Oh those lucky Texans - Hey Russell!

[karpbuster]

Hey Russell - Shadtaxi,

Check this out:

June 16, 2009
7:00p Lake Buchanan Conservation Corp Monthly Meeting will be held at the LCRA Building. Lake Buchanan Conservation Corp. has stocked Lake Buchanan with over 5 million Hybrid Striped Bass over the last four years...Currently meetings are held every third Tuesday of each month in the LCRA building near the intersection of Hwy 29 on Hwy 1431 in Buchanan Dam at 7 pm.

2009 Accomplishments

Hybrid Striper stocking 2009 update
Volcano in Alaska helps fishing in Lake Buchanan.

On Sunday, March 22, Mount Redoubt in Alaska erupted, spewing ash high into the sky. Air transportation over the area was curtailed. On Monday, the Lake Buchanan Conservation Corporation (LBCC) ordered 1,000,000 Hybrid Striped Bass fry from Keo Fish Farms in Arkansas for a planned restocking of Lake Buchanan. Early Tuesday morning, the owner of Keo called to ask if the LBCC could use 2,500,000 fish for the price of 1,000,000. It just happened that he had a large order ready for shipment to Taiwan, but planes were not flying over the volcano and he was stuck with a lot of baby fish that had to find a home, quickly. So, the LBCC got 2,500,000 tiny fish at a very good price. These are equal to all of the Hybrid Stripers the LBCC has stocked in the lake over the past three years. This is a great windfall for the LBCC and those who fish Lake Buchanan.

The LBCC also ordered 50,000 Hybrid Striped Bass fingerlings for stocking in May or June. These 50,000 fish are funded by the Llano County Hotel/Motel tax fund.
For the fourth year in a row the LBCC has stocked the lake with Hybrid Striped Bass for a grand total of 5,007,000 fish. Currently anglers are catching legal sized Hybrids from the 2006 stocking. Continued improvement in the catch rate is expected over the next several years.

Habitat Improvement
On January 31 and February 4, 17 members of the LBCC cut over 600 cedar trees, bundled them together, then TPWD personnel built 6 more brush piles in the lake.

[ShadTaxi]

Hey Russell - Shadtaxi,

Check this out:

June 16, 2009
7:00p Lake Buchanan Conservation Corp Monthly Meeting will be held at the LCRA Building. Lake Buchanan Conservation Corp. has stocked Lake Buchanan with over 5 million Hybrid Striped Bass over the last four years...Currently meetings are held every third Tuesday of each month in the LCRA building near the intersection of Hwy 29 on Hwy 1431 in Buchanan Dam at 7 pm.

2009 Accomplishments

Hybrid Striper stocking 2009 update
Volcano in Alaska helps fishing in Lake Buchanan.

On Sunday, March 22, Mount Redoubt in Alaska erupted, spewing ash high into the sky. Air transportation over the area was curtailed. On Monday, the Lake Buchanan Conservation Corporation (LBCC) ordered 1,000,000 Hybrid Striped Bass fry from Keo Fish Farms in Arkansas for a planned restocking of Lake Buchanan. Early Tuesday morning, the owner of Keo called to ask if the LBCC could use 2,500,000 fish for the price of 1,000,000. It just happened that he had a large order ready for shipment to Taiwan, but planes were not flying over the volcano and he was stuck with a lot of baby fish that had to find a home, quickly. So, the LBCC got 2,500,000 tiny fish at a very good price. These are equal to all of the Hybrid Stripers the LBCC has stocked in the lake over the past three years. This is a great windfall for the LBCC and those who fish Lake Buchanan.

The LBCC also ordered 50,000 Hybrid Striped Bass fingerlings for stocking in May or June. These 50,000 fish are funded by the Llano County Hotel/Motel tax fund.
For the fourth year in a row the LBCC has stocked the lake with Hybrid Striped Bass for a grand total of 5,007,000 fish. Currently anglers are catching legal sized Hybrids from the 2006 stocking. Continued improvement in the catch rate is expected over the next several years.

Habitat Improvement
On January 31 and February 4, 17 members of the LBCC cut over 600 cedar trees, bundled them together, then TPWD personnel built 6 more brush piles in the lake.

Are hybrids wipers? Are they (genus lepomis) ?:grin:

They are not bad, but a little light in the weight category for my taste. Why not stripers? Aren't they about half of a striper in weight? Twenty five pounds vs. fifty pounds?

[karpbuster]

Are hybrids wipers? Are they (genus lepomis) ?:grin:

They are not bad, but a little light in the weight category for my taste. Why not stripers? Aren't they about half of a striper in weight? Twenty five pounds vs. fifty pounds?
Yep Wipers, the World Record is 27#, so they are not as big, but they are brutes.

http://www.stripers247.com/Hybrid-striper.php

It's all good, I don't know why they don't stock more Stripers versus Hybrids?? Good question. The Hybrid is more broad around the shoulders, like a huge white bass. I think they fight harder tan a comparable weight striper.

karpbuster

[Hawker]

Pound for pound the Hybrid (Wiper/Swiper) Striper will outfight the Stiper big time! If you compare the tails of a 5 lb Hybrid to a 10 lb Striper the are almost identical in size. The Hybrids are thicker and deeper in the body than a Striper, and shorter. Many of our lakes here in Oklahoma are stocked with the Hybrids for one reason or the other, and we also have several lakes with Stripers as well. I fish (and guide occasionally) for both, and the Hybrids are actually more sought after than the Stripers. The Hybrids are a "put & take" fishery whereas the Stripers are slower growing and self sustaining if conditions are right. One of the biggest reasons Hybrids are stocked more than Stripers is simply for the reason that many lakes need a predator fish to control or help control an overabundance of shad or crappie populations and the Hybrids are faster growing than the Stripers so they are used in place.

Yeah, Stripers in the 20# + category are fun to catch, and will put a strain on good equipment, but finding Stripers in that category consistently is difficult at best. For pure-D fun though, gimme a med/hvy 7' spinning rod, a spinning reel with a good drag, 10# Fireline, a live shad on a freeline in an area holding 5-10 Hybrids and it'll be pure fishin heaven!!! They don't stop fightin till you've got them on their sides alongside the boat!!

