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Hybrid striped bass stoke up the
autumn action in Greers Ferry Lake
autumn action in Greers Ferry Lake
TOP: Daniel Felsher shows
off a hybrid striped bass he
caught on Greers Ferry Lake
near Bee Branch, Ark., while
fishing with Tommy Cauley of
Fish Finder Guide Service.
RIGHT: Steven Felsher
shows off a hybrid striped
bass he caught on Greers
Ferry Lake near Bee Branch,
Ark., while fishing with
Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder
Guide Service. Greers Ferry
Lake produced the world
record hybrid striper, a
27-pound, 5-ounce fish.
off a hybrid striped bass he
caught on Greers Ferry Lake
near Bee Branch, Ark., while
fishing with Tommy Cauley of
Fish Finder Guide Service.
RIGHT: Steven Felsher
shows off a hybrid striped
bass he caught on Greers
Ferry Lake near Bee Branch,
Ark., while fishing with
Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder
Guide Service. Greers Ferry
Lake produced the world
record hybrid striper, a
27-pound, 5-ounce fish.
When it comes to hybrid striped bass, Greers Ferry Lake near Heber
Springs, Ark., sets the standard.
Sometimes called “wipers,” “sunshine bass” or “Cherokee bass,” hybrid
stripers result from a hatchery cross of striped bass eggs with the sperm of
white bass. The resulting fish appears thicker than a striped bass, but not as
stocky as a white bass and sports broken black horizontal stripes, except for
the first horizontal stripe below the lateral line.
Additionally, a hybrid has one rough toothy tongue patch or two rough
spots very close together. A white bass has a single heart-shaped rough spot
on its tongue. A striper has two distinct parallel rough patches on the back of
its tongue.
“Most people identify hybrids by the broken black lines on their sides,”
said Stuart Wooldridge, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission district
fisheries biologist in Hot Springs. “Hybrids do have broken lines, but some
striped bass also have broken lines. A hybrid bass is shaped more like a
white bass with a deeper body. The best way for an angler to tell the
difference between stripers, hybrids and white bass is the ‘tooth patch’ or
rough spot on its tongue.”
The AGFC stocked hybrids in some state lakes mainly to control gizzard
shad populations and to give Natural State sportsmen another large game
fish to pursue. Adult gizzard shad grow too big for most largemouth bass.
Like striped bass, hybrids mainly prowl open waters, away from the shorelines
and thick cover where largemouths thrive.
Hybrids do well in rivers, large reservoirs and small ponds. They can
tolerate greater temperature extremes and lower oxygen levels than either
stripers or white bass. They also thrive in current, although they tend to stay
on the edge of it. Tailraces below dams or water flowing through spillways
offer excellent places to look for hybrids. Natural springs or creeks with
flowing water can also attract hybrids.
“Hybrids are more tolerant of warmer temperatures,” Wooldridge said.
“For this reason, we stock them in shallower, warmer lakes. The best hybrid
populations in Arkansas are in Greers Ferry Lake, Beaver Lake and Lake
DeGray. Lake DeQueen and Lake Norfork also have some hybrids as do a
few smaller lakes in the state.”
Most hybrids grow to about 10 to 15 pounds, but Jerald C. Shaum set
the world record with a 27-pound, 5-ounce fish he pulled from Greers Ferry
Lake on April 24, 1997. However, the fall usually produces the best hybrid
action.
When the leaves change color and the water cools, action can turn hot
in the 40,000-acre lake nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. Fed by three
rivers with a maximum depth of 190 feet, Greers Ferry actually resembles two
lakes. The deeper lower lake around Heber Springs looks like a huge
inverted “V” with plenty of tributaries feeding it. “The Narrows,” a river-like
channel, connects the upper and lower halves of the lake. The upper lake
near Fairfield Bay looks more riverine with channels cutting through rocky
bluffs and hills.
“Greer’s Ferry Lake is a very good lake for hybrid striped bass,” said
Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service in Bee Branch, Ark. “In the fall,
they put on a really big feed and people can sometimes catch more than 100
fish a day. It gets good when the days get shorter and the shad start
migrating up the creeks. When the water temperatures get to about 70
degrees, that’s when the fishing really turns on. We catch them until about
January when it gets really cold.”
Like stripers, hybrids primarily eat shad. They often follow schools of
shad, which sometimes migrate into creek channels in the fall. At this time of
year, anglers can often see schools of hybrids attacking shad on the surface.
When that happens, throw topwaters, small spinners or rattling crankbaits
toward the schooling fish. Anglers can also catch them by vertically jigging
chrome spoons around channel edges.
