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#45793 11/03/03 07:10 PM
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I have a 15 acre pond in NC. I stocked 300 hybrid striped bass about seven years ago to cut down on my populations of stunted crappie and brim. The hybrids have been fed with fish food pellets from day one. It is an unbelievable sight to see these fish come up to the surface to take this food. However, the only people that seem to catch these fish are kids fishing worms or someone fishing for catfish with liver. It is almost impossible to get them to hit an artificial bait. I wonder if this goes back to what they were raised on in the hatchery. Has anyone who has stocked hybrid stripers in their pond had any luck catching them with artifical baits? I know that in the lakes the state stocks with hybrids, they will hit just about anything you throw at them. However, that does not seem to be the case in a pond environment. Any comments on this subject by anyone who has stocked hyprid stripers would be appreciated.

#45794 11/03/03 07:27 PM
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bob i think what it really depends on is what the fish have been able to forage on their entire lives....if they are forced to eat brim and crappie...then you may try an artificial lure of that nature. however, from personal experience i know the hybrids that i have caught, the ones above 5lbs normally come off of a white/gray Stump Jumper...they sell them at BPS. however i have also found that sometimes catching pond reared fish is alot harder in ponds than in lakes...especially the big ones. when fishing for them when, where, and from what(boat or land) do you fish? this could also have a significant effect.

#45795 11/03/03 09:03 PM
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Have you tried using a pellet that you feed them for bait? Most of the trout in my trout pond are so conditioned to eat pellets that you have to match the hatch. Since the pellets are too hard to put a hook into we stretch a little panty hose over the pellet and tie it off. Then you run a small hook into the hose and you're in business. If you feed floating feed you should be able to put two or three together this way and cast out without even using a weight or float. You want it to float anyway and it will for a while if you do not add any weight.

Some like to add a regular float or clear float up the line a ways for extra casting weight or even use a fly rod. Either way as soon as the pellet gets engulfed set the hook and hold on for dear life.

I have taken trout in the 11 pound range this way. BTW, I have had people tie up or paint pellet imitations and most of the trout will ignore it. It seems they can smell the pellet.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






#45796 11/03/03 09:56 PM
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This is very very interesting!! so you use strippers to forage your crappie population down...has this been sucessesful so far?

#45797 11/04/03 12:44 AM
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Thanks for the responses. I must admit, I am really a bass fisherman trying to catch these hybrids on artifical lures with little luck. I did try using the pellets as bait this past summer, and I can tell you that trick also works on hybrids. In regard to using hybrids for crappie control, I feel I have been pretty successful. The first two years I had my pond (which was built in 1920), I caught and released over 75 bass between 6-8 pounds. However, I had no natural bass reproduction to speak of because of the large numbers of stunted crappie. I can tell you first hand what crappie can do to a bass fishery in even a 15 acre pond if they are not properly controlled. Since my objective was to manage my pond for numbers of decent sized bass rather than an occasional large bass, the state fish biologist recommended I stock the hybrids to help reduce the number of crappie in addition to removing all the crappie that I caught. Seven years later, I am catching large numbers of decent sized bass (with an occasional lunker), as well brim and crappie the size of your hand. In fact, I am at a point where I am harvesting all bass under 14 inches. I really feel the hybrids played a key role in helping me attain my pond management objectives.

#45798 11/04/03 08:59 AM
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Bob,

I have a profound interest with stocking hybrid stripers, especially to control crappie. Can you please tell me what size the hybrids were when you stocked? What time of year did you stock them? Did/do you have shad in your pond (if so, gizzard or threadfin)? On average, what's the water clarity? Thanks.



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"Imagination is more important than knowledge" Albert Einstein
#45799 11/04/03 12:16 PM
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I stocked hybrid stripers and catfish in a tiny pond with no other forage. Last spring we tried to catch the catfish which had grown a little faster and caught stripers on worm pieces and liver. We also caught them on various small lures. Then later in the year we quit catching them when we were after catfish so I tried several lures and didn't catch a one. Last fall I tried to catch the stripers to see how big they were and couldn't. Catch them in spring and not in summer and fall? I guess I'll know next spring.
My only guess is that the feed make them fat enough by early summer so they are more selective.

#45800 11/04/03 12:40 PM
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Shawn,
I would suggest not stocking any hybrid stripers less that 6-8 inches. They will be more expensive, but the survival rate at this size will more than offset the additional cost. I would stock them during the coldest part of the year because the mortality rate can be high if they are not properly transported and handled. This seems to be less of a problem during the colder months. In NC, I stocked mine in Feb seven years ago and again this past year. They have a life expectancy of not much more than seven years and that is why I re-stocked them. However, I do know there are still a lot left from my original stocking because I see numerous fish in the 6-10 pound range when I feed them from my dock. They actually school around the dock at feeding time. I do have a good population of gizzard shad in my pond, and the water clarity is slightly stained. Not only do the hybrids help keep my crappie population in check, but as a gamefish they are as strong as a largemouth bass and so much faster. I just wish they were easier to catch. Good Luck.

