Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose LMB color ?

I had no idea what section to post this in.

New stocking 13 months ago, stocked 200 LMB.
Probably caught over half of them this year, 4 of them have been a different color than the others
Just coincidence ? Pigment? Different genetics ?
These 4 were caught at different times on the year in different areas of the pond
They seem to be heavy by weight but not thick as the others
The photo makes this one look skinnier than it really is

I’m sure it’s not Male vs Female
Pretty sure it’s not water clarity or habitat
90% of the time I fish between 6 - 7 pm, so that probably doesn't factor in


Photos of typical LMB color in my pond vs one that looks like it’s been eating gold flakes

I have caught a bass like your golden/greenish bass right out of the weeds in two feet of water. And then on the next cast caught the bass on the right with the white belly and the blackish stripes/speckles coloration off a stickup in 9' of water.

Countershading in the animal world is when an animal is dark when viewed from above and light-colored when viewed from below. This is strongly selected for when predators from above are viewing the prey against a dark lower background, and predators from below are viewing the prey against a light upper background or a light sky.

Of course, the predators themselves also gain an advantage from effective camouflage.

I think the "cleanest" looking white-belly/dark upper bass that I have caught were the ones I believe were suspended around deeper structure.

That is just my limited experience over only contemporaneous variables.


When you add all of the other variables, bass can have a very wide variation. I think time of day, time of year, color of water, color of adjacent habitat, genetics, spawning season, etc. can all affect the coloration of the bass.

I am not sufficiently calibrated to enough situations to give examples of those other factors, but I suspect some of our experts can.

I just hope you keep catching and photographing some nice chunk LMB!

Rod,
I feel the only one of those options that could be close is the genetics just because there was no other common ground between any of the 4 fish I caught that color

While on getting photos, Not a LMB but by far the biggest RW (114%) HSB I have caught
I thought 2.73# was pretty good for a fish stocked 13 months ago, it got a little muddy when bringing ashore

That sounds like really nice HSB growth to me. (Depending on their size when they went in.)

I can't remember, are you pellet feeding in your pond?

I have seen LMB vary in color from almost black to almost white, depending on water chemistry and the amount of sunlight penetration. Also fish diet has an impact on color. Genetics could plat a role, but unless you can id certain fish (pit tag, fin clip, floy tag), all you are doing is guessing unless there is a specific way to ID that particular fish.