“Some of the best lures are jigging spoons, in-line spinners or any baits
that put off a lot of vibrations,” Cauley said. “A Front Runner attached to a
topwater bait is a really good option. Anything that mimics a shad should
produce a lot of strikes. Some of the better spots in Greer Ferry include
Kidney Cove, Cove Creek, the Narrows and Peter Creek. Start fishing the
mouths of the creeks and work back into the creek channels as time
progresses.”
For booking trips, call Cauley at (501) 940-1318. On the Internet, see
www.arfishfinder.net.
Springs, Ark., sets the standard.
Sometimes called “wipers,” “sunshine bass” or “Cherokee bass,” hybrid
stripers result from a hatchery cross of striped bass eggs with the sperm of
white bass. The resulting fish appears thicker than a striped bass, but not as
stocky as a white bass and sports broken black horizontal stripes, except for
the first horizontal stripe below the lateral line.
Additionally, a hybrid has one rough toothy tongue patch or two rough
spots very close together. A white bass has a single heart-shaped rough spot
on its tongue. A striper has two distinct parallel rough patches on the back of
its tongue.
“Most people identify hybrids by the broken black lines on their sides,”
said Stuart Wooldridge, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission district
fisheries biologist in Hot Springs. “Hybrids do have broken lines, but some
striped bass also have broken lines. A hybrid bass is shaped more like a
white bass with a deeper body. The best way for an angler to tell the
difference between stripers, hybrids and white bass is the ‘tooth patch’ or
rough spot on its tongue.”
The AGFC stocked hybrids in some state lakes mainly to control gizzard
shad populations and to give Natural State sportsmen another large game
fish to pursue. Adult gizzard shad grow too big for most largemouth bass.
Like striped bass, hybrids mainly prowl open waters, away from the shorelines
and thick cover where largemouths thrive.
Hybrids do well in rivers, large reservoirs and small ponds. They can
tolerate greater temperature extremes and lower oxygen levels than either
stripers or white bass. They also thrive in current, although they tend to stay
on the edge of it. Tailraces below dams or water flowing through spillways
offer excellent places to look for hybrids. Natural springs or creeks with
flowing water can also attract hybrids.
“Hybrids are more tolerant of warmer temperatures,” Wooldridge said.
“For this reason, we stock them in shallower, warmer lakes. The best hybrid
populations in Arkansas are in Greers Ferry Lake, Beaver Lake and Lake
DeGray. Lake DeQueen and Lake Norfork also have some hybrids as do a
few smaller lakes in the state.”
Most hybrids grow to about 10 to 15 pounds, but Jerald C. Shaum set
the world record with a 27-pound, 5-ounce fish he pulled from Greers Ferry
Lake on April 24, 1997. However, the fall usually produces the best hybrid
action.
When the leaves change color and the water cools, action can turn hot
in the 40,000-acre lake nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks. Fed by three
rivers with a maximum depth of 190 feet, Greers Ferry actually resembles two
lakes. The deeper lower lake around Heber Springs looks like a huge
inverted “V” with plenty of tributaries feeding it. “The Narrows,” a river-like
channel, connects the upper and lower halves of the lake. The upper lake
near Fairfield Bay looks more riverine with channels cutting through rocky
bluffs and hills.
“Greer’s Ferry Lake is a very good lake for hybrid striped bass,” said
Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service in Bee Branch, Ark. “In the fall,
they put on a really big feed and people can sometimes catch more than 100
fish a day. It gets good when the days get shorter and the shad start
migrating up the creeks. When the water temperatures get to about 70
degrees, that’s when the fishing really turns on. We catch them until about
January when it gets really cold.”
Like stripers, hybrids primarily eat shad. They often follow schools of
shad, which sometimes migrate into creek channels in the fall. At this time of
year, anglers can often see schools of hybrids attacking shad on the surface.
When that happens, throw topwaters, small spinners or rattling crankbaits
toward the schooling fish. Anglers can also catch them by vertically jigging
chrome spoons around channel edges.
“Some of the best lures are jigging spoons, in-line spinners or any baits
that put off a lot of vibrations,” Cauley said. “A Front Runner attached to a
topwater bait is a really good option. Anything that mimics a shad should
produce a lot of strikes. Some of the better spots in Greer Ferry include
Kidney Cove, Cove Creek, the Narrows and Peter Creek. Start fishing the
mouths of the creeks and work back into the creek channels as time
progresses.”
For booking trips, call Cauley at (501) 940-1318. On the Internet, see
www.arfishfinder.net.
