Black muskies

[Ivan]

FishinNY's dark tiger got me thinking about 2 very strange fish I've seen this year.

My first muskie this year came from an OH lake in April. When the fish's back first broke the muddy water, I wasn't even sure what I had. It turned out to be a nice 46"er, however, its head and back were completely black. It had very dark olive green sides, black fins, and yellow eyes. Spring, muddy water, Ohio fish are always pale and bleached out looking. I've handled lots of muskies, but never even seen a pic of one that looks like this.

Fast forward to June and my buddy Ed tells me his wife got a black muskie from Chautauqua. She wouldn't even touch it...called it the devil muskie. I couldn't believe it, but it was the same thing as the one I got.

Both fish were released to be caught again. Both fish seemed healthy and normal except for their color.

Has anyone ever seen any muskies like these two? It seems to be some type of skin pigment abnormality, like the opposite of an albino or something. It just seems so strange that I've never seen anything like it until this year, then two show up. I'd really be interested to know what caused this coloration in these two fish.

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[old man]

Never seen one and have no idea but that ohio fish looks pretty cool. That other one is creepy. Probly not the devil but Chucky maybe?

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[BlueEye]

Wow that is a "devil"   musky haunting the dreams of little perch everywhere.... I've never seen one that dark before.  Scary

[Gill-T]

I remember seeing some bass at certain lake systems that have similar black ink spots around their head and mouth.

[alex1young]

Really cool looking fish. Love the name!

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[HybridHunter]

Those are interesting fish! And nice ones at that.

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[Ivan]

I remember seeing some bass at certain lake systems that have similar black ink spots around their head and mouth.

I Googled that topic a bit yesterday.  Found a couple different things.  Small Black spots/specs that were like some parasite and other bigger black patches that nobody seemed to have a great answer for. Saw a few people saying it had something to do with protein and was a sign of a healthy population.  I don't think either of those apply to what's going on with these muskies though.

[mostlymuskies]

In all my years of muskie fishing I have never seen a muskie that dark either.Adam,thanks for sharing!

[ThreeRiversEsox]

Hey Adam, I saw the post you made earlier this season when you got your first one, but the fish in Ed's pic reminded me of a fish my buddies Dad got here locally.  It wasn't as big or as dark, but it seems to have some similarities...  Dark splotches on body and areas where the skin seems to be torn (behind the head).  Not sure if this has anything to do with water color, the fish you got was in muddy water I believe and the Chautauqua fish and this one came from clearer water..

 

[Ivan]

Thanks for the post Evan. That fish does have similarities to the one Ed's holding, just not black. Was that a spring fish?  I assumed the wounds were from spawning.

[Gill-T]

http://fatboysoutdoors.blogspot.com/2012/04/black-marks-blotches-or-spots-on-bassoh.html

 

Some good photos.

[Ivan]

Thanks Gill.  I didn't find that one when I searched before.  Maybe it is the same type thing that's going on with the bass.  It's certainly the closest explanation out there right now. I just wonder why the whole muskies is black in my two cases instead of just black blotches or spots like on the bass.

[Ivan]

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/outdoor/strange-golden-bass-weighed-in-at-tournament-near-the-great-lakes/58844428/

[bassandbucks]

It's possible that the one muskie was blind in one eye. It's hard to tell for sure but in the first picture it looks like the left eye is somewhat "milky". It's pretty common when I'm bass fishing to catch a very dark colored bass, compared to other bass in the lake, and when examining them they usually have one bad eye. No explanation for the black splotches though.