after all the good advice from this site, i've just added a few pellet trained lmb and wipers to my cages to attempt to grow them out. once they are added to my lake this fall, how much of their diet will remain pellets? jb
From my experience quite a few. Once you release them they will probably hang around the cages if you leave the cages in the water.
Once spring rolls around feed in the same place again and they will begin showing up again once the water starts warming up.
I think the WIpers will be more dependant on pellets, but both will continue to utilize this as a food source. You should love their aggressive nature. Do you flyfish?, you might want to take it up
Greg,
What pattern fly will a pellet trained hybrid striper (wiper) take?
A "pellet" or a baitfish imitation?
george
george, my reading tells me that wipers will hit both on the surface and quite deep. the 27lb 5oz world record was caught at 45 feet on a diving crankbait. i see the 10 inchers i put in my lake last fall hitting insects on the surface at all hours of the day and night; so i suspect you won't need flies that resemble pellets.
greg. one of the reasons i'm adding wipers to my lake is because my wife, and my son and i all enjoy using a fly rod. i have a 7 wt just waiting for these fish to get to 3 lbs or better. any idea how much of their feed will be pellets? jb
George, I have had good luck with piece of wine cork shaved to look like a pellet, but also with streamers. They are so agressive, it is fun.
JB,, I should probably know your answer, but it is just a guess as too how much of diet is pellets. I just know fed to satitation. As long as the food you are putting out is eaten in 5-15 minutes you are doing the right thing. Enjoy their addition.
The wipers are a hoot on a fly rod. I have had most of my luck with clouser minnows and deceivers. Poppers also work great when they are crashing the surface. When I cast a minnow I generally put the flyrod in my armpit and use a double hand retrieve, seems to work good. Thanks to this board for the encoragement to put them in, it's been a blast!!!!
Thanks to all for the flyfish talk for hybrid stripers as we call them. I am a avid striped bass fly fisherman - the main reason i want to stock the hybrids.
I was concerned that pellet trained would reject streamer type flies.
Thanks for the good news.
george
JB- What size is your pond - want the wipers compete with your bass ?
I've never seen pellet trained hybrids spit a lure. When they turn on look out. The only way to go is to feed them pellets, they do pretty good on threadfin shad. The biggest and best looking hybrids I have sampled have been fed pellets.