I love catching HSB at a local fee fishing pond. They are the best fighters I’ve ever caught. I’d like to take it to the next level by catching them from a large reservoir (Loch Raven near Baltimore to be exact). They’re easy to catch from the pond, since it’s so small they’ll be anywhere you cast. The reservoir will be a different story, so…

I’d like to collect comprehensive data on HSB; where to find them at different times of the year, their feeding strategies etc. There are loads of websites that will tell me everything about LMB and other sunfish, but info on HSB is hard to find… even on the ‘Wiper’ sub-forum of a striper website. This site seems to be the best resource for these fish, so if anyone has any info they’d like to contribute, please don’t hesitate.

You should get some great tips soon Rtifs. Looking forward to hearing them myself.

RTIFS - you're right. Not as much info on hybrid stripers. Here are a few pieces of info for you.

Some information on seasonal movements of the hybrids in an Indiana study.

http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3649.htm

The Kansas hybrid striped bass management plan.

http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/content/download/21565/143935/file/

Here's a thesis from a Virginia reservoir.

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05212003-112151/unrestricted/FinalThesisETD.pdf

And an Illinois study.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management 1987; 7: 531-534
doi: 10.1577/1548-8659(1987)7<531:RHSBIS>2.0.CO;2



Radiotracking Hybrid Striped Bass in Spring Lake, Illinois, to Determine Temperature and Oxygen Preferences

DAVID R. DOUGLAS and LARRY A. JAHN
Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois 61455, USA

Abstract

Twelve hybrid striped bass (striped bass Morone saxatilis ♀ x white bass M. chrysops ♂) in 101-hectare Spring Lake, Illinois, had temperature-sensitive radio transmitters implanted in April and May 1985 to determine their temperature and oxygen preferenda. Tagged fish, which were monitored weekly from April 25 to September 30, 1985, ranged widely during most of the tracking period. Overall average movements were greater than 25 m/h 56% of the time. During summer stratification, however, fish concentrated in the deeper section of the lake between the old and new dams and moved only 27 m/h during this time, as opposed to 61 m/h before it. During stratification, the fish were confined to a narrow layer of water just above the zone of oxygen depletion, where water temperatures were consistently 2-3°C cooler than near the surface. Fish appeared to prefer oxygen concentrations above 2 mg/L, which often forced them into water temperatures as high as 27°C.

Hey Dave, great info! I’m still going through it all, but this is just the sort of thing I was hoping to find.

Follow the shad and fish the wind.

This particular reservoir has G-shad, but no T-shad. I’ve read conflicting info on whether HSB eat significant numbers of G-shad.

The HSB will definitely follow the age-0 shad. The age-0 gizzard shad should be big enough for the hybrids to start feeding on them by July (maybe June in the south?)? When age-0 shad are abundant, most of the predators chase them, as indicated by the short, sweet, and on-target comment from Shorty (that's the voice of experience)!

To find the shad, watch the birds.

HSB readily eat YOY gshad and the larger trophy sized fish will eat larger ones...

Loch Raven is no longer stocked with HSB. Their thinking was much like that of Virginia. They fear they will escape the lake, migrate to the bay and backcross with the native striped bass and screw up the genetics. There are still landlocked pure striped bass in the lake though.

From mid April to early May is the best time to focus on stripers in the reservoir. They run up into Gunpowder Falls in their fruitless spawning run that time of year and that is when they are easiest to catch. As the water warms the fish head for deep water near the dam. There they hug the cool well oxygenated water near the thermocline. With a good sonar you can locate the thermocline, usually in the 30-35 foot range in the summer. Using a down rigger to put the bait in that zone running any number of different baits will catch fish. When the water cools in the fall, that is my favorite time of year to catch them. Often they will slash into school of YOY shad on the surface and that is my favorite type of fishing.

There may be a few very old and very large HSB left in the reservoir, but they are a dying breed.

I've done well in Raccoon Reservoir slow trolling a weighted live 5"-7" BG under a balloon. This was for Stripers, not hybrids tho. As the water temps rise, the survivability of hooked stripers drops.

I thought this might be the case. Do you know how long ago they stopped stocking it? They still show up as an available species on Baltimore’s guide to fishing its reservoirs.

As an aside, I really can’t stand these ultra-hyper enviro-agencies that use bad science to ruin our fun. HSB may attempt to back-cross, but outside a lab, the chances of success are next to nil.

Thanks for the advise on how to find them. I'll definitely try it!

Virginia(VDGIF) had a change of philosophy with HSB in the early 90's. One of my favorite lakes to fish saw it's stocking of them in end '94 as I recall... You could still catch them well into the late 90's. Haven't seen or heard of one caught in several yeas though. HSB have a maximum life span close to white bass(6-8 years) as opposed to pure striped bass(30+ years).

I am not as familiar with Loch Raven and MD waters as I don't fish them nearly as much, but I think they stopped stocking HSB into Altantic drainages around 2000.

I do agree with you that the odds of a HSB making to the bay and then successfully back crossing with wild stripers is close to nil. My cousin lives near the St John's River in FL, the most southern river on the Atlantic Coast that stripers spawn in. Last year he caught an 8 pound HSB in the saltwater lagoon area of the river less than a half mile from the ocean fishing for snook! When he reported this to the FFWCC they didn't believe him until they sent a biologist out to ID the fish and confirm his story. They were a bit surprised to say the least. However, they do stock several ponds in the area with HSB, so one must gotten loose...