Science: Bassin’s Big Mysteries

Stonehenge.

The Great Pyramids of Egypt.

The Bermuda Triangle.

The lost city of Atlantis.

All famous mysteries of the world – but who cares? We in the bass fishing world have our own big mysteries to puzzle over. We can artificially reproduce giant Texas bass, and use DNA analysis to determine the degree of parent gene contribution in meanmouths, but we haven’t been able to solve these 3 big mysteries yet.

1.) Red tooth pads, primarily through late winter/early spring. – Catch a crappie through the ice – no red toothpads. Same goes for bluegill, pike, walleye, but not largemouth bass. Seems the colder the water and the sooner after ice out, the redder the lips. They look like they’re blood engorged and swollen – painful even. As the water warms, the redness seems to dissipate and eventually it nearly goes away. I’ve spoken to several of the world’s best fish physiologists and there is no agreed upon answer yet for this mystery. We surmise it might be hormonal, yet others associate it with eating crawfish. This one remains a mystery.

2.) Black blotches – Seems like more and more bass have them these days. They almost look like giant birthmarks. Some say it’s just genetic, others think it is related to handling and the prevalence of catch and release. There is also the ‘chemicals in the water” theory, as well as a natural parasite or small irritation. It goes by a more scientific term called “hyperpigmented melanosis”. Again, lots of theories, but all the researchers I’ve spoken with don’t know for certain and haven’t come up with a commonly agreed upon explanation.   

3.) Bloody or missing tails – This one is most prevalent around post spawn, bass with obviously bloody tails. It’s the males that supposedly sweep and make the nest, so why is it the larger females that are the ones exhibiting this trait? Plus, it’s not always the bottom of the tail. Many times it’s the top section that is bloody or missing. Later in the year the tail will be healed up, but it just looks like someone took a scissors to the poor gal. Again, some say it’s due to a hard bottom effect, perhaps from swiping crawdads. I’ve also read something to the effect of a ruptured blood vessel, perhaps similar to high blood pressure that “blows” a vein.

All mysteries of the bassin’ world just waiting for a researcher to solve and set the record straight. Any theories guys?