Have seen 5 different fish with this same wound. 2 were pretty fresh and the others were healing up with one having just a scar. This is in a small private lake that gets almost no pressure. 

Heron, a gig, the list goes on. 

Hmm... didn't think of birds. Don't ever see them out there but I'm sure they are around. 

Doesn't look like a Northen bite, could be a prop scar. 

Does the pond have turtles?

Birds of prey are your likely suspect. A Great Blue Heron would be my guess if it's only on one side since their strike is a stabbing motion instead of a grab like an eagle or osprey. Turtles leave V shaped marks usually. It could have been a prop if gas motors are allowed on the lake. 

The scar on the bass looks like a turtle or bird bit it a while ago.

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Birds of prey are your likely suspect. A Great Blue Heron would be my guess if it's only on one side since their strike is a stabbing motion instead of a grab like an eagle or osprey. Turtles leave V shaped marks usually. It could have been a prop if gas motors are allowed on the lake. 

X2. Osprey. Eagle. Other bird of prey.

 

Looks like the bass was close to the surface and a bird of prey swooped down and missed, leaving a talon mark.

 

It is interesting to see Osprey hunt. They circle above their target and then dive straight down into the water, usually bringing a fish with them as they fly away.

 

Mother Nature seems to have it all figured out.

2 hours ago, Sam said:

It is interesting to see Osprey hunt. They circle above their target and then dive straight down into the water, usually bringing a fish with them as they fly away.

I see osprey often in some of the areas I fish and they are indeed fascinating to watch when they are hunting. I mostly see these ospreys when I am inshore fishing but also see them near freshwater bodies of water where I have seen them dive in the water, catch a bass, and fly away with the bass in their talons. 

my guess is blue heron. big stab wound from the top.

A big ole alligator gar may be the prob.

3 hours ago, Sam said:

 

It is interesting to see Osprey hunt. They circle above their target and then dive straight down into the water, usually bringing a fish with them as they fly away.

 

Mother Nature seems to have it all figured out.

The coolest thing I've ever seen in the outdoors is watching an Osprey dive into the water. Just amazing. 

Are   there otters there? I'm guessing otter . Would talons leave a gash like that ?

 

Ive seen otter bites on river smallmouths and thats what they look like .

Otters are a likely suspect, though they usually target smaller bait fish.

Muskrat attack 

Here's the list of bass predators I have on my waters: Pelican, herons, egrets, cormorant, grebes, terns, bald eagle, osprey, otter, mink, snapping turtle, and others I'm probably forgetting.

 

Bite wounds and scars are pretty common on my fish. Some live to tell.

 

I've seen a Blue heron stab a 3+ right beside me while I was fishing a tournament. How do they eat that big of a fish and why? I thought they would go for things like small gills and shad of something else not a good keeper.

The pic looks like something cut into it, so it must be sharp for whatever was using it, do you think there is a possibility it got hit by a trolling or outboard motor?

Let me give some more detail. First off, Central Arkansas. The lake is owned by a mining company that uses the water for dust management. Aside from me and my dad it might see 5 or 6 boats a year and outboards are not allowed. Because of the location and presence of heavy machines I seriously doubt it's a raptor of any kind. Water visibility is really bad, constant dust and dirt (both run off and airborne) keep it at about 4-6 inches. An otter is definitely possible but unlikely. Gar and turtles are super common. All the wounds and scars are almost identical, even predominantly on the same side of the fish. After thinking about it I have seen this in the past just never so frequently. 

pesky blue Herron , be a shame if he choked on the next fish.they are killing machines

Otters, turtles, predatory birds, etc. Lots of possibilities.

2 hours ago, lonnie g said:

pesky blue Herron , be a shame if he choked on the next fish.they are killing machines

Love to watch them do their business on the rivers, though. I was fishing a dam with a buddy a week ago and one was sitting on a stone in the water just completely still and eyeballing the rushing water coming off the dam. Amazing to watch them work. 

Bigfoot

9 minutes ago, CroakHunter said:

Bigfoot

Only eats beef jerky, ya liar

The one in my avatar had a nasty scar on it too. 

Thanks for the ideas. I'm sure it's something in the normal food chain. It just really puzzled me to find so many fish with the same wound. I was wondering if maybe someone would see it and flat out know what was doing it. I'll be keeping my eye out for birds from now on but there really aren't many out there. I see all kinds of stuff on the river from herron to bald eagles (even pelicans in the winter) but not at this place.