Anyone seen one like this?

[topwater]

Quite common in the North especially on the big waters like Erie or St Clair to see Largemouths with black spots on them. Not sure why..

[1stinLA]

I also see that a lot down in the marshes of Louisiana. I was told a long time ago that it is caused by a fungus but it doesnt really hurt the fish.

[02JagCat]

Yep. Got a little smallie earlier this year that looked like someone dipped it in black paint.

[Gary Harlan]

We see a lot of theose herre on the Tennessee river system…Not uncommon to catch several in a days fishing…never really seen them on a small fish. usually 2-5lb. Think its some genetic thing….Ive heard its where there was a sore or place where the fish was injured…because of the “un-uniformity” of the blotches…dont really agree with that. I have caught them in other rivers & oxbows in west Tennessee as well. There is a strain of White Crappie in N MS that has a dark stripe running from the dorsal fin down to the nose of the fissh….make for good pictures… Nice Fish! GH @RogerStegalls Professional Guide ServiceCpt.Gary Harlan (Harlo) USCG Liscd Fishing Guide Tishomingo, MS Roger Stegalls Professional Guide Service Sponsors: BassCat (of course!), Strike King, Falcon Graphite Rods, Gary Yammamoto Custom Baits

[StanH]

See a lot of those on the Upper Chesapeake Bay river systems. The spots are all over, no general patterns to them like from being handled , etc. Same here, usually seen on the 2 – 4 pound fish, rarely see it on larger fish.

[mojorig]

The blotches are likely due to handling and not genetic. Here is an article wrote by Ralph Mann talking about these blotches. http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/articles/T205.htm

[StanH]

I dont know Mojo, I read a lot of Ralphs articles, read that one in the past…….but I catch a lot with just one or two quarter to half dollar size spots on them, mostly on the back side of the head, not a place that would be touched in a normal catch and release scenario….rarely see any with markings around the jaws, where you would think they would be from handling. Who knows, until they do more research on it well just keep guessing…the good thing is it does not seem to bother the bass. I caught the same one 3 weekends in a row off the same piling using the same bait. Guess he was too hungry to notice…..

[Bass Cat Boats]

That was an interesting article. Although it was not conclusive it made a good argument that handling of fish can case the “Black Blotch Syndrome” as he calls it. All the more reason for minimal handling of our fish after they are boated. I agree that this might not be the root cause but it does make some sense. I wonder how game and fish departments in various states would weigh in on this? Thanks for the info. 2Sport

[Bass Cat Boats]

You should stay out of the strip pits! Usually those spots are from being handled at a young age we understand. Though our resident biologist should be along to let us know sometime soon. Where ya at there Jeremy! tHANKS wARD, We missed the login ID and Jeremy/Mojo is the resident biologist. It is our understanding from years of biologists conversations that it is handling, and some are gentic also. BCBLast edited by Bass Cat Boats on December 1st, 2008, 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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