Arkansas Angler Catches “One in a Million” Bass

BENTONVILLE, Ark.一 An Arkansas angler caught a very rare golden bass in Beaver Lake, Arkansas, a reservoir in the Ozark mountains on May 23. Josh Rogers is a local in Arkansas and fishes the reservoir twice a week. He told the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission that he thought the fish was sick and returned the fish back into the water. The fish was later identified through photos by AGFC biologist Jon Stein, who identified the fish as a golden largemouth bass and called the catch “one fish in a million.” The fish had a yellow-gold hue to the belly, fins, and inside the mouth. Stein said the bass has a genetic anomaly, Xanthochromism, a loss of darker pigment that is then replaced with yellow-gold pigment. While it is rare it does occur.