[ShadTaxi]

Pound for pound the Hybrid (Wiper/Swiper) Striper will outfight the Stiper big time! If you compare the tails of a 5 lb Hybrid to a 10 lb Striper the are almost identical in size. The Hybrids are thicker and deeper in the body than a Striper, and shorter. Many of our lakes here in Oklahoma are stocked with the Hybrids for one reason or the other, and we also have several lakes with Stripers as well. I fish (and guide occasionally) for both, and the Hybrids are actually more sought after than the Stripers. The Hybrids are a "put & take" fishery whereas the Stripers are slower growing and self sustaining if conditions are right. One of the biggest reasons Hybrids are stocked more than Stripers is simply for the reason that many lakes need a predator fish to control or help control an overabundance of shad or crappie populations and the Hybrids are faster growing than the Stripers so they are used in place.



Our stripers grow about 3 - 5 pounds per year. How fast do the wipers grow? It sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe they should put wipers in Cochiti.

[karpbuster]

Hawker is right on.

Cochiti maybe ... anything, that lake struggles any more. Here is what the article says:

Fishery Biologists say that one of the most incredible facts is that within the first 12 months of life, a hybrid can reach 12 inches in length. Sometime in the middle of the second year, it will be 15 inches or longer and already at a legal size to keep. That's astounding growth.

Sounds perfect for EB, they have Stripers and Hybrids in Buchanan, the coexist pretty good. But the shad population probably can't support em.

karpbuster

[Hawker]

Our stripers grow about 3 - 5 pounds per year. How fast do the wipers grow? It sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe they should put wipers in Cochiti.

3-5 lbs per year?? Aw,,,,,,, c'mon now!!?? Where are you at and what are them Stripers feeding on cuz I wanna re-locate!! Are you sure it's not 3-5 inches instead?

[ShadTaxi]

3-5 lbs per year?? Aw,,,,,,, c'mon now!!?? Where are you at and what are them Stripers feeding on cuz I wanna re-locate!! Are you sure it's not 3-5 inches instead?

The state record is 54#s and change. They feed on bluegills, 6 - 16" gizzards shad, threadfin shad, carp, and white bass. A couple of years ago there was a bunch of shad in the lake as we were constantly snagging shad running lures. I haven't been catching many skinnys for 4 or 5 years now.

As for the exact numbers I would have to contact the NMDGF for their survey data for a given year. Maybe I will send in a scale to have it checked for the next 30#+ that I catch.

There is some debate as to the numbers of stripers in the lake. I have no complaints myself:)

[Hawker]

New Mexico huh?? Ya'll have some really good Striper waters out there, I envy you! Our fisheries management here in Oklahoma has been on a roller coaster ride for the past 15+ years, mostly catering to the bass fishermen. There are only three (maybe 4) lakes/river systems here in OK that have any appreciable numbers of Stripers in them. Texhoma of course is the heaviest fished of them for Stripers, but catching numbers of double digit Stripers is not common. It is a very fertile lake, full of gizzard & threadfin and is a prime lake for producing numbers, just not size. Keystone Lake used to be a premier Striper fishery but mis-management by the Corp of Eng and the fisheries dept created almost a dead zone for them until just recently. They are coming back, but ever so slowly. The lower Illinois River below Lake Tenkiller and part of the Arkansas River system is a premier fishery for the big boys, but it is a relatively small area and gets pretty congested with boats when the bite is on! When we want to go after bruiser Stripers, we usually slide over to Arkansas and fish for the real pigs there.

The number of lakes in Oklahoma that are stocked with Hybrid Stripers is a long one though. Sooner Lake, a man made lake for a power plant used to be the premier hybrid lake in the state, but with the decline in a good forage base and the introduction of Zebra Mussels, the average size has dropped tremendously. Used to be you could catch larger numbers of double digit brids there (my personal best there is 19.7 lbs) but now your lucky to catch one over ten lbs there on a good day. Lots of 5-8 pounders, but the day of the big boys is gone unless they can get a substantial forage base started there again.

I was just baggin ya bout your Stripers cuz I'm jealous!! Wish we had the Striper fishery you have and the fisheries management to go with it! Maybe I'll have to take a trip out that way!

[ShadTaxi]

New Mexico huh?? Ya'll have some really good Striper waters out there, I envy you! Our fisheries management here in Oklahoma has been on a roller coaster ride for the past 15+ years, mostly catering to the bass fishermen. There are only three (maybe 4) lakes/river systems here in OK that have any appreciable numbers of Stripers in them. Texhoma of course is the heaviest fished of them for Stripers, but catching numbers of double digit Stripers is not common. It is a very fertile lake, full of gizzard & threadfin and is a prime lake for producing numbers, just not size. Keystone Lake used to be a premier Striper fishery but mis-management by the Corp of Eng and the fisheries dept created almost a dead zone for them until just recently. They are coming back, but ever so slowly. The lower Illinois River below Lake Tenkiller and part of the Arkansas River system is a premier fishery for the big boys, but it is a relatively small area and gets pretty congested with boats when the bite is on! When we want to go after bruiser Stripers, we usually slide over to Arkansas and fish for the real pigs there.

The number of lakes in Oklahoma that are stocked with Hybrid Stripers is a long one though. Sooner Lake, a man made lake for a power plant used to be the premier hybrid lake in the state, but with the decline in a good forage base and the introduction of Zebra Mussels, the average size has dropped tremendously. Used to be you could catch larger numbers of double digit brids there (my personal best there is 19.7 lbs) but now your lucky to catch one over ten lbs there on a good day. Lots of 5-8 pounders, but the day of the big boys is gone unless they can get a substantial forage base started there again.

I was just baggin ya bout your Stripers cuz I'm jealous!! Wish we had the Striper fishery you have and the fisheries management to go with it! Maybe I'll have to take a trip out that way!

Elephant Butte has been a good striper fishery. Currently there are fewer stripers than in previous years but they are bigger. We now have to hunt for them vs. finding them all over. Last year the average size of striper that we caught was 10#s. This year the average size was 15#s. They just put in 500,000 fry which should help out with numbers in a couple of years. Several years back when the Butte had the numbers it would get congested also. It is nice and quiet now.