#45801 11/04/03 01:39 PM
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Several thoughts, here.
In 1981 we surveyed a 35 acre lake near the high plains of Texas, east of Lubbock. Found thousands of stunted white crappie, 4-6" long, slightly thicker than a postage stamp. The fishing club had a limited budget, couldn't afford to rotenone and start over, so we went shopping for hybrid stripers. We calculated the average crappie in this lake would fit into an 8 inch hybrid striper's mouth, so we bought $2,000 worth of 8-10" hybrid stripers, and stocked them. As I recall, it was 1,000 fish.
The next summer, club members were catching 4 pound hybrid stripers, and 8 inch crappie.
The second summer, folks were catching 7-10 pound wipers, along with 10 inch crappie.
At that point, the club decided to start harvesting the hybrids.
They did, and bluegill numbers began to rise. Once the forage base recovered, the club restocked with largemouth bass, which was their long term goal anyway.
All told, they harvested more than 650 hybrid stripers, as large as 12 pounds, and re-created their largemouth bass fishery. So, this lake is evidence hybrid stripers will eat crappie (as long as the crappie fit into a hybrid's mouth).
Another note...the hybrids weren't fed pelleted fish food during their stay in this lake.
Here's another thought to motivate your hybrids to bite a hook.
Take away their feed for a few days, and see if they bite any better.
Fish become conditioned to environmental parameters such as feeding, cover, habitat, water quality. Change the conditioning, you may change the behavior. Plus, if your hybrids are being fed to satiation, they won't bite your hook, because they aren't hungry.
Add hunger, see what happens.


Teach a man to grow fish...
He can teach to catch fish...
#45802 11/04/03 02:53 PM
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It sound like these Hybrid Stripers are just what the doctor ordered when it comes to Crappie :rolleyes:

So...what about this stocking senario...Redear, Coppernose bluegill, red reasted sunfish, Crappie, F1 LMB, Blue catfish, and Hybrid striped bass. All mixed in an 8.25 acre lake 25 feet deep... would this work?
Of course the three top predetor species would be treated as "one group" when it comes to stocking rates. For examle 50 F1 LMB, 50 Blues, and 50 stripers, which would make a total of 150 predetor fish per acre.
any comments?

#45803 11/04/03 03:36 PM
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provided ample forage will HSB grow just as large if pellet trained....does anyone know the numbers on this..

ie...how many pounds per year one can put on with just forage and also pounds per year of some that were pellet trained

also i was wondering....could i start my hybrids on a pellet trained diet to start them out growing fast...and then after a couple years (once they've reached more than 5lbs) could i take them off...this way you stil

#45804 11/04/03 03:38 PM
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sorry about the mistake above...the last paragraph was going to ask something along the lines of can you feed your HSB and then take them off of it after an extended period of time

i know this i not recommended with bluegill because there population size is dependent on the amount of food available, but with HSB you only have as many as you stock...and recommendations?

#45805 11/04/03 07:52 PM
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Over the past 5 weeks, I've been taking delivery on several fish I ordered in late Sept (sbm, lmb, perch, shiners, fatheads).

While they were loading up at their shop, they called to see if I wanted anything else. They had 8-10" hybrid stripes. I wasn't looking to put any of these in my pond; I'd done no research, and from the little I'd heard, the stipers were fairly aggressive and would eat a hell of a lot (I do no feeding/pellets).

Anyway, when the fish truck comes around, the supply is right there (Like the Schwan's Food Truck), so I just got (5) of 'em and put 'em in the pond. My pond is about 7 acres (in past posts, I know I've called it 8-10, but after doing some rough sizing, I'm thinking 7) with existing lmb, sunnies, crappie, cats, perch, and shiners & fatheads.

The INTERESTING thing is when the fish people made their last delivery, various types of fish came in one tank, so we got everything out except for the stripers. Then the fish dude put clove oil in the water & in a few minutes, the stipers were laying around. When we put them in the lake, they just went to the bottom on laid on their sides. It took over 10 minutes for them to revive and swim away.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

#45806 11/05/03 12:59 AM
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wipers are eaters , that means any thing they can catch , even largemouths.


i only wanted to have some fun
#45807 11/05/03 02:39 PM
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So..what is the difference between a hybrid Striped Bass and a plain Striped Bass.

