NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – It’s a tale from the internet that’s making a lot of outdoorsmen and women do a double take. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish says it’s so peculiar, they’re looking for more cases.
In a recent weekly fishing report published by the state department, New Mexico Game and Fish says an angler caught two “mysterious pike” fish with blue-green coloration on their mouths. In a Facebook post, Game and Fish said the catch was reported by a man named Jim McDonald.
Two photos posted on Facebook show the teal or turquoise-like coloration on at least two different fish. According to the post, McDonald reports catching the fish in Navajo Lake in northern New Mexico one week ago, on August 19. (You can look at the photos on Facebook by clicking this link.)
“We caught nine large pike, six smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass,” McDonald wrote to NM Game and Fish. “Two of the fish I caught had a blue-green mouth and tongue. This is the first time that I have seen this.”
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McDonald reportedly caught the fish using a “Buck Perry spoonplug” lure. The fish were also said to have been caught “at the edge of the weed line,” and measured 30 and 34 inches. Meanwhile, a friend who McDonalds was fishing with caught a “35-inch pike trolling much-deeper water,” but without signs of blue-green mouth coloration.
Game and Fish says its fish biologists occasionally hear of similar report of pike from Navajo Lake with blue-green mouth coloration. The department says it suspects the coloring may be related to diet or genetics.
Any anglers with reports with stories of blue-green mouth fish are asked to share their reports. You can email the weekly fishing report at funfishingnm@gmail.com.