[karpbuster]

Elephant Butte has been a good striper fishery. Currently there are fewer stripers than in previous years but they are bigger. We now have to hunt for them vs. finding them all over. Last year the average size of striper that we caught was 10#s. This year the average size was 15#s. They just put in 500,000 fry which should help out with numbers in a couple of years. Several years back when the Butte had the numbers it would get congested also. It is nice and quiet now.
Hmmm ... now now. LOL Russell is correct about the fishery being geared towards bigger trophy sized fish. It is not that easy for the weekend fisherman to hit EB and catch stripers of any size. Russell is probably one of the best fisherman on EB for striper fishing, the guides could take lessons from Russell. He has put in the time to target these fish and has a good plan of attack. The fishery is dependent on forage and according to Casey the Biologist the forage is problematic at EB, having good and bad years. Especially during the drought (bad years). So they limit the stockings to ridiculously low numbers to replenish and maintain a balance with the forage. It is a crap shoot, the lake is not that fertile, so Casey is working on finding the best balance. For fishing, You have to put the time in and the Guides will not guarantee a Striper bite, they will take you out and switch over to other fish like white bass to get you some action. 100% of the guides dead stick with live shad over "good" locations. Russell has a much better action plan. ;) He figured it out and it is his. I would keep it to yourself, otherwise it won't be so quiet. :)

karpbuster

[ShadTaxi]

Hmmm ... now now. LOL Russell is correct about the fishery being geared towards bigger trophy sized fish. It is not that easy for the weekend fisherman to hit EB and catch stripers of any size.
karpbuster

:muahaha:

LOL! Karp and I alway go round and round about the numbers in the lake. Obviously I think that there are more than him:)

As for catching stripers of size, I think that it has to do more with the size of the bait/lure than anything else. Your average weekend fisherman just runs small *ss lures/baits. Many of them run tackle that is not capable of catching a striper of size. How do I know? Well some of the stripers that I catch have hook and line attached.

PS.
When did I get kicked out of the weekend fisherman's club? :grin:

[waterdog 46]

Striper needs cold/ oxy water,many lakes that far south don't have it year around, stripers are stressed, don't eat and die offs are common. Hybrids tolerate warmer water, feed all year and will steal your tackle if you don't pay attention!!!! I fish Lake Buchanan during the winter months, sounds like its going to get crazy!

[Hawker]

Do ya'll also fish Caballo below EB? If so, how is boat access below EB (if any), good boat ramps etc?? Heard tell there was a 32#'er caught outta there last week.

I've got a good friend possibly planning a trip out EB way sometime this Fall. He's taking his Dad out that way for a change of scenery etc and also in hope of getting a guide for a day or two in hopes of hooking up with one of the big bruisers out there. Any chance of getting a good guide referral that I can pass on to him??

[karpbuster]

Do ya'll also fish Caballo below EB? If so, how is boat access below EB (if any), good boat ramps etc?? Heard tell there was a 32#'er caught outta there last week.

I've got a good friend possibly planning a trip out EB way sometime this Fall. He's taking his Dad out that way for a change of scenery etc and also in hope of getting a guide for a day or two in hopes of hooking up with one of the big bruisers out there. Any chance of getting a good guide referral that I can pass on to him??
I have fished Caballo, I would generally fish EB. It is usually a much better bet.

I have fished with Brian Stangel (no longer available) as a guide and JR (OK) I caught one fish, my bro zero. I have gone out fishing and come in with 12 stripers caught/released on my own and have Billy Joe (Rio Grande Guide) come in with a client and one wimp striper. He said to me "Hows the fishing?" real loud and before I could say IT IS GREAT ... he said "YEP ... PRETTY SLOW FOR US TOO". Not too impressed with him.

I would suggest Frank as the guy to fish with.

http://www.stripersnewmexico.com/

I haven't gone out with Frank yet, but I have talked to him a few times. And I have seen him out fishing. He is a good guy, so is JR for that matter. I think Frank is on fish more often, I think JR has other interests. Ron is the other guy, I know nothing about him. The Striper fishing is still a bit tough, but some big fish are getting caught.

My two cents.

karpbuster

[ShadTaxi]

Do ya'll also fish Caballo below EB? If so, how is boat access below EB (if any), good boat ramps etc?? Heard tell there was a 32#'er caught outta there last week.

I've got a good friend possibly planning a trip out EB way sometime this Fall. He's taking his Dad out that way for a change of scenery etc and also in hope of getting a guide for a day or two in hopes of hooking up with one of the big bruisers out there. Any chance of getting a good guide referral that I can pass on to him??

I don't fish Caballo as they don't stock it with stripers. I probably will know after the 4th as I plan on jet skiing down there to avoid the crowds.

Probably your best bet is with Frank like Karpbuster said. I hardly ever see JR out. I did go out with Frank a year and a half ago and we got blanked. It was not quite 50 degrees yet. At that time the bite had not picked up and I was only catching one a day myself. When I was out with him he would catch 10 - 14" gizzard shad and downline them over 3 different spots. Frank has had the biggest fish for at least the last two years as he fishes often and uses some of the biggest bait. It is kind of tough to figure out exactly how many big ones are being caught down there as it is kind of hush hush. Reporting them only brings more people down. If you really want to know what the bite is like at EB at anytime call up J's Bait Shak at (575) 740-2713 or subscribe to the local paper. I have not fished the fall for about 3 years so I can't offer much advice. Normally the water is rather green in the fall due to the algae bloom and visibility is somewhat limited.

My three cents.

Bass on!

[karpbuster]

I don't fish Caballo as they don't stock it with stripers. I probably will know after the 4th as I plan on jet skiing down there to avoid the crowds.

