# Sticky  Hybrid Bass Basics



## LittleMiamiJeff (Oct 1, 2005)

The Hybrid striper is a cross between a white bass and a striped bass. Of the three the hybrid grows the quickest.

The original cross (Palmetto Bass) is a female striped bass and a male white bass (morone chrysops) . Was first produced in South Carolina in 1965. The reciprocal cross a female white bass and a male striped bass is the most common and preferred cross among aquaculturists because a male striped bass will mate readily with many females ( a man after my own heart). Aquaculturists using white bass female eggs and striped bass male sperm commonly refer to this cross as the Sunshine Bass. 
The two hybrids are indistinguishable without biochemical tracing. Their horizontal stripes are dark like the striper's yet broken like the white. The body shape is intermediate. The Hybrid can withstand temperature extremes and lower dissolved oxygen thus making it more suitable for pond culture than either of its parents. Almost every state in the southern region has hybrid striped bass producers, but most of the production is in Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Annual production is approximately 600 metric tons. Biologists say that one of the most incredible facts is that within the first 12 months of life, a hybrid can reach 12 inches in length. Sometime in the middle of the second year, it will be 15 inches or longer and already at a legal size to keep. That's astounding growth.

There are several techniques that are productive for catching hybrids, with both live bait and artificials.

During the late spring, you can almost always find hybrids and striper's right below dams in the immediate tailwaters. Hybrids are aggressive and fight hard. In the swifter water where they tend to congregate, it makes for a lot of excitement trying to get them to the boat

Bait-fishermen use gizzard shad - 5-inch or larger shad - as their No. 1 hybrid striped bass bait. Like pure-strain stripers, hybrid stripers will hit both artificial lures and live bait, but the best fish-producer of all is the live gizzard shad. The shad can be drift-fished, fished below a balloon or a float, or hung straight beneath a boat on a tightline. Shad are very sensitive to handling, to water temperature stress and to water chemistry. Guides and avid hybrid and striper bait-anglers usually have large, well-insulated bait tanks aboard their boats. Some guides catch shad with hoop nets dragged through the water, but most use cast nets. It can be quite a challenge to keep the bait alive long enough to use it

Artificials will work as well for hybrids. Top-waters, crank baits, slab spoons and jigs. Watch and listening for splashing or watch for diving, feeding seagulls.

Just about any shad-colored white or silver top water plug will get hit when thrown into a school of feeding hybrids.

The crank bait may be the best artificial lure for hybrid fishing. It can be trolled or cast, fished in tail-races, rivers and lakes. . Crank baits can take deep-water fish lurking near structure or cover and can draw strikes from open-water roaming schools. They can be used to catch hybrids prowling windswept shorelines where bait-fish are stacked up near the bank.
They spook more easily than pure breds at the sound of trolling motors. They have been described as a "football with fins".
Bite when the weather is hot and calm
When hooked they will stay deep and pull hard.
They generally prefer open water, which means they're not competing with other predators like black bass, walleyes, catfish and crappie for habitat.
The best way to go, if you're planning to fish from the bank, is to rig one outfit for bottom-fishing and get it going. Once that's done, throw an in-line spinner or crank-bait, or swim a jig on another rod

http://www.dnr.ohio.gov/wildlife/fishing/bass/hyb_stripedbass.htm

Hybrid Striped Bass: Ohio's Other Bass

Sometimes referred to as sunshine bass or wipers by anglers, hybrid striped bass are a cross between white bass and striped bass. No matter what name you know them by, hybrid striped bass are, pound-for-pound, one of the hardest-fighting fish swimming in Ohio&#8217;s waters today. 
Hybrid striped bass were first stocked into southern reservoirs in the 1960s and fed on overabundant gizzard shad populations. The Ohio Division of Wildlife has been stocking hybrid striped bass into select inland water areas since the early 1980s, and wipers have been a Buckeye state favorite to anglers ever since. They can grow considerably larger than a white bass and are more tolerant of Ohio&#8217;s warm water than striped bass. Hybrid striped bass grow quickly in Ohio, often reaching a harvestable size by the time they&#8217;re two years old. Many reservoirs commonly produce fish in the five to ten pound range and have the potential to produce fish in excess of twelve pounds. The Ohio state record, caught in 2001, measured 31 inches and weighed 17.68 lbs! 

