The bass in my pond are healthy in every way with the exception of the presence of some ulcers on a few of the bigger ones. It seems these bigger one have been caught in the past and possibly the handling (minimal) irritated them. I really don't know and I haven't marked any of the fish when they have been caught. Does anyone know what could be causing this? Some have them around the mouth and a few have them far back on their bodies. I haven't seen any single fish with more than two or three.

Longhorn,

Did you catch and release any of these fish in really warm water (I would assume that is possible in Texas this time of year LOL). This could add addtional stress to your bass. It sounds bacterial and I can tell you most pathogens are always present in the water. Fish are able to fight them off as long as they are not stressed, but when they are stressed their immune system is compromised and they are susceptable to whatever is in the pond.

I've had similar problems this late spring with my biggest bass too and I believe it was spawning stress.

Chances are if you give the fish a break they will get over it.

One more thing. Make sure you do not have any other potential stessors like low Dissolved oxygen or other water quality problems.

Are you sure that they are ulcers, or are they worms? When you catch a smaller bass, filet him. Hold the filet up to the light and see if you see a spot in the meat. If so, cut the spot out, and squeeze it and a worm will pop out. He will crawl across your finger and gross you out if you have been eating those bass.

Longhorn,

It's very likely that these lesions are caused by fungal infections that occur in areas where the protective slime has been removed through handling and hooking. I have seen these on bass where you could actually see the outline of a thumb on one side and fingers on the other. Those around the mouth are most likely from hook wounds. If the fish are otherwise healthy, they should recover. If you catch a fish like this, try releasing it with a minimal amount of contact and wet your hands before you touch them, that will minimize the loss of slime.

Thanks for all of the help guys. I think it very well is the handling although I do my best to limit this as much as possible.

I think I will give the pond a bit of a break for a while, maybe even until fall. North Texas is too hot. The water has heated up rapidly in the last three weeks or so. I will still check for the worms though, could be more than one thing going on.

Thanks again!

I have to politely disagree with JHenson's idea that this is a fungal infection. I would say bacterial -- most likely in the aeromonas group. From my experience raising fish and in textbooks, I have not seen a fungal infection that appears to be reddish, but have seen fungus as a secondary invader after a bacterial infection. The fungus tends to be whitish or brown in color and fuzzy in appearance. If a fungus took on a reddish color it would be fuzzy in appearance i.e. saprolegnia etc.

Could be parasitic with the baterial infection secondary after the parasites have allowed the skin and/or scales to be compromised.

However I'm not a fish pathologist, and have been told by one that as soon as he thinks he knows exactly what a fish has many times the tests turn up something else.

I do have a degree in fisheries too, but no big deal. Sure would love to go back to school and take more courses but that will have to wait as I have more ponds to put in.