Probably your best bet is with Frank like Karpbuster said. I hardly ever see JR out. I did go out with Frank a year and a half ago and we got blanked. It was not quite 50 degrees yet. At that time the bite had not picked up and I was only catching one a day myself. When I was out with him he would catch 10 - 14" gizzard shad and downline them over 3 different spots. Frank has had the biggest fish for at least the last two years as he fishes often and uses some of the biggest bait. It is kind of tough to figure out exactly how many big ones are being caught down there as it is kind of hush hush. Reporting them only brings more people down. If you really want to know what the bite is like at EB at anytime call up J's Bait Shak at (575) 740-2713 or subscribe to the local paper. I have not fished the fall for about 3 years so I can't offer much advice. Normally the water is rather green in the fall due to the algae bloom and visibility is somewhat limited.

My three cents.

Bass on!
Hey Russell, I don't think it is so hush hush ... the Guides would yell it out, to get more clients fishing. They are reluctant to say because it can be tough any given day. IMHO

My 4 cents ... LOL I agree with Russell on the fall, it use to be the hot setup, but last year was brutal for sure.

karpbuster

[capnlee]

Yes, last fall was brutal. I fished EB several times from October to February. Historically that has been a good time to fish EB. Last year it was like I was fishing a deserted wasteland, and from what I understand that is how the past few fall-winter seasons have been. The lake has also been very low for the last few years, but recently the level has been slowly rising. I suspect the lake level has a lot to do with why the fishing has been so tough, but that's just my theory. If the rainy pattern we have been seeing holds up, or--hopefully--increases maybe the fall will be good. It's hard to say. I'll probably be there to try again this fall either way.

[ShadTaxi]

Hey Russell, I don't think it is so hush hush ... the Guides would yell it out, to get more clients fishing. They are reluctant to say because it can be tough any given day. IMHO

My 4 cents ... LOL I agree with Russell on the fall, it use to be the hot setup, but last year was brutal for sure.


karpbuster

:muahaha:

All that I can say is that the NMDGF reports and the local reports aren't that close. You can talk to the locals and get better numbers/sizes from reliable sources and details. I see one of the guides running two or three trips per day on the weekend with a second guide boat. He must be getting skunked with all of the business:muahaha:

What incentives do the locals have to report their catches? If they report, they get a more crowded lake? The guides are not catching all of the big ones.

How many 30#+ stripers did you see in the NMDGF reports last year? This year?

PS:
When I hear from the locals that "everyone is catching stripers", I go out and I have to limit my boat to two rods out at a time, and the NMDGF report says "fair", I have to believe the local report. NMDGF does a good job, not everything gets reported.

I think that a lot of the fall/winter bite has to do with water clarity. I am not much of a mud fisherman, but I prefer it when the water is clear enough for you to run the baits/lures 10 feet above the stripers and they still hit it.

[karpbuster]

:muahaha:

All that I can say is that the NMDGF reports and the local reports aren't that close. You can talk to the locals and get better numbers/sizes from reliable sources and details. I see one of the guides running two or three trips per day on the weekend with a second guide boat. He must be getting skunked with all of the business:muahaha:

What incentives do the locals have to report their catches? If they report, they get a more crowded lake? The guides are not catching all of the big ones.

How many 30#+ stripers did you see in the NMDGF reports last year? This year?

PS:
When I hear from the locals that "everyone is catching stripers", I go out and I have to limit my boat to two rods out at a time, and the NMDGF report says "fair", I have to believe the local report. NMDGF does a good job, not everything gets reported.

I think that a lot of the fall/winter bite has to do with water clarity. I am not much of a mud fisherman, but I prefer it when the water is clear enough for you to run the baits/lures 10 feet above the stripers and they still hit it.
OK if you say so. You would know better than me, you fish there a bunch more than I do.

karpbuster

[ShadTaxi]

They are reluctant to say because it can be tough any given day. IMHO
karpbuster

IMHO it is pretty tough not to limit out starting May (65 degrees) through the end of July. The only question is how many limits (catch and release).

[karpbuster]

IMHO it is pretty tough not to limit out starting May (65 degrees) through the end of July. The only question is how many limits (catch and release).
For them or you? LOL

karpbuster

[Stripehunter]

This is about a 12 lb wiper and a 14 lb purebred caught on the same night.
http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=2371
That wiper knocked the socks off the purebred and will every time. Tie one end of a rope around the tail of a 15 lb wiper, and the other end around a 25 lb purebred, the wiper will win the tug o' war pretty much every time, decidedly so in warm water. I fish for them both and love them both, but prefer to catch a big wiper over a big striper any day of the week. The big purebreds have much more of a wow factor, but for angling enjoyment, I'll always choose the smaller wiper.

Many of the lakes I fish in have both; very few lakes in my area can support a big purebred fishery. They need lots of deep oxygen to make it through the summers, most of my lakes are borderline. In the summer the lakes here are way too warm above the cline, and devoid of oxygen below it. The purebreds get stuck right in the cline, trying to stay cool and breathe at the same time. They get rather stressed and can have a hard time making it through the summer, while the wipers thrive in these lakes.

The wiper has a lot more power to begin with, but once you get a big purebred up top in the warm water they are beat and tire very quickly. Usually one or two long deep runs till you turn it and get it warm and shallow, and that's it, where a big wiper will keep right on going.

[Hawker]

I'm pretty sure we'd be calling both of the fish shown Hybrids here in Oklahoma. Our pure strain stripers don't have any broken lines and our Hybrid Stripers (wipers/swipers) will assuredly have broken lines as the ones shown. No doubt, both are nice "brids" and I'm jealous cuz we haven't seen many that size in the past few years here in Okieland.

[karpbuster]

Nice fish. The stripers we have are very streamline and I think all of the lines are to the tail, I may be wrong. Here are some I caught from my boat. Russell doesn't catch toads like these.

karpbuster

[Stripehunter]

The purebreds here tend to look like that when they are that size. When they hit about 2 feet, they start packing on girth and gain length pretty slowly. Granted, this one is a bit on the stubby side. It's from one of those lakes where they are pretty stressed and I think it stunts their length a bit. The bottom fish is definitely a purebred. Having a couple of broken stripes doesn't mean it's a hybrid or vice versa. Physical injury to scales can break lines on a purebred, and I've caught a few hybrids that didn't show the typical breaks behind the pec fins. This is a different picture of those same two fish (before they sat in the cooler while I napped), only this one shows the other side of the purebred (on the left).
http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=1956
The difference between the lines of the two is much more obvious, as are some of the body characteristics. Wipers have a much smaller mouth, have more of an underbite and upturned head, a deeper belly and humped back.

