One fisherman just won the lottery of bass fishing.
In Bentonville, Arkansas, fisherman Josh Rodgers caught a bass with a very odd characteristic. Just like opening a candy bar and finding a golden ticket, Rodgers reeled in a golden-colored bass. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission confirmed that Rodgers realized that he caught a largemouth bass, but he was confused over the discoloration.
At first, Rodgers did not realize that there was anything special about the fish. Instead, the fisherman assumed that the bass was ill. In a statement to THV 11 News, Rodgers explained:
“The mid-lake area on down is uncharacteristically muddy now, and I know that bass get light-colored when they are in the mud. But when I looked at the mouth and gills, I wondered if he was sick. My buddy I was fishing with said, ‘Surely it’s not something he’s eating that would turn him that color.’”
In an interview with THV 11 News, biologist Jon Stein explained that Rogers’ catch was on par with winning the Powerball in terms of odds. The gold color of the bass is caused by a genetic anomaly called Xanthochromism. The infrequent mutation causes loss of dark pigmentation and gold coloring.
Rodgers set the fish back into the water, but he admitted that he began to regret his decision after his posts of the catch began to gain so much traction online.
Take a closer look at another bass with golden coloring in the video below.