An odd-looking fish caught through the ice had Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials wondering if it had been lying in a cooler in direct contact with ice for a few hours.
It hadn’t.
Caden Hurley, who caught the strangely colored fish in a pond in central Vermont, “assured” VFW that the fish came through the hole in the ice exactly as you see it in his photos. And then it was released alive.
So, what is it? It’s a piebald chain pickerel.
VFW explained it on its Facebook page:
“We’ve shared photos of ‘piebald’ or leucistic deer and woodcock…now prepare yourself for a leucistic chain pickerel! Leucism is a pigment condition that affects some of an animal’s cells, resulting in pale color that may be patchy or nearly complete across the body.
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“One main difference between true albinism and leucism is that albinism affects cells in the eyes, causing that classic pink color, while leucism does not. You can see that this pickerel has normal colored eyes for the species. It doesn’t happen often in fish, so this is a very special catch!”
A special and strange catch, indeed.
Photos courtesy of Vermont Fish and Wildlife.
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