[ShadTaxi]

The purebreds here tend to look like that when they are that size. When they hit about 2 feet, they start packing on girth and gain length pretty slowly. Granted, this one is a bit on the stubby side. It's from one of those lakes where they are pretty stressed and I think it stunts their length a bit. The bottom fish is definitely a purebred. Having a couple of broken stripes doesn't mean it's a hybrid or vice versa. Physical injury to scales can break lines on a purebred, and I've caught a few hybrids that didn't show the typical breaks behind the pec fins. This is a different picture of those same two fish (before they sat in the cooler while I napped), only this one shows the other side of the purebred (on the left).
http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=1956
The difference between the lines of the two is much more obvious, as are some of the body characteristics. Wipers have a much smaller mouth, have more of an underbite and upturned head, a deeper belly and humped back.

Here is what a striper from our local lake looks like. It looks like there might be a little white bass in that second picture. Do your stripers spawn naturally or are they stocked?

[Stripehunter]

Nope, no breeding here. They make runs, but never drop eggs. All put/grow/take from fry or fingerlings. I don't know, I don't see anything white bass about it. Maybe our fish are a wee bit different. What's your forage base? Our small striper lakes are almost all alewife only. I just started fishing a new one this weekend with no alewife, only gizzard shad. That lake has mostly purebreds, but a few hybrids. I caught a 10 lb hybrid there this weekend, and I must say it did look a little more 'traditionally' hybrid than the ones I catch from alewife lakes. Perhaps that has something to do with these little differences?

[Hawker]

Where are you located at Stripehunter?? What are the lakes you fish for them brids and Stripers?? I might have to make a trip just to get into a few of those double digit hybrids.

[Stripehunter]

I'm in Southeast Pennsylvania.
Raystown Lake is my favorite place to fish for everything, but it's a hike and I only get up there a few times a year. that's a big purebred only fishery, really big lake. The smaller lakes closer to me that I fish most often generally have a mix of pure and hybrids; the hybrids tend to be much more numerous. They range in size from 300-900 acres and tend to be electric motor only, or restricted horsepower. Main ones I fish are Blue Marsh, Pinchot, and now Redman. Alewife tends to be the preferred large forage base for the impoundments here opposed to gizzard shad as the numbers are huge, but they never really get over 6 inches in size. A lot of the small lakes up here have been overrun by illegally stocked gizzard shad. The black bass anglers see what you guys down south have in the big impoundments, so they go sneaking gizzard shad into these little flood control lakes, thinking that will give them bigger bass. We don't have the growing season, so the result of this is often a lake full of 12" gizzard shad that nothing in there can eat. Rather sad for the other fish, but as a striper guy it does help me as the state then has no choice but put stripers/wipers in the water to try to control the shad.

There's a really nice lake my way that would make a perfect striper lake, but they've never put any in there because it's a good rainbow trout/landlocked salmon water, and they've been afraid the stripers would wipe out the trout. Well, the lake is now overrun with white perch and big gizzard shad (both introduced by well intentioned anglers several years ago) so there will soon be no choice but to bring in the stripers. I can't wait.

Lots of double digit wipers up here, I catch a bunch of 10-14 pounders. that seems to be about the limit here though, never seen or heard of a wiper over 15 lbs. The odd thing is, I never catch any medium sized ones. They're either under a foot, or over 7 pounds. Legal size for both pure and hybrids here is 20", so the wiper lakes do tend to hold a lot of double digit fish.

[Hawker]

Pennsylvania? Wow, I'm thinkin that would be more than a weekend jaunt from here!! Truly, those are some quality healthy looking fish though, and again I'm jealous! haha
Had the opportunity to talk with one of our fisheries biologist last night and after I showed him your pics and read what you said about all of the Stripers being stocked fish there and he explained that many of the stocked strains tend to show the "broken" lines more so than natural spawn stripers which we tend to have more of here in OK. Our Stripers also tend to be less big bodied than the one you have shown and due to the high water temps in the summer months go into a lethargic non eating mode until water temps come back down in the Fall. Now the Hybrids though don't seem to be near as affected by the warmer water temps, but do tend to hang out near the thermocline and bunch up pretty good so that when you find them and drop a fresh lively threadfin or gizzard shad down to them are more than happy to "play"!!

Ya'll ever feel the need to make a trip to Oklahoma or through here, holler up and we'll wet a line for them and an "eye" or two. Yeah, we have a couple of lakes with "eyes" and many times catch them while fishing for the brids and visa versa!

Tight Lines!!

[Stripehunter]

I hear that. Can't tell you how many times I've been 'targeting' one, and catch nothing but the other. Was fishing a big wobbling salmon spoon (pretty much a 4" dodger with a hook) with a 3" grub trailer for stripers the other night (which they love by the way), and caught a little 20" walleye. I troll suspended live bait a lot, and often have the walleye slicing them up. Going the other way, I've found that our stripers absolutely LOVE reef runner deep divers, while the wipers usually prefer the deep little rippers. Walleye aren't indigenous to my part of the state; we have some, but they are fairly few and far between. A 5 pounder here is a trophy.

What your biologist said sure makes sense to me; I've only ever caught one or two purebreds that didn't have broken lines. Most of them have many breaks high up on their backs in the dark parts, and maybe one or two breaks here and there in the silver parts. The wipers here can be anything stripewise. Some are normal, some are practically polka dotted, and some have very few breaks at all.

Gosh, it sure has been nice to see a striper thread here :)

[ShadTaxi]

Gosh, it sure has been nice to see a striper thread here :)

Maybe Scott will give us our own Striper board :)

Striper fishing seems kind of like walleye fishing xcept you run bigger baits and fish deeper water. Not that I have ever walleye fished before.:grin:

[ShadTaxi]

As for catching stripers of size, I think that it has to do more with the size of the bait/lure than anything else. Your average weekend fisherman just runs small *ss lures/baits.



From the Striper King (Dallas):

ABOUT BAIT
Wirth: Let's start with key baits for big stripers.

