Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations to have lines or not to have lines is the question?

i was at my lake puttin in some structure this past weekend.. and after the fun.. we fished (culled) for a few hrs.. Culled out 17 fish that ranged from 10-15"..(total weight culled, 11.52lbs.) it was a good day.. but my quesiton is.. we caught some bass that were real silvery with no lateral lines and several that were darker with distinctive lateral lines.. the owner prior to us mentioned he stocked flordia strain, and just a regular strain of Largemouth.. Are these the differences i'm lookin at>.?..which are which?...

thanks guys!!

chris

First, biologists are certain to point out the only sure way to differentiate between strains is with electrophoresis, a test which reveals genetic markers.
But, in my field work, it is obvious that pure strain Florida bass are definitely marked differently than pure strain natives.
Florida bass are mottled green along their backs, while natives tend to be a solid color.
Floridas tend to be slightly more narrow through their heads, compared with natives.
Lateral lines exist in both fish, but color varies according to water clarity, and color. Clearer water, darker fish. Muddy water, lighter color fish.

My son & I caught several bass this past summer that were feeding on schooling shad in Tuckertown Lake one of several inpoundments on the Yadkin river in NC. The fish ranging from 2# to 4# were gray not green & did not have latteral lines. Otherwise looked like LMB. Never did find out what they were.

Last November, my brother and I were fishing at our lake. It was a warm winter day and we had got pretty heavy rains the few days before. The water was high and like coffee w/ a little cream.

As my bro insists on fly fishing, I told him to fish right up against some type of cover or even in some grass and weeds. He did some of that, but mostly cast to open water and caught nothing.

I being the lazy live bait person that I am, put on a fathead minnow and through him 3' away from me on the edge of our pseudo brick pier where it's 1-2' deep. I was not really paying too much attention & when I tried to real in my line to re-cast, there was a fish on the line.

I'm pretty sure it was a LMB, however, it was almost silver colored, had a thin black line along each side. It's mouth was more like a smallie to me than a LMB. It was about 10" long.

We had stocked smallies back in Oct. but nothing that large (maybe 7" at the largest), and had put in 5 hybrid stipers which were about 10-12".

Point is... I guess I really have no idea what it was.

Out.
S

Sunil,

If it had a black stripe down each side it was not a smallmouth bass.

Sometimes in south georgia when you catch a bass it will temporarily lose it's color and show little or no markings. Quite often they will have a solid greyish tint. Maybe this is from initial shock. We have creeks, rivers, and ponds with both large and smallmouth bass. There have been times when I had to put a fish in the livewell and check it a few minutes later to know which type I had caught. I also have placed fish back in the water and moved it back and forth while holding on to it's mouth and watched the coloration come back. Perhaps some of the biologists can tell us why they sometimes display little or no markings immediately after being caught. I have always assumed they were in shock.

I have been told the markings on a smallmouth are more vivid after they are caught and put in a live well due to aggitation.

the central mudminnows in my fish tank can change color in the blink of an eye, one minute they are dark brown with black markings so dark they look almost completly black. They next minute they are creme colored or tan, with a black bar near thier tail fin. If these fish can do that then other fish must be able to modify thier color to some degree.

good info. I didn't think it was a smallie, but it had a similar type mouth. The black line on either side was thin. The black line was almost like two straight lines joined together forming a very open angle like a the roofline of a house with a very shallow eave.

Mostly my previous comments were supporting the comments that bass (or fish) get very light colored in muddy water. But as I wrote more and thought more, I resolved to myself that I really did not know what kind of fish it was.

Also, my lake is somewhat unusual in that it's connected via large pipes to a good sized stream, so any fish could really come and go.

And Cecil, I've heard the same thing about putting a smallie in a bucket or live well for a moment to see it's colors. Can't wait to see that!

A long time ago on the other board someone asked about a sick bass that was white and I think it was Lusk that explained that the fish was blind and couln't adjust its coloring. If you put a fish in a white bucket it turns white. Maybe sometimes they get confused for a bit and that is when you see all the markings.
Or maybe I'm thinking of a lizard.
Bob Lusk, can you chime in and explain it right?!

I've lost track of the question.
Blind fish turn dark.
Sick fish usually die.
Muddy water, light colored fish.
Clear, dark water, dark colored fish.
Did I get it right?

Now that's interesting. Last year, we repeatedly saw this one fish in the same location over several weeks.

It looked like a LMB, but it was black or super dark green. We called it "Dark Star." It was probably about 2.5 - 3lbs.

It would not eat a shiner to save it's life, even if the shiner was not on a hook. It just would hover there.

The fish being blind would explain that. We did not see that fish this year (summer '03).

Okay, I was wrong about the color being white. What I would like to know is if fish have the ability to change to their surroundings.

Yes they do.