Rare all-black fish caught in East Tennessee river

Rare all-black fish caught in East Tennessee river

Source: cbs42

10/5/2022

Credit: Greg Ursin

A fisherman visiting East Tennessee from Louisiana landed a once-in-a-lifetime fish while on the French Broad River.

According to a post from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Greg Ursin Jr. was fishing on the river with a captain from the Smoky Mountain Fishing Co. when he hooked a gar. This particular gar stood out, seeing as it was all black.

A photo of the fish was sent to TWRA Fisheries Biologist John Hammonds, who identified it as a melanistic longnose gar.

Essentially, the gar is the opposite of an albino. While the TWRA reports that pigmentation mutations can occur in most species of fish, this all-black deformity is especially rare.

Ursin told News Channel 11 that he originally had no plans to cast at the gar after spotting it and couldn’t tell it was black at first. After his guide told him to go ahead and try, Ursin said the fish was on in moments.