Anyone know what in the world is on this dude!?!

Sorry for the big pics

Good grief!! Looks like some kind of cancer....???
God Bless

See a lot of fish like that on twok. Usually they are almost totally covered and are dying. Seems like i see than more after spawn and into the summer

Ackkkk!

thats nasty looking

Bass aids?

That one needed to be culled from the herd!

Blotchy bass is what we call it, from studies i have done the term name is metanosis caused by stress, spawning or poor water quaility. They say fish get over this, not sure on the cause or cure. Although I will say in the very early spring it is common to catch one with spots. Not saying I have ever seen one as bad as this. Hope this helps some.

Dr. Crank is referring to "melanosis" which is hyper pigmentation caused by increased levels of melanin. This is the cause of the black spots we sometime see in LMB. Ever seen a black squirrel, or deer? Melanosis.

However, what's on that fish looks much worse than hyper-pigmentation as there seems to be sores and lesions associated with this fish's condition. I'm no fisheries biologist so dunno wth it is.

Looks like a Lake Worth bass

Yea I agree. I've seen the black spots more times than I can count. This on the other hand, is some intense growth that looks painful.

Almost looks a version of staph

Yuk! Recalls single time fishing a great-looking pond up in NH decades ago. Caught several fair bass in a short time and every one of them had small (1/4 - 1/2") open sores. Some had just a few, others were loaded with them. No idea what caused it. Kinda looked what I imagine lamprey bites might look like if all they did was just take a single bite. Many showed signs of healing around the edges, some scabbed over. Was almost enough to make you afraid to touch the fish to get them off the hook.

Mascara

I used to see a lot of fish at my animal practice in Dallas (typically koi.) Fungal infections typically present like this but if this fish got beat up badly I would say bacterial infection. In reality its impossible to tell without culturing. Either way oddly most bacterial and fungal problems in fish don't spread to other fish unless there is a underlying viral component (and yes fish get herpes).