Sometimes I will walk a large creek and there's smallmouth catfish walleye carp and gar. But the smallies have red eyes i was out yestery for about an hour and all three of the smallies I caught had red eyes like bright red. Is anyone else seeing this.       

They're probably Rock Bass

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_bass

Some of the smallmouth that we caught yesterday had red eyes and the meanmouth had real red ones.

   mean mouth makes scence  

Smallmouth eye color varies and yes, some have red eyes.  Probably just genetics.

Many susky smallmouth have red eyes 

Probably 10 to 20% of the smallmouth I catch have red eyes. It is pretty common.

I've never seen a smallie that didn't have red eyes

Last week trip on the Delaware River most of the fish had red eyes, heard some say that is cause they are in the spawn, I have no idea if that is true.

 

I’ve caught them in dead of winter and heat of summer with red eyes. And in fall too 

All of the smallies where I live (NY) have red eyes. 

I need to find the research paper, but when I investigated this last year or the year before, the researcher concluded it was indeed genetic and posited that it could be an adaptation to help them see better in stained/dirty water. The idea being the lighter color surrounding their pupil helped reflect light toward it better. 
 

This is not proof - but the rock bass and smallies I catch in local rivers all have red eyes (its consistently stained and/or muddy). The rock bass and smallies I catch in local lakes do not (most always clear to 10ft +.

Used to go up to Canada with some guys and they always had to have lures with red eyes.

 

They would find one and buy a case of them. LOL

 

Almost seems like they were trying to mimic a smallmouth. Can't remember.

 

 

That’s a good day ! What section do you kayak? I wade and kayak north of new hope a lot 

All the smallies I catch on the St Croix have red eyes. 

 

I honestly thought they all did. 

We get a lot of red eyed smallies here.

Yes very common for fish smallies to have red eyes here in hoosier land.

On 5/31/2025 at 6:57 PM, je1946 said:

I've never seen a smallie that didn't have red eyes

@Further North I wonder if it has to do with the fishes diet at the time. Like more crayfish red eyes. I know on the susky we get the black spots. Almost like cow spots on the fish. Just a genetic mutation we were told. Nothing cancerous or wrong with them.

Might depend on the lighting during these pic captures.

But most all of the bigger brown bass I get up here seem to have some shade of red eye.

A-Jay

I've caught smallies, mostly bigger fish with dark/black eyes, no red. If I find a really conclusive pic I'll post it. They are the minority tho.

Just this morning

Here’s a decent pic of a dark eyed smallie

8 hours ago, Kev-mo said:

Here’s a decent pic of a dark eyed smallie

Looks dead

A-Jay

I was told by a fisheries biologist in Minnesota that eye color changes red due to aggression, spawning, etc.