Harvest regulations for hybrid striped bass give Ohio anglers the opportunity to put a lot of fillets in the freezer. The Ohio River provides some of the best hybrid striped bass available to Buckeye-state anglers. Over a million hybrid stripers (total) are stocked in the Ohio River annually by Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The Ohio Division of Wildlife alone stocked over 570,000 hybrid striped bass into the river in 2003. 

The Ohio River is divided into an eastern and western zone, and harvest regulations differ between the two zones. In the western zone (Ohio-Kentucky border) anglers can keep 30 hybrid striped bass per day and in the eastern zone (Ohio-West Virginia border) there is no daily bag limit, but only four fish over 15 inches can be kept in either zone. Four reservoirs are also stocked annually with wipers: Buckeye (Fairfield and Licking counties), Charles Mill (Richland and Ashland counties), East Fork (Clermont County), and Kiser (Champagne County). Anglers fishing East Fork Lake can keep four fish over 15 inches daily. There are no daily or minimum size limits on any of the other lakes. (See fishing regulations.)

Techniques
Fishing for wipers is typically best during the twilight hours (sunrise and sunset). On calm summer evenings they can be seen breaking the water surface in pursuit of schools of shad. In the Ohio River they tend to concentrate in the tail water outflows below the dams. In reservoirs, watch for fish breaking the surface near points and creek mouths, and try to make long casts into schools of feeding fish. They spend most of their life in offshore areas, so most wipers are caught by anglers fishing from a boat, but shore anglers occasionally get the thrill of a lifetime when a wiper wanders close to shore and takes their bait. 

Hybrid striped bass are active predators and can be caught on a variety of artificial, live, or cut baits. In Ohio they consume primarily gizzard shad, so just about any artificial bait that simulates a shad will work. The most popular artificial baits are soft plastic jerk baits, crank baits, casting spoons, and spinner baits. Large shiners or shad, live or cut, are also popular baits; however, if no fish are available, chicken liver can be an effective bait as well. Live and cut baits can be suspended under a bobber or over the side of a boat. In tailwaters, use a large weight to keep live or cut bait in the current below the dam outflows. 

Special Notes on Preparation
When prepared correctly, hybrid striped bass can provide delicious table fare. However, many anglers only keep smaller fish to eat, often complaining that large fish have a bad flavor. Larger fish can be just as tasty as the young &#8220;tender&#8221; ones when prepared correctly. Hybrid striped bass have a vein of red meat running down the center of their fillets, known as the mud line, which is the cause of the strong flavor. Older / larger fish tend to have more red meat in their fillets, and consequently, a stronger flavor. Removal of the mud-line is essential to eliminating the off-flavor of larger fish. Some of the white meat may have to be sacrificed to remove all of the mud line, but the difference in the flavor will be well worth a few extra moments of preparation. So when you take to the waters this year with a fishing pole in hand don&#8217;t overlook Ohio&#8217;s other bass, you won&#8217;t be disappointed.


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## sevenx (Apr 21, 2005)

Another great post, lets not forget the fly fisherman, Cheartruse and white half and half, clousers or streamers with sinking lines work well. Also grey and white, white, copper and white, are also productive, and as mentions any shad type bait such as Dave Whitlock's Sheep shads, Salt water flys such as Lefty's Decievers and Enrico Puglisi bait fish in the appropriate colors. I have also caught whites and hybrids on gold bead brown mini buggers. Look for the hybrids when water temps hit the high 50's this spring. S


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

i feel smarter already, now, witch get the biggest? hybred or striper


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## LittleMiamiJeff (Oct 1, 2005)

boonecreek said:


