A young man in Virginia, USA, accidentally caught a uniquely colored Largemouth Bass while fishing on a river.
Jacob Moore discovered a strange fish among the more than 20 Largemouth Bass he caught along the Upper Chippokes River in Surry County, Virginia, USA.
When this special bass was lifted from the water, he noticed it was distinctly different from the others.
As a popular sport fish in Virginia, Largemouth Bass typically have an olive or dark green color with a white underbelly and black spots forming horizontal stripes along their bodies.
Close-up of the rare golden Largemouth Bass caught by Jacob. (Photo: Jacob Moore).
However, the fish Jacob caught had a shimmering golden color, sparkling under the September sun.
Jacob measured its size and took pictures before releasing it back into the river. After that, he almost forgot about it.
In January, Jacob met Bob Smet, an officer from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources while working at a ski shop in Midlothian. The two talked and shared about rare animal species, and Jacob mentioned the previously caught mutant Largemouth Bass.
On January 14, he emailed a photo of that fish to Bob. Bob shared the email with his colleagues, including Alex McCrickard, an aquatic coordinator in the wildlife department, who immediately recognized it.
Alex had only witnessed a single mutant fish in 2020 when an angler from Staunton caught a golden crappie. In Jacob’s case, the golden scales of the bass were caused by a rare genetic mutation that resulted in its yellow pigmentation, known as xanthism.
McCrickard stated: “People say that for every million fish, there is only one mutant bass like this.”
The shimmering gold color of this 42 cm long fish results from a genetic mutation that alters skin pigmentation—a rare phenomenon in Virginia waters. Like Jacob, most anglers are not even aware of the golden Largemouth Bass unless they catch one.
Jacob accidentally caught this special fish while practicing for a fishing competition that was taking place that weekend. Over the years of fishing, he has seen many unusual fish.
He had previously caught fish with very unique spotted pigmentation. The Department of Wildlife Resources recognized him for catching fish that were longer or heavier than average. However, none were as special as this golden Largemouth Bass.