Dallas: Like most striper fishermen, I started out using gizzard shad, but I've gone almost strictly to big skipjack herring -- some of the baits I use are over 24 inches long. I firmly believe that for fish 40 pounds and over, they're just about the only livebait worth fishing. You can go through a river hole with gizzard shad and catch 20- and 30-pound stripers, but if you have a big skipjack out there, your chances of catching a monster fish go way, way up. When I first began using them seriously, I was amazed at the difference in the sizes of stripers we'd catch on skipjack versus shad. My clients have achieved many In-Fisherman Master Angler Awards from our region over the years on big skipjack, and I've caught two Tennessee state records on them, including the current record of 65 pounds 6 ounces.

[Hawker]

I wholeheartedly agree with using skipjack herring, if and when you are fishing waters that have them or are close to waters that you can catch and transport them from. Problems with skipjack though are is that they are so so hard to keep alive in a bait tank even for several hours. I used to think threadfin shad were hard to keep versus gizzard but they are nothing like skipjack. Most folks (myself included) tend to overcrowd a bait tank with them, and they like lots of room. When we are able to catch them, we usually only try to keep a half dozen at the most in one bait tank (40 gal), but buddy of mine will usually keep about a dozen in his 80 gal tank. Lots of O2, good pump and filter system and away you go. Usually your only looking for one or two big big bites anyway so too many baits is just a waste.

Ya'll got skipjack out there Taxi??

[ShadTaxi]

I wholeheartedly agree with using skipjack herring, if and when you are fishing waters that have them or are close to waters that you can catch and transport them from. Problems with skipjack though are is that they are so so hard to keep alive in a bait tank even for several hours. I used to think threadfin shad were hard to keep versus gizzard but they are nothing like skipjack. Most folks (myself included) tend to overcrowd a bait tank with them, and they like lots of room. When we are able to catch them, we usually only try to keep a half dozen at the most in one bait tank (40 gal), but buddy of mine will usually keep about a dozen in his 80 gal tank. Lots of O2, good pump and filter system and away you go. Usually your only looking for one or two big big bites anyway so too many baits is just a waste.

Ya'll got skipjack out there Taxi??

No skipjack out here. I was just trying to drive home the point about big baits. I believe that skipjack get bigger than gizzard shad by a big margin. I have yet to net a 24" gizzard shad. And I think that is a big part of why Dallas is running them over gizzard shad. Too many people at our local lake net a big gizzard and toss it back thinking it is too large. Yet we don't have any that come close to 24".

That and I am starting to get the bug to go out to Tennesee and do some fishing:) Texas nope, except to see the Cowboys play. Arizona, yah!, Tennesee heck yah!

As far as overcrowding baits I tend to do that in a big way. I run a FishFlo2 with pure oxygen to help out.

[ShadTaxi]

Dallas: I used to use different-sized baits, but not much anymore. In winter, schools of stripers feed on tiny shad, about the size of crappie minnows, and a lot of guys use these for bait. But you know what? Skipjack are in there feeding on those small shad, too. The biggest stripers key on those big baits, regardless of season. Giant stripers are always characterized as eating machines, but in reality they're highly selective about what they eat. The biggest stripers target the biggest forage, and may not feed for long periods until it's available.

[Stripehunter]

biggest one i've ever caught (around 30) was on a 4-5" alewife. Around my parts, big baits aren't always so hot. Generally I fish the bigger alewife (5-6") just to keep the black bass off of them, but seems like more often than not my fish like a bait 6" or less. Granted, that's usually as large as my forage base runs. I'm not after whoppers either though, I'm much happier catching a few 15 pounders than one giant. Our numbers of big fish are a lot lower too though. If I bait/gear up for 30+, I'd be lucky to catch 1 or 2 fish a year here.

[karpbuster]

biggest one i've ever caught (around 30) was on a 4-5" alewife. Around my parts, big baits aren't always so hot. Generally I fish the bigger alewife (5-6") just to keep the black bass off of them, but seems like more often than not my fish like a bait 6" or less. Granted, that's usually as large as my forage base runs. I'm not after whoppers either though, I'm much happier catching a few 15 pounders than one giant. Our numbers of big fish are a lot lower too though. If I bait/gear up for 30+, I'd be lucky to catch 1 or 2 fish a year here.
That's what I am talking about. :)

karpbuster

[ShadTaxi]

biggest one i've ever caught (around 30) was on a 4-5" alewife. Around my parts, big baits aren't always so hot. Generally I fish the bigger alewife (5-6") just to keep the black bass off of them, but seems like more often than not my fish like a bait 6" or less. Granted, that's usually as large as my forage base runs. I'm not after whoppers either though, I'm much happier catching a few 15 pounders than one giant. Our numbers of big fish are a lot lower too though. If I bait/gear up for 30+, I'd be lucky to catch 1 or 2 fish a year here.

For EB the forage is as big as they can eat. You don't see many small carp in the lake. We have 10#ers that will nail a 12" gizzard shad. I think that is the same way in Tennesee with those monster herring.

The 15 pounder bit gets a bit boring for us as we are catching roughly 20 of them by noon (from May on) with some 18s - low 20s thrown in. We do catch and release exclusively. I used to think that a 15 was pretty big until that turned out to be our average. And I think that itself is due to running the bigger baits. Run baits big enough to discourage the 10s away. As far as "big big" baits I don't think that I have caught more than 3 that would qualify to be called a big bait this year and all 3 produced big big bites.

Wirth: Last summer, while trout fishing below the Cumberland Dam in Kentucky, I was reeling in a 12-inch brown when a 50-pound striper swam out of a submerged tree and ate it. Ever use trout for bait?

Dallas: I'd rather fish a stocker-sized trout than any other livebait besides a big skipjack. Big stripers eat 'em like candy.


Now off to Tennesse if I am lucky.

[karpbuster]

For EB the forage is as big as they can eat. You don't see many small carp in the lake. We have 10#ers that will nail a 12" gizzard shad. I think that is the same way in Tennesee with those monster herring.