> i feel smarter already, now, witch get the biggest? hybred or striper


Striper by far, World record on rod and reel is 78lb? Wiper is ?? 26 or 27, I'll find records and post.
LMJ


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## boonecreek (Dec 28, 2006)

LMJ now where does the rock fish(norris lake) come in to play (striper, aka rock fish)


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## tom_912 (Aug 16, 2006)

Thanks for all the great information. I just started fishing for these beasts this past fall and only had one great day catching them. I'm looking forward to spring


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## mystic4314 (May 20, 2006)

you are a wealth of info some stuff there i didnt know. We seem to travel the same waters im sure we have crossed paths before see ya on hte water


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## Stripers4Life (May 2, 2007)

went stream fishing in yellow creek the other week, just outside toronto, for some smallies. when i was there it had just rained alot and the ohio was very high moving faster than normal it appeared. when fishing for smallies we were using 6 - 8 inch shad caught with a cast net and the strangest thing happened. for about 2 hours my buddy and i ran into a school of stripers, or hybrids, im not sure but it seemed a little odd that we were catching these beasts in a creek. I figured that maybe the fish were taking shelter in the smaller creek, or possibly spawning? I'm not to sure the behavior of this fish but I do know they were crushing these shad. We were using medium weight spinning rods, and I'll tell you these fish are fighters! I had many hooked but only landed 3 lots of them broke my 6lb fireline like it was 2lb mono, or straightened my hooks like they were aluminum. I've only fished on purpose for these guys twice and fell in love with there strength. Does anyone know why we ran into these fish on this little creek, and does anyone know a consistent method of finding these fish? any help would be appreciated Thanks.


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## bambibuster (Feb 27, 2008)

i'm looking for information on fishing kiser lake ; my son has caught some nice hybrids out of mesquito creek after the water was high and flowing over the spill-way at kiser lake along state route 235. i have been told that the bass will take chicken liver off the bottom, but i have had no luck. any info would be greatly appreciated.


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## BiteMyLine (Sep 7, 2006)

I have a friend that lives up that way. Twilight hours produce the best. I have only been up there once but I did have one strike a 3/8 white rooster tail. I always have good luck on the Ohio river for wipers with these. Also crankbaits and rattle traps, and of course in shad patterns.


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## JIG (Nov 2, 2004)

What is the life span of a wiper? Some at WB are 24-28in fish. Were did they come from after 20yrs. I would think the dont just stop growing. If what you say about the fish being 12in in 2 yrs...Those fish would be HUGE!


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## Juan More Fish (Apr 1, 2007)

where can i catch stripers?
I live in columbus?!%


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

your best bet is the ohio river, start drinvin south!
the life span of a hybrid btw is nothing near 20yrs, my best guess on how they are still there is someone is privatly stocking them(illegal but people will do stuff like that), otherwise there is no logical explination unless there is a place upstream that stocks them.


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## downtime8763 (Jun 22, 2008)

Here is a ODNR web site that states striper's are stocked in Seneca and Kiser lakes(not wipers) as I live near Kiser I will be trying my luck at them their however no motors allowed at Kiser so that will be a challenge.http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/spe...e_default/stripedbass/tabid/6772/Default.aspx
http://www.mwcdlakes.com/hunting.htm


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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

Kiser has males only. Seneca has both. All are used in the hybrid striper stocking program.


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## downtime8763 (Jun 22, 2008)

Thanks for the info Mean Morone every little bit helps.


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## creekrock (Oct 28, 2008)

Does anyone know if there a list of lakes and rivers where hybrids are stocked?


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## Mean Morone (Apr 12, 2004)

I was told last fall by a state official that there are 4 lakes in Ohio that are stocked with hybrid stripers. I don't know them all, but I do know of East Fork lake, and Buckeye Lake(I think). Seneca is the brood stock lake for the hybrids. It's the only lake with female stripers in it. Kiser has male stripers only from what I was told. Of course the Ohio River gets stocked from Ohio and other states that boarder it. KY was stocking the Ohio River with stripers, but I think I was told that they are going to discontinue the stripers and stock hybrids. Some of this info is based on my memory which I agree isn't that great.


