BLOTCHY BASS SYNDROME IS A VIRUS

Check out the crazy markings on this Pennsylvania bass!

Recently the American Fisheries Society Black Bass Conservation Committee (BBCC) posted photos of this striking, black-splotched largemouth bass on its Facebook page.

During the old days of chumming, lots of shermen used glitter in their chum, but we sure didn’t talk about it. Why? It was a serious sh-catching secret, and it works as well now as it ever did.

Of course, back then we hadn’t heard of microplastics. We didn’t equate those tiny ashy akes with pollution. Traditional glitter is made with aluminum and plastic, which is a really bad thing to be throwing in the water. ankfully, today there is biodegradable glitter made of plant cellulose. is more environmentally friendly product enables us to keep using our old tricks without doing harm to the ocean.

When you add biodegradable glitter to your chum, the oils coat every single small piece of glitter. When it hits the water, each piece of glitter becomes sh attractant. As it slowly spreads through the water column, it catches sunlight and re ects it. e oil onboard each small piece of glitter leaves a trail that only a hungry smart sh would care to follow. e photos, by professional bass sherman Grae Buck, show his wife Jessica Buck holding a sh with melanosis. e post goes on to explain that this condition is when something a ects the pigment expression in the skin, turning it black. Termed blotchy bass syndrome, it has been found in black bass species in waterbodies across the United States with increasing frequency. e research found that this blotchy skin condition is actually caused by a viral infection, an emerging novel adomavirus. Researchers have not pinned down a cause yet, but a U.S.G.S. report suggests higher incidences of blotchy bass syndrome in disturbed-water systems, with a potential link to chemicals. ere is currently broad ongoing research to try and determine the causes and e ects of this infection.

You might ask how do I know that glittering chum works? Well, when you start getting hits and landing sh, open the sh box and take a look. You know how glitter is. It gets everywhere and sticks to everything. Well, your sh box and the sh in it will be coated in glitter. Trust me.

Capt. Judy Helmey runs Miss Judy Charters o the Georgia coast. Check them out at missjudycharters.com.

“While a truly melanistic sh would be all black, we more commonly see parts of the sh black, irregular blotches, spots, or ns,” the post reads. ese crazy colored sh show up from time to time, and previously it has been explained as a genetic mutation. In its explanation of this sh, however, BBCC pointed to research being conducted at the U.S.G.S. Eastern Ecological Science Center in West Virginia.