# West Branch



## THUNDERBUG (Apr 28, 2008)

Epic day at the Branch! Hit 3 Muskies 1 Walleye and a Hyrid Stripe...Packed up the boat for Muskie last night and hit the road this morning. Hit a 35 incher in Jay lake only to have him throw the hook on a 3 foot jump right in front of me at the boat. I took a different approach today, following back through all my spots with a samller bait, after showing them the bigg guns! So this method yeilded the walleye and the hybrid. Later on i found some good bait accross from moouse, and hit this 45" 21 pound pig! What a rush! 4-5 casts later i get smashed again, the bait was lodged in his face head pointing to the back of the fish, leaving the line perfectly placed over his gill... And wouldnt ya know it, he dicided to barrel rol and snapola right on the gill rake. But also lesson learned, RE-TIE your RIG AFTER YOU PUT A 45" fish to the boat!


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## MadMac (May 2, 2005)

Nice Bug. How big was the hybrid?


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## THUNDERBUG (Apr 28, 2008)

MadMac said:


> Nice Bug. How big was the hybrid?


He was a little smaller then the eye. Damn lure was almost as big lol.


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## fishingful (Apr 5, 2004)

Pics of hybrid?


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## monte39 (Nov 24, 2011)

beautiful fish man!


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## cmz13 (Apr 7, 2013)

Nice fish...what lure did u catch them all on?

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## THUNDERBUG (Apr 28, 2008)

cmz13 said:


> Nice fish...what lure did u catch them all on?
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Muskies all came on 9" 4oz homade jerkbaits and the small fish came on 6" jointed floating Rapalas...


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## Leighway (Oct 31, 2011)

Congrats on a great day. Did you make the lure or did someone else.


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## MadMac (May 2, 2005)

THUNDERBUG said:


> He was a little smaller then the eye. Damn lure was almost as big lol.


Curious. There shouldn't be any that small in there. Could it have been a White Bass?


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## cmz13 (Apr 7, 2013)

There are deffinatly small stripers in there....last year me and my buddy caught some while crappie fishing off the pier about 2 lb at the biggest

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## dtigers1984 (Jul 24, 2007)

I'm with MadMac. Shouldn't be any in there at that size, so my guess would be white bass until I saw evidence otherwise.

cmz13, what you are describing sounds like white bass, too. Any pictures to help with ID?


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## cmz13 (Apr 7, 2013)

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## MadMac (May 2, 2005)

Yeah, that's a white bass cmz13.


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## cmz13 (Apr 7, 2013)

Are you sure its not a hybrid? Because white bass stripes have lighter stripes and don't have the break in the stripes

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## rbsteele (Sep 20, 2006)

I caught what I thought was a hybrid last year. It was about 3.5-4 lbs. If it wasn't, it was a monster white bass. Caught on a 5 inch Tuff Schad by the dam.


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## tee bee (Feb 13, 2009)

rbsteel, I agree with you. I think the state has stocked Wipers in WB (Stripe Bass/White Bass hybird). I've caught about 4 in the last couple years. Heavy body, broken lateral lines, nothing like the white bass I've caught on the big lake. I've caught Stripers and Hybirds on Norris Lake in Tenn., and that is what these fish reminded me of Hybirds. From what I can find out, (usually) only one stripe on a White Bass reaches the tail, where as multiple stripes reach the tail in a Hybird.


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## crestliner TS (Jun 8, 2012)

Nice fish! It looks like a tiger muskie to me. Anyone else think so?


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## Eliminator (Aug 26, 2006)

Yep, and very healthy looking fish too bad it's such a blurry photo.


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## MadMac (May 2, 2005)

As far as I know they haven't put any Hybrids in there since the early 1990s. Here's one I caught in October 2007 that was 26".


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Here's a West Branch white bass. I too thought it was a hybrid but was set straight.


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## tee bee (Feb 13, 2009)

nice fish Mac, I know your a Musky guy but them guys are a bunch of fun to catch!


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## MadMac (May 2, 2005)

Thanks Tee. Yeah it was fun even with muskie gear.


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## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

Great looking fish!


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## Jigging Jim (Apr 3, 2010)

crestliner TS said:


> Nice fish! It looks like a tiger muskie to me. Anyone else think so?


It's a Tiger - and it's a beauty!


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