Nice one Jack!  Usually that coloration happens in off-color water, though I don’t recall specifically the water color at Ferris.  Last trip to Ferris we caught a couple of 4s and a 5 on buzzbaits and spooks along the shore to corner of the dam, as you tried.  We also experienced the same shutoff mid-morning.  Trolled for crappie at that time and had fun with the constant action.  Also a few decent bass mixed in while trolling.  Fun lake.

Glad you ended up finding them Jack.  Having never been to Triple J, I would predict the water is fairly stained with low visibility.  In my experience, stained water leads to that washed out look that LMB get.  Lakes with grass that do a good job filtering the water will have those beautiful deep green lateral lines and dark backs that we love to see.  On the other end of the spectrum are fish that live deep within the grass that rarely see the light of day.  Those fish will be so dark green that they almost look black. These fish are common in many Florida lakes.  My best guess is that the sunlight interacts with the fish’s skin to facilitate the pigment production in their skin (similar to humans) but that is just a guess.  Maybe our resident fish expert will chime in for a more “biological” response.

Tight lines gents.

Jackson

Guys.  You are correct.  The water is stained and there is little visibility.  It was one of the reasons I could cast shallow running crankbaits in 4-6 feet of water and not have a problem with weeds. There are large crappies in the lake and they are also very white with few of the normal colors you expect to see on these fish.

Jackson nailed it. A bass’s color will match the environment. In muddy or turbid water and bass will be washed out or have a more white color. In clearer water a bass will be dark green. Many people mistake a washed out fish as an unhealthy fish. This is not the case. The bass is simply matching his or her environment. 

I have a pond that is stained with suspended clay particles and have found that alum will clear the water if that is the problem.  However if the fish are healthy and biting who cares.  My pond is so cloudy vegetation will not grow is why I am treating the lake.  I have not fished it because I think even the lures are not visible to the fish.  This is an extreme situation caused by too many cattle on the pond 2 years ago.  Anyway I think a good balance of some vegetation and not crystal clear water is what we would like to see.  Jerry Sounds like you caught some good fish.