I fishing for smallies this weekend, and noticing all the ones we were catching are much, much more slimy than normal, what is the cause of this?

I would guess its their bodies reacting to the high heat we have had this year, probaly serving as a protectant.

Slime coat is there to protect the fish from disease and parasites, my guess is with temps up this year that parasites and illness maybe wider spread? Thicker line of defense for our fishy buddies? Maybe a expert will pipe in, but that'd be my guess.

I was fishing in eastern Manitoba, Canada. It hasn't been much warmer here than usual, in fact the past few weeks have been coolish, less than 50 at night and around 80 during the day.