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## LittleMiamiJeff (Oct 1, 2005)

Currently, the Ohio Division of Wildlife is stocking Buckeye, Charles Mill, Dillon, and East Fork lakes, and the Ohio River.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Default.aspx?TabId=20785#HSB

Here's the list from Ohio DNR
LMJ


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## creekrock (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks Mean Morone and LittleMiamiJeff, I will look into it.


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## Bronzeback60 (May 20, 2009)

I have heard that there are runs in the spring and in the fall of wipers up the Little Miami River.

Is this true and if so can you narrow down the dates a little?

Thanks


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

fish it for a few more years and I'll tell you the secret

LOL
there is no timing, I have fished that river since I was two and dates dont exist for the "runs" of fish. Some years it really slow too. it has alot more to do with temp, O2, and bait that year than anything else. and not enough come up to support many people knowing about and keeping them.
april may is good for whites and somtimes you get lucky, try early october, fish baits betweem 4-6in, dont keep them or I'll hunt you down.
if you want more consistant fishing, any dam on the ohio in may, and at night in july.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

As Riverking stated, punishment for keeping the fish is death by 7 weight caning.


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## Kurtis (Jul 21, 2010)

boonecreek said:


> LMJ now where does the rock fish(norris lake) come in to play (striper, aka rock fish)


Natural Stripers live in the ocean and go up fresh water rivers to spawn. In the spring they congragate in bays and the mouths of rivers where they feed along rocky shores and bridge pilings. All along the coast they are called rock fish by locals and it stuck.


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## Kurtis (Jul 21, 2010)

riverKing said:


> fish it for a few more years and I'll tell you the secret
> 
> LOL
> there is no timing, I have fished that river since I was two and dates dont exist for the "runs" of fish. Some years it really slow too. it has alot more to do with temp, O2, and bait that year than anything else. and not enough come up to support many people knowing about and keeping them.
> ...


Hybrids can't reproduce and studies have shown that they have a low survival rate when caught and released. Unless released while still in the water. So why not keep a few they are real good eating.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

Kurtis said:


> Hybrids can't reproduce and studies have shown that they have a low survival rate when caught and released. Unless released while still in the water. So why not keep a few they are real good eating.


Studies have also shown they have an even lower survival rate when you kill them.



They are the best sport fish in Ohio. Keep'm alive as long as possible so other people can enjoy them too. 


Enjoy them, like...on the end of the rod. Not with BBQ sauce.


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## Buzzin (Jun 22, 2010)

fallen513 said:


> Studies have also shown they have an even lower survival rate when you kill them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Funny $hit! Any Fisherman or woman who thinks the enjoyment of eating one is half as good as catching one should label them selfs as an idiot unless they are in pure survival mode!


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## afishinfool (Feb 1, 2014)

Buzzin said:


> Funny $hit! Any Fisherman or woman who thinks the enjoyment of eating one is half as good as catching one should label them selfs as an idiot unless they are in pure survival mode!


Sounds like you dont have a clue. If you would take the time to LEARN how to properly fillet a fish, you may enjoy the stripers, hybrids, and white bass that you catch. And learn how to spell correctly. It is "selves" not "selfs". So before you going calling people idiots, make sure you dont look like one yourself.


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## Buzzin (Jun 22, 2010)

Way to bring up a dead thread grandpa.... Thought this was a fishing forum not a grammar lesson. Check your self fool, obviously you still have a little left in those depends..... 
Hybrids are fun to chase not eat. There are way better fish for the table in Ohio IMHO
See ya on the water....


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## afishinfool (Feb 1, 2014)

So Buzzin, they finally dropped huh? Hope I see ya.


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## Buzzin (Jun 22, 2010)

[ame]http://youtu.be/_W-fIn2QZgg[/ame]


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## afishinfool (Feb 1, 2014)

So you had the operation huh?


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