Harris crappie off-color filets

I've fished Shearon Harris for over 20 years and caught thousands of crappie. One thing I've seen in some of the crappie I've caught is a slight discoloration of the filets as compared to crappie caught in other lakes. Some filets have varying degrees of a yellow to brownish tint as compared to an opaque white filet one would see on "regular" crappie. I was wondering if anyone on here had experienced this and may have information as to the cause. The coloration does not seem to affect the taste, but it does seem odd that it appears to only be in fish caught at Harris. Thanks for weighing in.

Good question, I've never noticed that. Just a suggestion, you could call your district biologist with the wildlife commission and maybe they would know and might even come to where your at to get a fish from ya and test it just to see what is making it to be a different color. I personally think it's nothing bad but just curious myself.


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I've caught some in Jordan as well that had more of a yellow pigmentation than the normal clear. They taste fine, so I eat them, but have no idea why the different color.

I caught a few in Tuckertown last year in the hot weather that were similar. I ate them but had hard time getting the image out of my head.

Ours are Nuclearized! We do worry about anything out of Lake Wylie. :popcorn. Hope you'll figure out what cause's it!:highfive

if they glow in the dark dont eat them

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Originally Posted by jcwaterboy

I've fished Shearon Harris for over 20 years and caught thousands of crappie. One thing I've seen in some of the crappie I've caught is a slight discoloration of the filets as compared to crappie caught in other lakes. Some filets have varying degrees of a yellow to brownish tint as compared to an opaque white filet one would see on "regular" crappie. I was wondering if anyone on here had experienced this and may have information as to the cause. The coloration does not seem to affect the taste, but it does seem odd that it appears to only be in fish caught at Harris. Thanks for weighing in.

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I caught some 2 wks ago and they were EXACTLY as you have described. I soaked some overnight and smoked them the next day. They were delicious. However, I would be very curious about the discoloration also. It seemed to be more noticeable in the bigger fish.

I see this about every year after the spawn at Harris. I have talked to a couple people who believe that it is the remaining eggs that did not get eliminated out of the spawn sacs that are absorbed into the fish causing the discoloration. This happens usually in larger fish, that are females. I have never seen this in the males. My $.02, Fishengineer

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Originally Posted by Fishengineer

I see this about every year after the spawn at Harris. I have talked to a couple people who believe that it is the remaining eggs that did not get eliminated out of the spawn sacs that are absorbed into the fish causing the discoloration. This happens usually in larger fish, that are females. I have never seen this in the males. My $.02, Fishengineer

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Went to Randalman yesterday. Every fish we caught was off colored. Do not know if they were in muddy to long or if it came from the 3 big cattle farms bordering the lake. Tried to fish in one cove, near one of the farms but the smell was so bad that we could not stay. We cleaned a few but did not like the color or the smell of the fish, so did not keep them.

asked this ? yrs ago and the reasoning I got was eggs dissolving back into the body:dono

I have heard another reason for this. Winter fat blended into the meat. :dono

I haven’t been fishing on Harris Lake but have fished Jordan for 35 years and just this week cleaned some crappie and noticed one fish had a yellowish/brownish colored meat throughout. I have never see this before. I have seen post stating these filets are very strong tasting. I think I will toss these two filets and continuing reading to see if someone finds a Eason for this discoloration

I see it alot in the warm weather.

I have seen this at Harris & one other lake I fish. In the other lake the fillets were like an orangish color though, almost like a salmon. Like some have already mentioned, my suspicion is it has something to do with the eggs that are not used during the spawn. Either that or something particular that fish has eaten??? At any rate, I don't eat them but that is just in my head. Not that I believe there as anything wrong with fish from Harris. Being there is a nuclear plant on the lake, I bet that it has some of the most rigorously tested water in the state. Would be interested to hear what someone like a biologist thinks it is though.

Was just watching a Youtube video on crappie fishing made by a guide a little over a week ago. He was catching some crappie that still had eggs. He used the phrase "dissolve their eggs" because they just did not spawn. I've heard this can color the meat. This past spring may go down as one of those "down" years in the crappie reproduction cycle.