My trophy size bluegills are definitely lighter under the ice. When I catch or harvest them in the spring, they are a little darker with more color, but what I don't like is when I overdose them on an anesthetic (I sell them whole to other taxidermists) once they expire they turn really dark. Almost black.
The only time I've ever seen this is when I've caught bluegills in acidic New England water and they turn pitch black after being caught.
Allegedly fish that are stressed turn dark. But they don't do this in the winter whem they are caught.
When my YP/BG pond increased in tubidity due to crayfish activity, the became quite pale. They haven't returned to their full normal colors yet even though clarity has improved from 6" to probably 30" now. I'm assuming the muted colors is due to the reduced light penetration, I think I recall catching pale fish species in other turbid water before, but it's been a long time. Hopefully my cray trapping reduced density to the point I'll continue to witness improved clarity.
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