A decline in popularity?

When hybrids first came out, we had no experience with Stripers in LA, unless you lived by Toledo Bend... And, even there, very few folks actually targeted them... The Hybrids were a big hit then (the 80s),as they were stocked in various lakes. But now I don't see a lot of enthusiasm for catching them, and the state of MS is not even planning to produce many... I know that the striped fish aren't even close to being as popular as bass, but they are definitely fun to catch, so what's the deal?
I also realize that this is a Crappie website, but I have made several posts here over the last few weeks, with almost no response...
Has the new worn off, or is there some other reason why folks just don't want to talk about fishing for Stripers and Hybrids?

i like to fish for them but just dont get a chance very often. closest lake for me is 45min drive. they are fun to catch. i want to try and catch some on a flyrod sometime. i bet that be a blast!

Steve

It's a long ride for me too! A lot of us here on Lake Wylie want them to be stocked but NC and SC can't agree on anything, plus our river system won't support them so DNR says. I know that they are fun and good eating. If we had them I'm sure someone would be talking about them until it became over fished and then everyone would be mum about them as it is on Lake Wateree SC. Seems no one knows anything until it's all over. :Rofl People like to keep secrets and honey holes to them selves. Can't blame them because no one likes a crowd. :fish

I will occasionally fish for them below Pickwick Dam. But most of those down there are schoolies.....fish right around 10 pounds. I am an avid UL angler so don't striper fish much at all. If you want the good ones...I mean those at 50 pounds or more......you need to head to the upper part of the Cumberland River and also the Caney Fork River. That is where your trophies lie in abundance.

Regards

Our local reservoir is stocked with Stripers, but because it isn't real deep they don't thrive. A good one there is 15 pounds... I'm interested in 30 plus, and willing to drag the Carolina Skiff to wherever I might have a good chance at getting into some that size...

Tims ford in tennessee was a big stripper lake but dont see much news on itg lately

I don't know if it's just my perception or if it actually is this way but it seems to me that the population is really down on Guntersville and the tailrace below the dam. 15-20 years ago they'd run up below the dam in the late fall. Big uns. I haven't caught a stripe bigger than 3 lbs in I don't know when. I haven't caught a hybrid in 15 years. I really enjoyed fishing for them back then, and still do but not like I use to, only because I can't hang into any big ones.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission used to stock them in Jordan Lake, but I understand that some were not sterile and escaped into the river, where they risk crossing with native Striped Bass. That is why Stripers were stocked in Jordan and the Hybrid stocking was discontinued.

I used to have a field day catching hybrids. We found a sandy sloping point that ran into deep water. The hybrids would stage in the deeper water by day and in the evenings, when the shad would run, the hybrids would herd them up against the sandy point to feast. we would rig up medium action rods with 1/8 oz rattle traps and catch them in droves. You never knew what size fish you had until the fight was on. Many evenings, we'd catch so many that we'd lose track.

I also started experimenting with trolling Shad Raps during the day and did very well once we figured things out. I haven't caught one in a few years and I really miss pursuing them regularly. They are feisty, aggressive, and definitely know how to burn drag.

Jim

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Originally Posted by CliffordN

When hybrids first came out, we had no experience with Stripers in LA, unless you lived by Toledo Bend... And, even there, very few folks actually targeted them... The Hybrids were a big hit then (the 80s),as they were stocked in various lakes. But now I don't see a lot of enthusiasm for catching them, and the state of MS is not even planning to produce many... I know that the striped fish aren't even close to being as popular as bass, but they are definitely fun to catch, so what's the deal?
I also realize that this is a Crappie website, but I have made several posts here over the last few weeks, with almost no response...
Has the new worn off, or is there some other reason why folks just don't want to talk about fishing for Stripers and Hybrids?

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We have one lake, Lake Cumberland, that is nationally known for Stripers ... but, they took a hit during the 7yrs the lake was pulled down some 40ft to do dam work. But, now that the lake is back to full pool & the dam is fixed, it won't be long before it will be back to it's former glory.
Several other lakes in KY have Hybrids, with Barren River Reservoir being the one that's home to some bruisers. Our current state record 20lb fish came from the tailwaters of that lake back in 1991.
I catch them as a byproduct when Crappie fishing at a local lake (Taylorsville Lake), but they're only going to be in the <18" size range.

Similar to what Yak Fish has experienced ... trolling Shadraps, or casting a "white" Silver Buddy or a Kastmaster has put a few in my boat, in years past. Also trolling a Hot-n-Tot with a marabou jig on a leader line works good, too. The only time I've really put many "keepers" (>15") in the livewell was when using live Shad on the bottom. Here's the only pic I have of that adventure :

Attachment 286061

My "byproduct" fish are more of this size :

Attachment 286062

The lake I caught/catch these from, Taylorsville Lake, used to have them in good numbers & keeper size ... until some catfish anglers started catching them on Chicken Livers & the word got out. Since then they just haven't rebounded all that well. It could also be the resurgence of the White Bass population of that lake, that is partly to blame, also. :dono

In 2016 I spent the spring on Lake Tawakoni, TX. Kind of by accident I discovered that the hybrids were biting below the spillway, saw how the fishermen were rigged and followed suit. Had to be 18 inch to keep. My wife caught a 21 incher on 6 lb test, myself and a friend caught a few over a few days. Later on we were drift fishing for catfish in the lake with live shad and I caught a 25 inch hybrid, figure about 8 #. Did not realize it at the time but that is a big hybrid. I know he fought like a freight train all the way to the boat. We have them in Degray lake but I have never fished for them there, maybe this spring.

Degray was on my watch list for a while, but I haven't had a report from there in years...

In my circle of friends, they're still very popular. We fish Lake Murray, SC and Clarks Hill, GA and have very good results. Both lakes produce good numbers and occasional stories of 30-40 lbers are heard every year.
The pics are last spring at the Hill.

Chris

Thanks for the response, but as you can see this thread has been almost dead since I started it. I can only guess that its a scratch/itch thing and the fisheries folks have really slowed down on stockings, explaining the declining numbers of larger fish, and folks chasing them...

It use to be a big thing in the Ohio and Tennessee river systems. There,as said heyday was probably the eighties. But still catching them good in the Ohio through the ninetys. I think people did start to lose interest not sure all the reasons. But I do think numbers are down significantly and interest. The Asian Carp have affected it I am sure also. They are one of the hardest fighting fish.

Crappie fishing Watts Bar over the last three days and my buddy caught 2 over 20 lbs in Bobby Garlands ... pretty good lake for some big ones. Same guy, Steve, caught one over 40 lbs near Blue Springs in March of 2016 ... keep telling him to focus on crappie!! ����