MICHIGAN ANGLER HOOKS IN RARE GOLDEN SMALLMOUTH BASS

While it’s not unusual for anglers to boat a nice smallmouth bass in Michigan’s Huron River, the bass just recently caught by Michigan angler David Holston was not a normal catch.

The angler from Dearborn was fishing with his sweetheart Ellyn Lamerato when he landed an unusual golden color phase smallmouth that was approximately the exact same color as your common pet goldfish.

It certainly wasn’t the kind of catch he was anticipating when he headed out that day, and the story of the catch begins just like any capture of a fall smallmouth in Michigan.

“I threw my bait at the bank right next to a downed tree, felt a good yank on my line and saw my line shoot sideways parallel to the bank,” Holston told Wide Open Spaces. “The speed was shocking. When I managed to get the fish within probably four or five feet from the boat, [my girlfriend] and I were flabbergasted as a large flash of orange/gold shot by us leaving a rooster tail of silt behind it from the tail flailing.”

“My girlfriend shouted ‘It’s a Koi! Or some kind of carp!'” Holston said.

Based on the extreme coloration of the fish, Holston said he thought she may be right.

However, at that same moment, Holston recalled seeing photos online of another golden smallmouth landed a few months earlier in Michigan by an angler by the name of Josh Chrenko.

“I thought there’s absolutely no way I have one of these fish on my line,” Holston said.

After approximately a minute-long fight, Lamerato, who was in the front of the boat, netted the beautiful golden fish with a single swoop of the net.

Holston said he remained in utter shock and was speechless upon understanding he had actually caught a rare golden smallmouth.

The fish had some form of Xanthochromism, which is a natural skin pigmentation issue that sometimes causes normally dark gamefish species to take on an unusually bright orange or yellow coloration.

Holston said he was using a six-foot Berkley Lightning Rod and Lewis Mach 2 spinning reel loaded with 15-pound Berkley X9 braided line and a wacky-rigged four-inch red flake Yamamoto Senko on a circle hook when the unusual smallmouth hit.

“The smallies around me can’t get enough of that worm/color combo,” Holston mentioned.

Holston didn’t get length or girth measurements of the unusual fish, but it weighed 2.11 pounds on a scale. He was concerned about the health of the fish, so after a short photo session it was released.

“The fish was released back into the Huron River where it was caught in. Kicking, screaming, and full of life,” Holston said. “

As far as he knows, Holston says his catch is only the second small.

 

Sources: wideopenspaces