog]

Wow, what glasses.

After getting slammed on the face with a lipless crank and getting hooked on the cheek glasses for fishing, bigger ---> better.

My first thought was, 'When did Harry Carey start fishing?'  ;D