I have pulled bass from the same BOW that had significantly differentiated colors on the same day!

I have also noticed that the bass have changed color over just a few hours in the livewell, presumably due to the stress.

I therefore suspect bass color may even change on something as simple as how much stress the fish experiences from the point of hook-set to landing. I have banged big bass off of several stumps while fishing heavy cover with plastic worms and heavy tackle, and then caught a similar size bass on light tackle ten minutes later off of a rocky point that came in easy with just a few runs against the drag.

The latter bass seemed to do better in the livewell. (Although my memory could be faulty, since I wasn't specifically examining that problem.)

My experience is purely anecdotal, so I would appreciate any further clarification from the experts.

P.S. Kentucky (spotted) bass also pattern up in the livewell. While looking down at a dorsal view - instead of being "greenbacks" (like the LMB), they start to show a pattern that looks like camouflage on hunting gear.