Deformed Smallmouth Or Mutant Hybrid, You Be The Judge

[gotmuddy]

I caught this dude while fishing on the south fork river friday. He fought really well and his hump was all muscle. It even had what seemed like more "teeth" than a regular smallmouth.

[Tim Smith]

I caught this dude while fishing on the south fork river friday. He fought really well and his hump was all muscle. It even had what seemed like more "teeth" than a regular smallmouth.

Smallmouth. There's a parasite that affects fish during the late larval/early juvenile phase that misaligns the backbone can do that to fish. Or it could be from an injury.

[gotmuddy]

he was a feisty little guy.

[Al Agnew]

I've caught a lot of them over the years that were like that, and I think Tim's explanation of the parasite explains nearly all the ones I've caught. In fact, I just got back from the Float and Boat, and on Thursday I caught maybe six or eight smallies that were like that on the Gasconade...must have been a serious infestation of that parasite in that stretch. My most "famous" smallie with that deformation was a big one that I caught three years in a row from the same spot on Big River. The first year it was 17 inches, the next year it was 18 inches, and the third year it was just under 19 inches...and if its spine had been straight it would have been over 20 inches by that third year.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Looks like it got into your boots too.:lol:

[FishinCricket]

Looks like it got into your boots too.:lol:

Guffaw!!

[Chief Grey Bear]

Smallmouth. There's a parasite that affects fish during the late larval/early juvenile phase that misaligns the backbone can do that to fish. Or it could be from an injury.

There was some discussion some years ago that electroshocking was a possible source of this in small fry. I haven't followed up on this to see how the testing of this theory came out.

[Tim Smith]

There was some discussion some years ago that electroshocking was a possible source of this in small fry. I haven't followed up on this to see how the testing of this theory came out.

Electrofishing definitely breaks fish backs from time to time and broken backs can reset in odd positions if the nerves aren't severed.

I had seen quite a few fish like this while I was doing electrofishing over the years and I assumed that the electrofishing itself that had caused it. But searching back through various sources I'm get the impression from what I've seen that most of the fish you see like this were made this way from parasites.

[Fisherman Sam]

I've caught a lot of them over the years that were like that, and I think Tim's explanation of the parasite explains nearly all the ones I've caught. In fact, I just got back from the Float and Boat, and on Thursday I caught maybe six or eight smallies that were like that on the Gasconade...must have been a serious infestation of that parasite in that stretch. My most "famous" smallie with that deformation was a big one that I caught three years in a row from the same spot on Big River. The first year it was 17 inches, the next year it was 18 inches, and the third year it was just under 19 inches...and if its spine had been straight it would have been over 20 inches by that third year.

I've caught some weird looking smallies on the Big River also. Some have had a humped-spine like the one in this topic and others have had weird shaped fins. The most odd one I recall was so dark brown that it was almost black. It had an abnormally large mouth and a very short dorsal fin, but it was a smallie. It was 18" long. I caught it in the stretch of Big River near De Soto, so that probably explains it...

Just kiddin De Soto folks

[aftersh0ck]

Kinda looks like he shaped like a snook