Fishing with family in a pond on her new property in Missouri, a woman hooked into a golden-colored crappie that looked bizarre.
Using a bobber and worm, Holly Hadden reeled up the unusual catch.
“I really didn’t know much about this pond. We were just fishing it to see what was there,”. Said Holly
It’s really vibrant. The picture doesn’t do it justice. When the sun hits it, it shines like gold.
Normally Crappie are white or black.
Black Crappie
White Crappie
On its Facebook page, the Missouri Department of Conservation explained why this one has such a unique color. A genetic condition called xanthochromism causes animals to have unusual yellow or orange pigmentation, which is similar to albinism in that it causes a lack of color. There are a number of animals that can experience these phenomena, not just fish.”
Golden Crappie
MDC Facebook fans had plenty to say about the unique crappie. Among them were:
“Is this like the Golden Ticket in Willie Wonka?”
“I’d take that straight to the pawn shop!”
“24 carat? Really, is this a thing?”
“That’s probably worth some money!”.
Even Holly Haddan commented, saying, “It was definitely a shock to reel it in.” Shee plans to return the golden crappie to the fishing pond.
“I like to eat fish,” she told the Star, “but I also don’t see the need to kill something when’s no need for it.” Especially when it looks like gold.
It just goes to show when you least expect it you get something surprising coming out of the water. When fishing expect everything and anything or maybe nothing at all, as most of us anglers know not every day is a good fishing day, but a golden Crappie is one that will for sure make you jealous.
But in the past year 2022 there has been some rare golden fish being reeled up and going viral online.
Sources: Wired2fish, UsaToday
