Heterosis - 05/11/09 02:14 PM
Lake Tawakoni is a hybrid haven
Stripers attract flocks of birds and anglers to lake east of Dallas
10:15 PM CDT on Saturday, May 9, 2009
By RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News
rsasser@dallasnews.com
Heterosis, noun, meaning increased vigor or other superior qualities arising from the crossbreeding of genetically different plants or animals. Also called hybrid vigor.
WILLS POINT, Texas – Tony Parker's fishing rod was heeled over in a rainbow arc, line screaming from his reel. He was fast to a Lake Tawakoni hybrid striped bass, a testimonial to hybrid vigor. Think about the most famous of domestic hybrids – the mule. This fish was the 8-pound aquatic equivalent of a mule.
The fish yielded line grudgingly. Parker, who has guided anglers on Tawakoni since he was 17, was just as stubborn. He soon won the seesaw battle, lipped the tired fish and swung it aboard. After a quick photo session, Parker slipped the powerful fish back in the lake in hopes of catching it again next year, a little bigger and a little stronger.
Despite merciless winds, hybrid fishing at Tawakoni has been good. In fact, Parker lives in Sulphur Springs and splits his time between the venerable Lake Tawakoni and the newer, lesser known hybrid hot spot, Cooper Lake, where fishing pressure is light.
At Tawakoni, you seldom have the fish to yourself, even on a windy weekday. A bent rod on the popular impoundment east of Dallas is like a neon sign summoning other boats to close in on the action.
Parker found these particular fish through his eyes in the sky. Seagulls and terns quickly spot fish feeding on the surface, then dip and dart from above in an effort to pick off shad driven topside by the fish. Hybrid stripers are gluttonous eaters. When shad are abundant, the aggressive fish will feed until they can hold no more, then void their stomach contents and continue the feeding frenzy.
Birds feed on the discarded baitfish and on bait that's been crippled to the point of vulnerability.
"Most anglers think of hybrid stripers as fish that stay in deep water, but I catch a lot of fish this time of the year on shallow flats near deep water," said Parker, as he turned his electric motor on high to try and close within casting distance of feeding fish.
"The water here is about 7 feet deep. Some days, the fish drive shad to the surface and keep them up there for a long time. Other days, like today, the bait and the fish are moving fast, and it's hard to keep up with them."
Even when the fish are not visible, Parker has learned to keep his lure in the water. He catches about as many fish while casting blindly into the area where the fish have been as casting into a surface feeding frenzy. This year, he's catching bigger hybrids and striped bass by using oversized swim baits like the Storm WildEye Swim Shad.
Swim baits are the latest craze in soft plastic lures. They've been around for years. Fished on a lead head jig, the Sassy is a longtime favorite for hybrid, striped bass and white bass fishing.
Today's swim baits are more expensive with better color schemes. Many are made in larger sizes to appeal to big fish. Those that feature articulated bodies have a very realistic swimming motion that works best when the lure is retrieved as slowly as possible.
That slow retrieve may be the real secret to a swim bait, though Parker believes size matters. He uses a 6-inch lure and is convinced that it catches bigger fish.
Hybrid striped bass
WHAT: A laboratory cross between striped bass and white bass, yellow bass or white perch. Texas crosses eggs from a striper female with milt from a white bass male to create a fish commonly called "palmetto bass." The "sunshine bass" stocked in some other states crosses a white bass female and a striped bass male. Hybrids are sometimes called "wipers."
ORIGIN: South Carolina first hybridized striped bass in 1965. The first Texas hybrids were stocked in 1972.
BEST TEXAS HYBRID LAKES: Tawakoni, Cedar Creek, Richland Chambers, Palestine, Cooper, Belton, Ray Hubbard, Lewisville, Graham, Millers Creek, Walter E. Long, Fort Phantom Hill, MacKenzie, Calaveras, Braunig.
Stripers attract flocks of birds and anglers to lake east of Dallas
10:15 PM CDT on Saturday, May 9, 2009
By RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News
rsasser@dallasnews.com
Heterosis, noun, meaning increased vigor or other superior qualities arising from the crossbreeding of genetically different plants or animals. Also called hybrid vigor.
WILLS POINT, Texas – Tony Parker's fishing rod was heeled over in a rainbow arc, line screaming from his reel. He was fast to a Lake Tawakoni hybrid striped bass, a testimonial to hybrid vigor. Think about the most famous of domestic hybrids – the mule. This fish was the 8-pound aquatic equivalent of a mule.
The fish yielded line grudgingly. Parker, who has guided anglers on Tawakoni since he was 17, was just as stubborn. He soon won the seesaw battle, lipped the tired fish and swung it aboard. After a quick photo session, Parker slipped the powerful fish back in the lake in hopes of catching it again next year, a little bigger and a little stronger.
Despite merciless winds, hybrid fishing at Tawakoni has been good. In fact, Parker lives in Sulphur Springs and splits his time between the venerable Lake Tawakoni and the newer, lesser known hybrid hot spot, Cooper Lake, where fishing pressure is light.
At Tawakoni, you seldom have the fish to yourself, even on a windy weekday. A bent rod on the popular impoundment east of Dallas is like a neon sign summoning other boats to close in on the action.
Parker found these particular fish through his eyes in the sky. Seagulls and terns quickly spot fish feeding on the surface, then dip and dart from above in an effort to pick off shad driven topside by the fish. Hybrid stripers are gluttonous eaters. When shad are abundant, the aggressive fish will feed until they can hold no more, then void their stomach contents and continue the feeding frenzy.
Birds feed on the discarded baitfish and on bait that's been crippled to the point of vulnerability.
"Most anglers think of hybrid stripers as fish that stay in deep water, but I catch a lot of fish this time of the year on shallow flats near deep water," said Parker, as he turned his electric motor on high to try and close within casting distance of feeding fish.
"The water here is about 7 feet deep. Some days, the fish drive shad to the surface and keep them up there for a long time. Other days, like today, the bait and the fish are moving fast, and it's hard to keep up with them."
Even when the fish are not visible, Parker has learned to keep his lure in the water. He catches about as many fish while casting blindly into the area where the fish have been as casting into a surface feeding frenzy. This year, he's catching bigger hybrids and striped bass by using oversized swim baits like the Storm WildEye Swim Shad.
Swim baits are the latest craze in soft plastic lures. They've been around for years. Fished on a lead head jig, the Sassy is a longtime favorite for hybrid, striped bass and white bass fishing.
Today's swim baits are more expensive with better color schemes. Many are made in larger sizes to appeal to big fish. Those that feature articulated bodies have a very realistic swimming motion that works best when the lure is retrieved as slowly as possible.
That slow retrieve may be the real secret to a swim bait, though Parker believes size matters. He uses a 6-inch lure and is convinced that it catches bigger fish.
Hybrid striped bass
WHAT: A laboratory cross between striped bass and white bass, yellow bass or white perch. Texas crosses eggs from a striper female with milt from a white bass male to create a fish commonly called "palmetto bass." The "sunshine bass" stocked in some other states crosses a white bass female and a striped bass male. Hybrids are sometimes called "wipers."
ORIGIN: South Carolina first hybridized striped bass in 1965. The first Texas hybrids were stocked in 1972.
BEST TEXAS HYBRID LAKES: Tawakoni, Cedar Creek, Richland Chambers, Palestine, Cooper, Belton, Ray Hubbard, Lewisville, Graham, Millers Creek, Walter E. Long, Fort Phantom Hill, MacKenzie, Calaveras, Braunig.