Ryan Hernadez from Corpus Christi caught a rare "leopard redfish" near the Baffin Bay along the South Texas Gulf Coast.

Ryan Hernandez from Corpus Christi reeled in a rare "leopard redfish" while fishing near Baffin Bay in the Laguna Madre. 

"I have fished these water[s] for over 30 years and have never seen a leopard redfish in person, only in magazines until Ryan reeled it in," said Captain Danny Alvarez, owner of a local fishing charter in the area."

Rare "leopard redfish" caught near Baffin Bay at Laguna Madre, South Texas. 

The "leopard" redfish is not a different redfish species and the spots are related to a genetic mutation, states a report from Texas Fish and Game Magazine. A redfish with that many spots is "extremely rare," said the report, adding that like other animals in nature that are born without traditional coloring and camouflage, anglers might rarely encounter them because so few survive.

"People might look at this and initially think that’s a hybrid between a speckled trout and a redfish," the report said.

Both fish are closely related and members of the drum family, but are members of different genera, and while hybridization between two species in two different genera does happen, but it’s very uncommon, according to the report.

The leopard redfish is essentially a variant or mutant based on the expression of a recessive gene from the parents, and "whatever gene is involved in producing pigment, clearly in the recessive form, overproduces it."

Hernandez intends to have his rare catch mounted, he said in a Facebook post, adding that it's currently "frozen in whole form in [my] deep freezer awaiting its final resting place on display forever."

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