I caught this guy yesterday on Turtle Creek in uptown Dallas. I fish there all the time but this is by far the biggest bass I've caught of the creek.

Check out all the spots on this guy. Has anyone see this before and know what causes it?

I'm not exactly sure what causes it (birth mark, something genetic, whatever) but it's common to see. So no need to worry.

Makes for a beautiful healthy fish. Thanks for sharing a good catch.

Ive caught several with a spot or two but nothing like this. the pattern almost makes it look like a Coy.

Awesome looking fish... I seem to catch those more often in real rocky areas than anywhere else. Almost always on super healthy fish too.

Yeah, I've caught multiple fish like that. I seem to catch them most often during the Winter and Spring. And like others have said, the fish that they're on are always healthy. As long as the fish seem healthy, I'm okay with it.

Nice catch btw!

Protein spots. The more that there diet is based around crawfish the more u see them

Funny you should say that. I actually caught him on a Berkley Chigger Craw (Green Pumpkin). He wasn't playing around when he took the bait.

Likely Melanosis. I've seen it many times.

I'm not familiar with protein spots on bass. As Norm would say...I'm not sure that's correct?...

That's just what I have been told by a biologist friend of mine. And if u go somewhere like Louisiana when the crawfish r thick almost every bass u catch will have them. Just my 2 cents

It's a mystery. some say it's from catch and release, some say melanosis, some say it's protein in a crayfish diet, some say parasites, some say PCB's but evidently Kevin Van Dam thinks it the sign of a healthy fish .... "KVD just answered this on the bass pro�s this morning. He said �these black spots on both sides of the bass show that this is a healthy bass in healthy waters�.

Caught many just like that over the years. Didn't know the name of the condition but they all seemed very healthy.

It's fish bling

Define healthy water? lol. I caught him on Turtle Creek in Dallas. The creek is designed to handle a lot of water and a TON of trash. It's always loaded with trash and debris runoff.

But there are a lot of fish in the creek so that is a sign of health (i guess).

I'm guessing it's a transvestite turning into a spotted bass.