Spotted bass... But not what ya think!

[No Excuses]

Check out this spotted up joker! Caught him on a 7" Junebug Zman trick worm on a shaky head, dragging it down a point. 18.5" and weighed 3-15.

[coldfront]

they are cool to see.

the biologist term is 'melanistic'.

[Bassinkorea]

Good grief, that's weird looking. I have seen and caught plenty of bass with some marking, but nothing like that!!   

[Smallie_Stalker]

That bass caught the beer virus!

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[TNDiver]

Extra camouflage!  That is cool!  Those are rare

[ImUrNv]

they are cool to see.

the biologist term is 'melanistic'.

The actual biological term for this specific case is pseudo-melanism or abundism.  A truly melanistic animal would be dark colored.  Pseudo-melanism has enlarged spots/stripes of dark color. 

[No Excuses]

Here was the response from the local biologist...

The black markings are from melanosis. It's genetic and results from sun exposure. It's sort of like getting a tan! I've seen fish that are almost completely black and we routinely see a few spotted fish like this when we conduct our samples, especially in some of our clearer waters.

[Donald Garner]

Congrats on the catch there and tks for sharing those pictures with us also.