The 15 pounder bit gets a bit boring for us as we are catching roughly 20 of them by noon (from mid-May on) with some 18s - low 20s thrown in. We do catch and release exclusively. I used to think that a 15 was pretty big until that turned out to be our average. And I think that itself is due to running the bigger baits. Run baits big enough to discourage the 10s away. As far as "big big" baits I don't think that I have caught more than 3 that would qualify to be called a big bait this year and all 3 produced big big bites.

Wirth: Last summer, while trout fishing below the Cumberland Dam in Kentucky, I was reeling in a 12-inch brown when a 50-pound striper swam out of a submerged tree and ate it. Ever use trout for bait?

Dallas: I'd rather fish a stocker-sized trout than any other livebait besides a big skipjack. Big stripers eat 'em like candy.


Now off to Tennesse if I am lucky.
Alright Russell, my brother and I are heading down to EB and hopefully catch some bait. And tie on to some serious freight train fish. I am going to use my new Hummingbird, "the Russell" rig and check it out. I ordered a new bimini top, but won't have it, drat. Gills will live all week in my back live well.

:)

karpbuster

P.S. Did you catch the 50# striper on the brown trout?

[capnlee]

You gonna be down there this weekend karpbuster? I am taking my sister and some of her friends down to ski/tube on Saturday, and will be fishing on Sunday. I'll be launching from S. Monticello. Maybe I'll see you on the water.

[karpbuster]

You gonna be down there this weekend karpbuster? I am taking my sister and some of her friends down to ski/tube on Saturday, and will be fishing on Sunday. I'll be launching from S. Monticello. Maybe I'll see you on the water.
I am working on it, that would be perfect, I would head down Sunday afternoon and fish Sunday and Monday.

I hope to see you there, Blue and gray Lund tiller ... I usually launch around either Rock canyon or the Main park entrance. And I stay at the Elephant Butte Inn - Sunday night. My boss wants me for a meeting on Monday, I am hoping we can move to Tuesday.

karpbuster

[capnlee]

Cool, I'll keep an eye out for you. Platinum/Blue Lund Classic. Here's a pic.

[karpbuster]

Cool, I'll keep an eye out for you. Platinum/Blue Lund Classic. Here's a pic.
Nice looking boat, buddy. Cool, I will see you there the way it is looking. I just called, no brooders, 3" shiners only at J's. So we will be throwing the cast net too, which we do for fun anyways. We normally hang around Rock Canyon, Long Point and McRae. But I have a spot over by Horse we will try first in the morning. It has not produced anything in the last few years, but hey this may be the weekend.

We will work ourselves toward Long point, anyways.

karpbuster

[ShadTaxi]

P.S. Did you catch the 50# striper on the brown trout?

LOL! Of course not. My name is not Wirth. Here is the article. It is one of the best that I have ever read.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/content/stripers

It is nice to see that CapnLee is a Cowboys fan also (boat color).

Gills will live in your livewell if they are under 8" in my experiences. Those bigger gills aren't as hardy.

That flat right across from Horse can be good. In fact they have named it "Never Fails".

[capnlee]

It is nice to see that CapnLee is a Cowboys fan also (boat color).


Ouch!--Now I have to sell my boat.

[capnlee]

I called Quality Baits and they only have 3" shiners as well. I guess I'll try fishing for bluegill.

[karpbuster]

I called Quality Baits and they only have 3" shiners as well. I guess I'll try fishing for bluegill.
Or we can visit Shadtaxi's boat slip ... heh heh. LOL Just kidding Russell.

Never fails ... man that hurts. :)

karpbuster

[Stripehunter]

Ours won't touch a bluegill. They like things without spikes like herrings or trout. At the big lake I go to occasionally, I'd buy 6-7" live trout for bait. That was before I figured out the catching and keeping thing well, so I haven't done it in quite some time.

[ShadTaxi]

Ours won't touch a bluegill. They like things without spikes like herrings or trout. At the big lake I go to occasionally, I'd buy 6-7" live trout for bait. That was before I figured out the catching and keeping thing well, so I haven't done it in quite some time.

Stripehunter:

Do you guys have a bunch of forage in your lake? Maybe that is the difference? Our stripers eat gills like popsicles as well as white bass and carp. No herring or trout in the lake. They also eat gizzard shad.

[ShadTaxi]

Or we can visit Shadtaxi's boat slip ... heh heh. LOL Just kidding Russell.

Never fails ... man that hurts. :)

karpbuster

If you guys catch big gills you probably will do better anyway. I havent tried shiners since May.

[eyecatcher01]

we used to have an awesome striper fishery here in nebraska. they werent suppose to reproduce....they found a way tho and really ticked off the trout fisherman. i believe rainbow trout are like filet mignon for stripers. they basically wiped out the trout population (which was very good). i can remember one spring (late 90's) the game and parks dumped thousands of stocker trout off a rock point and shortly there after the stripers showed and put a serious hurt to the trout...but man was the fishing good there for cpl nights. this was the last big hurraa for them tho, lot of 30-40 pounders hauled out in just a few nights. i'm a walleye guy now but i have to admit i miss the stiper runs, wipers are ok but nothing like a 20+ pound striper peeling line off under the moon lit night. here is little article summizing what we had/happened......

Nebraska also has some fishing for stripers. The state record for this salt-water native is 64 pounds, 15 ounces. It was taken at Sutherland Reservoir in August 1993 by Gene Baker of Sutherland on a live shad.

The striper program was initiated in 1961 at Lake McConaughy, but thanks to some distraught anglers and political entities who believed the stripers were eating everything in the lake, stocking was discontinued in 1979. Today, McConaughy is the last frontier for the striper. There were 10 entered for Master Angler Awards (at least 32 inches long or 10 pounds) last year, and all came from McConaughy. The largest weighed 38 pounds, 1 ounce and was 41 inches long. It was caught by Ron Clark of North Platte. No. 2 was a 35-pounder taken by Matt Garvin of Loveland, Colo.; the third-place fish, at 34 pounds, 12 ounces, was taken on a crawdad by Nguyet Le of Aurora, Colo.

