Summer's hottest hybrids

Ian Sulocki of Rio de Janeiro battles a hard-fighting hybrid striper while vacationing on DeGray Lake. In summer, action for hybrids is best near dawn and dusk, or at night.
Ian Sulocki of Rio de Janeiro battles a hard-fighting hybrid striper while vacationing on DeGray Lake. In summer, action for hybrids is best near dawn and dusk, or at night.

— It started slowly-a ripple here, a ripple there, on the mirror-like surface of DeGray Lake. Near one of the lake's many islands, we watched the spectacle unfold.

To our right, a spritz of shad broke the surface, exploding like silvery shrapnel. There was a swirl beneath the school, then another swirl farther off. More shad erupted to our left, and another school behind us. More swirls, more shad, and more and more and more. The water now started churning like a witches' cauldron as thousands of tiny fish fled underwater predators.

My companion, Dave Gould, launched a topwater plug from his end of the boat, gave it a twitch and blam! A fish was on.

I launched my own attack, casting a crankbait toward the frothy water. It, too, was attacked, and from the bend in my 7-foot rod, I knew my opponent was sizeable.

Dave landed his fish first, 7 pounds of striped muscle. He released it then cast again. Once more, there was a powerful strike, and he was battling another bruiser.

My fish was a twin to Dave's 7-pounder. I worked the crankbait from its mouth, released it and then cast again. Instantly, a fin sliced the water, running on a collision course with my lure. I twitched the bait slightly, then held tight as the fish tried to yank the rod from my hand.

I was startled at the unbridled energy exhibited by my quarry. But soon the fish tired, and I brought its 5-pound bulk over the transom. So much fight for so small a fish, I thought. I've never caught a largemouth of similar size that could compare to this miniature torpedo.

Over the next quarter hour, we caught and released eight or 10 fish apiece, all between 5 and 10 pounds. This was my unforgettable introduction to Arkansas' hybrid-striper fishing.

If ever a fishing "marriage" was made in heaven, it was the one that joined striped bass and white bass to create hybrid stripers, with Game & Fish Commission fish hatchery personnel doing the officiating. In the early 1975, biologists set nets in Lake Maumelle near Little Rock to secure eggs and milt from large adult stripers to carry out an artificial spawning program. They caught numerous ripe female stripers but few males. Rather than allow the eggs to die for lack of milt, biologists quickly secured male white bass that had been trapped in abundance, and crossed the eggs. A few weeks later, several thousand 2-inchhybrid fingerlings were released into DeGray, the first Arkansas lake stocked with this hatcheryproduced game fish.

Greers Ferry Lake at Heber Springs received hybrids in 1976. That year, the Greers Ferry Lake nursery pond was stocked with 1.1 million hybrid fry obtained from Georgia. Half a million of those fry grew into fingerlings that were released in Greers Ferry. Additional waters stocked in the years since then include lakes Catherine, DeQueen, Chicot, Millwood, Storm Creek, Beaver, Hamilton, Hinkle, Charles, Maumelle, Shepherd Springs, Nimrod, Harris Brake, Horseshoe, Norfork, Fort Smith and the Little River.

The hybrid striper quickly became rising star on the Arkansas fishing scene. The first state record was established on July 9, 1976, by a 1-pound, 2-ounce hybrid from DeGray. The record fell an astounding 24 times during the next 12 years. Eighteen records came from DeGray; three from Greers Ferry; two from the Little River; one from Lake Hamilton.

The first 20-pound-plus hybrid came from Greers Ferry in 1988 - a 20-pound, 11-ounce record. DeGray gave up a 21-pound record in 1989, and Bull Shoals entered the spotlight in 1996 with a 22-pound, 1-ounce record. Then, on April 24, 1997, Jerald Shaum of Shirley landed the whopper of all whoppers-a 27-pound, 5-ounce Greers Ferry hybrid that was soon certified, and now stands, as the all-tackle world record.

Greers Ferry was the focus of nationwide attention when Shaum caught his world-record. A large percentage of the hybrids stocked each year in Arkansas are released in this 31,500-acre impoundment, and since stocking began, Greers - along with DeGray - has always been considered one of Arkansas' two best hybrid lakes.

One excellent here is night-fishing with live shad. A 1-ounce egg sinker is threaded on the main line above a barrel swivel. Below this is a 3- to 5-foot leader to which is tied a 5/0 Kahle hook. The shad are hooked through the lips, and the rig is dropped to the depth of the thermocline, usually about 18 feet.

The sinker rig allows the shad to swim naturally, and a hybrid takes the bait, the angler sets the hook and the battle begins. Fiveto 8-pound hybrids are common here, but anglers are aware another world-record-class fish is always possible.

Anglers on DeGray Lake near Arkadelphia also enjoy fast-paced fishing for summer hybrids. Most look for schools thrashing the water's surface near the dam and around islands between the state park lodge and Iron Mountain.

Prepare for fishing by rigging some rods with shad-imitation topwater lures and others with spoons or shad-like crankbaits. When you see fish breaking, motor close using a trolling motor. When the fish are on top, throwing a topwater plug. When they go down, try a spoon or crankbait. Stay with the school until you don't catch any more fish in that area. And be sure youset your drag properly; 15- to 20-pound hybrids sometimes are caught here.

Beaver Lake near Rogers also supports a healthy hybrid-striper population. Tributary mouths are among the best fishing areas, including War Eagle Creek, White River, Ford's Creek, Cedar Creek and Rambo Creek. Live shad is the favored local bait. Anglers pinpoint hybrid schools using sonar, then suspend a shad above the fish using a balloon tied around the line with an overhand knot. The balloon signals a strike and will slide up or down the line when a big fish hits. Hybrids also run schools of shad on the surface this season and can be taken by sight-casting shad-imitation lures to schools. Fish average 8 to 12 pounds, but true heavyweights also are possible.

The only east Arkansas hybrid lake is Storm Creek, a 420-acre U.S. Forest Service impoundment just north of West Helenain St. Francis National Forest. Hybrids were first stocked here in 1982. Today, 7- to 11-pounders are common.

Local anglers usually fish near dawn and dusk when hybrids are most active. Most fish the main body of the lake or around points, trolling with deep-diving lures. The line is allowed to run 60 to 70 feet behind the boat so the lure dives 12 to 14 feet deep. This is where summer hybrids usually are found.

A fish-finder helps pinpoint underwater structure where hybrids are holding. Look for a drop-off or other prominent structure. There are few such areas in Storm Creek, and wherever you can find a change in contour, that's where you should fish.

Last summer brought continual flurries of excellent hybrid fishing in the lakes mentioned here. The action this year should be equally good. Get out there now and give it a try.

Three Rivers, Pages 118, 119 on 08/23/2009

Upcoming Events