Virginia fisherman reels in rare largemouth bass from river: 'Haven't seen anything like that'

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A fisherman has recently caught and released a rare largemouth bass in central Virginia during a practice run.

Jacob Moore, an arborist who reportedly participates in local fishing tournaments, reeled in a golden largemouth bass from the James River, according to a press release issued by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources on Thursday, Feb. 9.

The yellow-scaled fish measured 16.5 inches in length, Moore told the wildlife agency.

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Moore reportedly caught the bright fish from the "lower" end of the James River, which is near Chippokes State Park – a restored mansion and farm museum with picnic shelters and trails in Surry County.

Jacob Moore, an arborist in Virginia, caught a 16.5-inch golden largemouth bass from the lower James River. (Jacob Moore courtesy of Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources)

The area is protected under the Virginia State Parks system.

"I was out there practicing for a tournament, catching a bunch of fish," Moore said in a statement provided to the Virginia DWR.

"When I hooked into that one, I thought I had a saltwater fish on at first, but lo and behold, it was a largemouth," he continued. "A very different largemouth, though. I haven't seen anything like that before. I’ve seen bass with black spots, but I’d never seen an albino one."

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Largemouth bass typically have "dark greenish" scales that fade into a "whitish belly," according to a fish identification profile published by the Virginia DWR.

Largemouth bass are a carnivorous freshwater gamefish that can be found in various bodies of water in North America. (iStock)

The wildlife agency’s fish identification profile also notes that largemouth bass can have variations in appearance, depending on the water they live in, including "dark blotches" that tend to "form a dark horizontal band along its midline to its tail."

"Golden largemouth bass are extremely rare, and most anglers have never seen them, let alone heard of them before," Alex McCrickard, an Aquatic Education Coordinator at the Virginia DWR, said in a statement. 

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"The fish is a product of a genetic mutation that alters the skin pigments, called xanthism," McCrickard explained. "Yellow pigmentation dominates in xanthism, as you can see in Moore’s golden largemouth."

The James River in Virginia is a 340-mile river begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows to the Chesapeake Bay. Here is a look at the river from Virginia's Blue Ridge Parkway during an early autumn morning. (iStock)

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Virginians can test their luck at spotting a golden largemouth bass at Lake Anna, Lake Gaston, Buggs Island Lake, Chickahominy Lake, Lake Chesdin, Smith Mountain Lake, Lake Prince, Briery Creek, Western Branch Reservoir, Flannagan Reservoir, Chickahominy River (below Walkers Dam) and James River, according to the Virginia DWR’s list of "best fishing" spots for largemouth bass.