Bauer reports that there has been some natural reproduction of stripers in McConaughy, but numbers are few. "We have documented natural reproduction of the striper in Lake McConaughy," he said. "We believe this occurs in the North Plate River above the reservoir and believe it is likely limited to years when the river flows are up and suitable for the fish to reproduce. I think it's possible that we will continue to see a few stripers in the reservoir for years to come."

Sutherland Res. is fed off canal system from McConaughy.

[Stripehunter]

yeah, most of our striper lakes are so thick with alewife you can nearly walk across the surface at night during the spawn. Great blue, night, and green herons every 10 feet during the spawns. They are the preferred bait of anything that swims. The catfish and black bass are more opportunistic and will eat anything that comes by, but alewife still seem to be their favorites. The lake that has gizzard shad too also has a large trout population, so any of those three in that water is the thing to use. Anything else, they won't touch it. Around here a 5" alewife is called 'Striper Candy'.

I'll light them up by the thousands. Last time I fished bait, I was pulling alewife up 20# at a time with an 8' net. Picked through all them to get the couple of very large wives and big shad I was looking for (what I call a big shad is a lot smaller than what you guys would probably think)

When I'm at this lake with trout, alewife, and gizzard shad, my preferred bait is an 8" gizzard shad like this:

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=2521
They are a bit of a pain to get though because you have to sort through all the alewife. This is a little tiny piece of the last alewife school I lit up, most of these are 4-5". This was right up at the surface, most were deeper and out around the perimeter of the light outside of the picture.

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=2520

Now most of the lakes I fish these alewife are the bait to use as they are mostly wipers there, and they are also the only non-minnow forage in those lakes. A new lake I started fishing has a gizzard shad and white perch base and big purebreads, but netting bait is not legal there with a net larger than 4' in diameter. Net regulations here are touchy (for nets over 4' diameter); there's only certain lakes you can net at, and you need to buy a permit each year to even have the net on the water. Plus, you need a permit for each one of these lakes. I'd like to fish more bait at this new lake, but it will take some more creativity. Will probably have to get the ultralight out and fish for some little white perch.

[ShadTaxi]

we used to have an awesome striper fishery here in nebraska. they werent suppose to reproduce....they found a way tho and really ticked off the trout fisherman. i believe rainbow trout are like filet mignon for stripers. they basically wiped out the trout population (which was very good). i can remember one spring (late 90's) the game and parks dumped thousands of stocker trout off a rock point and shortly there after the stripers showed and put a serious hurt to the trout...but man was the fishing good there for cpl nights. this was the last big hurraa for them tho, lot of 30-40 pounders hauled out in just a few nights. i'm a walleye guy now but i have to admit i miss the stiper runs, wipers are ok but nothing like a 20+ pound striper peeling line off under the moon lit night. here is little article summizing what we had/happened......

Nebraska also has some fishing for stripers. The state record for this salt-water native is 64 pounds, 15 ounces. It was taken at Sutherland Reservoir in August 1993 by Gene Baker of Sutherland on a live shad.

The striper program was initiated in 1961 at Lake McConaughy, but thanks to some distraught anglers and political entities who believed the stripers were eating everything in the lake, stocking was discontinued in 1979. Today, McConaughy is the last frontier for the striper. There were 10 entered for Master Angler Awards (at least 32 inches long or 10 pounds) last year, and all came from McConaughy. The largest weighed 38 pounds, 1 ounce and was 41 inches long. It was caught by Ron Clark of North Platte. No. 2 was a 35-pounder taken by Matt Garvin of Loveland, Colo.; the third-place fish, at 34 pounds, 12 ounces, was taken on a crawdad by Nguyet Le of Aurora, Colo.

Bauer reports that there has been some natural reproduction of stripers in McConaughy, but numbers are few. "We have documented natural reproduction of the striper in Lake McConaughy," he said. "We believe this occurs in the North Plate River above the reservoir and believe it is likely limited to years when the river flows are up and suitable for the fish to reproduce. I think it's possible that we will continue to see a few stripers in the reservoir for years to come."

Sutherland Res. is fed off canal system from McConaughy.

We had something similiar here at Elephant Butte back in the 80's.

"There was a moratorium on striper stockings for seven years because of a misconception that they were damaging the largemouth population."

We had to write letters, sign petitions, etc. to get them back. Dang green carp anglers...

Now trout are the ultimate baitfish. Too bad we cannot purchase them for bait. Our local fish and game guys put them on a pedestal:smirk:

[ShadTaxi]

yeah, most of our striper lakes are so thick with alewife you can nearly walk across the surface at night during the spawn. Great blue, night, and green herons every 10 feet during the spawns. They are the preferred bait of anything that swims. The catfish and black bass are more opportunistic and will eat anything that comes by, but alewife still seem to be their favorites. The lake that has gizzard shad too also has a large trout population, so any of those three in that water is the thing to use. Anything else, they won't touch it. Around here a 5" alewife is called 'Striper Candy'.

I'll light them up by the thousands. Last time I fished bait, I was pulling alewife up 20# at a time with an 8' net. Picked through all them to get the couple of very large wives and big shad I was looking for (what I call a big shad is a lot smaller than what you guys would probably think)

When I'm at this lake with trout, alewife, and gizzard shad, my preferred bait is an 8" gizzard shad like this:
http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=2521
They are a bit of a pain to get though because you have to sort through all the alewife. This is a little tiny piece of the last alewife school I lit up, most of these are 4-5". This was right up at the surface, most were deeper and out around the perimeter of the light outside of the picture.

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=221&pictureid=2520

Now most of the lakes I fish these alewife are the bait to use as they are mostly wipers there, and they are also the only non-minnow forage in those lakes. A new lake I started fishing has a gizzard shad and white perch base and big purebreads, but netting bait is not legal there with a net larger than 4' in diameter. Net regulations here are touchy (for nets over 4' diameter); there's only certain lakes you can net at, and you need to buy a permit each year to even have the net on the water. Plus, you need a permit for each one of these lakes. I'd like to fish more bait at this new lake, but it will take some more creativity. Will probably have to get the ultralight out and fish for some little white perch.

Nice pictures. There is a lot of algae in our lakes. Our gizzard shad seem to run quite a bit larger and they have a long growing season. We don't have nearly as many shad though.