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Prof. Salt · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 9:19 am Post subject: Redfish question

So what is it about the Fall that gets redfish to turn dark orange? I don't see a huge increase in shrimp numbers or other obvious dietary changes that would explain the color intensity. This fish from yesterday is a super orange color, and the rest of that school looked just as colorful.

Southeast Of Disorder · Horse Mullet Joined: 31 Oct 2019 Posts: 241

Glen, i have always heard it is there diet, but some claim that these golden reds are not from hatcheries.......

Maybe a marine biologist can give a better answer.

Also they seam to taste better......

ziacatcher · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 12:41 pm Post subject:

Can't answer your question. But here's one of mine from today and it doesn't have anywhere near that color.

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Prof. Salt · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 12:57 pm Post subject:

Power Fisherman · Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2022 7:26 pm Post subject:

I have wondered about that.

Sometimes you see black drum that have that deep copper color.

Last weekend, I saw one that went 32" that had the redfish look.

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

according to what I been told over the years, it's diet.

https://www.texassaltwaterfishingmagazine.com/fishing/education/fishy-facts/marine-fish-coloration

ST
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Central Scrutinizer · Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 6:32 am Post subject:

Indeed, it's related to diet, and individual expression of the chromatophores, so no 2 fish are exactly the same.

Think of it this way, gather up 100 flamingos from any flock and you'd be hard-pressed to find 2 that are exactly the same color, at the same time, or match over the course of a year.

speckled.trout · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 30 Aug 2012 Posts: 1190

We also had a joke about it when we caught one with the dark coloring, said it was "sunburned". Shocked

ST
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People always tell me to act my age. I tell them I don't know how, I've never been this old before.

Johninaustin · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 1113

Must be diet. I do know the reds I caught in the surf off of Georgia were so copper colored they practically glowed. You could see them incredibly far away when they schooled.

Which is another thing now that I mention it, I have never seen such schools of huge redfish here but they are common on the east coast.

preast · Joined: 04 Nov 2015 Posts: 1 Location: Austin

Not sure about reds, but some fish take on spawning colors. Maybe why some (males) and not others.