Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Sores on LMB

I have caught several largemouth bass this spring with large red sores on them. Anyone have an idea as to the cause? Is it from spawning?

How big and what shape were the sores?

I have seen one LMB this Spring with a red mark that looked like Ring-Worm, maybe 5/8" in diameter (which may be real common, but it's a first for me). Fish was otherwise fat and healthy-looking, fought well.

It's a bacterial infection that is stress mitigated as all of them are. Could very well have been caused by the stress of spawning. When I was courting not knowing if I'd get lucky or not had always been stressful to me.

Seriously it's probably a form of aeromonas bacteria and if it's not too extensive the fish will probably recover.

If the stress is not spawning then you need to see if there are other stress factors i.e. too many bass and competition, poor oxygen levels, not enough forage etc.

Thanks for the reply guys.

The sores were about the size of a quarter near the dorsal fin. They were somewhat round shaped, and the scales appeared to be gone and skin and tissue exposed.

Also, the water in this small lake has been unusually muddy so perhaps that has added to the stress as well.