Gregg,
What are the big fish we catch in these public lakes like Lake Linear? are the Hybrides? or just plain Striped Bass? Can you stock just plain striped Bass? why or why not?

thanks

#45808 11/05/03 06:42 PM
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The Hybrid stipers are sterile and can't reproduce. I think "triploid" means they have three chromosomes or something like that, so they can't spawn.

I believe this is similar to a tiger muskee.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

#45809 11/06/03 08:20 AM
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Depends on how big they are...most likely they are stripers. However, alot of times you'll find a school of hybrids mixed in with stripers. I haven't heard much on stocking plain stripers. Personally that's what I want, but I've heard a few say that a pond isn't deep enough to hold stripers....Has anyone ever actually tried this? There's nothing like a 20lb striper pulling a bass boat all the way down a lake \:\)

Chris

#45810 11/06/03 08:53 AM
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A hybrid striper is a cross between a striped bass (striper) and a white (sand) bass. I don't remember which sex of either is used. At the hatchery, one is stripped for eggs and the other 'milked' for sperm. It is mixed and the result is the hybrid striper. It can occur naturally in rivers but, I understand, is rare. Both parents depend on running water to spawn. My personal experience is that a striper pulls harder but a hybrid actively fights better. Like both parents, it is a schooling fish.

#45811 11/06/03 11:23 AM
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Expanding on Dave's comments:

Some states (not all) have enacted legislation requiring that white amur (grass carp) must be "triploid" (their chromosome structure modified during the egg fertilization process) when these fish are being stocked in public or private waters for vegetation management purposes. The odd chromosome sequence disables the fish's reproduction capabilities, which greatly reduces the potential impact of an exponentially-expanding population on desirable aquatic plant species (especially if these fish should escape their intended watery confines).

Hybrid stripers are entirely different. These fish are the result of crossing either female white bass and male striped bass (Sunshine Bass) or female striped bass and male white bass (Palmetto Bass). Crossing a donkey with a horse produces a sterile mule. Likewise, the hybrid striper is sterile. But, like the mule, the hybrid striper carries with it some very desirable qualities from both parents.

#45812 11/06/03 11:34 AM
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So, has any one raised or stocked any stripers? do they exibit the same wonderful charecteristics as the hybrid?
Do they eat peleted food?
Do they reproduce in small ponds? Where I'm from in SC the state had to stock them every year in Lake Murry?

#45813 11/06/03 12:32 PM
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They definitely do not reproduce in ponds and I do not know of any lakes where they can reproduce. One fact that many people do not know is that the striper is actually a sea-bearing fish that comes upstream into rivers to reproduce. Now they are bred and stocked into freshwater lakes - called landlocked striper bass. I think the world-record for a saltwater striper is well over 100lbs. So these guys to get big. The lake where I fish the record is around 50lbs. so I'm sure they consume huge amounts of forage, so it would probably have to be a fairly large pond in order to support them.

Chris

#45814 11/06/03 01:50 PM
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Some one mentioned that there has to be deep water in order to stock them...My lake will hpefully be 25 feet deep is that deep enough? Does any one know who sells the fish and how much they cost? do they eat pelleted food?
You are right I have heard that these were once salt water fish, its quite interesting these fish I really would like to know more info on them...

#45815 11/06/03 05:48 PM
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The feeding habbits of striped bass tend to parallel that of blue catfish. In fact, I have caught striped bass on stink bait intended for catfish, so they may be opertunistic enough to learn to take pellets. Who knows?
Another interesting fact about the hybrid stipers. I have read that although they cannot spawn with each other, they can back breed (meaning they can spawn with a white bass to produce white bass or spawn with a sriped bass to produce striped bass)

The situation described by Bob Lusk really caught my interest but I do have a question about it. Why were wipers used to contoll the crappie? Is there something about a wiper's behavior that that makes them a more effective crappie preditor? Or is it that hybrids of adequate size are less expensive than LMB of adequate size? I would assume (eventhough we all know what happens you assume) that LMB would be the optimal preditor due to increased mouth size and expert ambush skills. Is there something I missed or am I just thinking too deeply into it?

-Scott


Take great care of it, or let someone else have it.
#45816 11/06/03 06:33 PM
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jb it may deal with the fact that HSB have a contrained mouth size limit therefore contraining them to be able to only eat a certain size of crappie....this maybe the size that crappie tend to overpopulate and stunt at...bob probably knows more but that's just a guess.

#45817 11/06/03 06:35 PM
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Big Pond, I got my hybrid stripers from Keystone Aquaculture (John Sproch) near Harrisburg, PA, ph. 717-834-6772.

I know that they do ship some fish, but I don't know about South Carolina. Give a call and ask. If he can't help, he may point you in the right direction.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

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