by Rich Zweifel

Sometimes referred to as sunshine bass or wipers by anglers, hybrid striped bass are a cross between white bass and striped bass. No matter what name you know them by, hybrid striped bass are, pound-for-pound, one of the hardest-fighting fish swimming in Ohio’s waters today. Hybrid striped bass were first stocked into southern reservoirs in the 1960s and fed on overabundant gizzard shad populations. The Ohio Division of Wildlife has been stocking hybrid striped bass into select inland water areas since the early 1980s, and wipers have been a Buckeye state favorite to anglers ever since. They can grow considerably larger than a white bass and are more tolerant of Ohio’s warm water than striped bass. Hybrid striped bass grow quickly in Ohio, often reaching a harvestable size by the time they’re two years old. Many reservoirs commonly produce fish in the five to ten pound range and have the potential to produce fish in excess of twelve pounds. The Ohio state record, caught in 2001, measured 31 inches and weighed 17.68 lbs!

Harvest regulations for hybrid striped bass give Ohio anglers the opportunity to put a lot of fillets in the freezer. The Ohio River provides some of the best hybrid striped bass available to Buckeye-state anglers. Over a million hybrid stripers (total) are stocked in the Ohio River annually by Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The Ohio Division of Wildlife alone stocked over 570,000 hybrid striped bass into the river in 2003.

The Ohio River is divided into an eastern and western zone, and harvest regulations differ between the two zones. In the western zone (Ohio-Kentucky border) anglers can keep 30 hybrid striped bass per day and in the eastern zone (Ohio-West Virginia border) there is no daily bag limit, but only four fish over 15 inches can be kept in either zone. Four reservoirs are also stocked annually with wipers: Buckeye (Fairfield and Licking counties), Charles Mill (Richland and Ashland counties), East Fork (Clermont County), and Kiser (Champagne County). Anglers fishing East Fork Lake can keep four fish over 15 inches daily. There are no daily or minimum size limits on any of the other lakes. (See fishing regulations.)

Techniques

Fishing for wipers is typically best during the twilight hours (sunrise and sunset). On calm summer evenings they can be seen breaking the water surface in pursuit of schools of shad. In the Ohio River they tend to concentrate in the tail water outflows below the dams. In reservoirs, watch for fish breaking the surface near points and creek mouths, and try to make long casts into schools of feeding fish. They spend most of their life in offshore areas, so most wipers are caught by anglers fishing from a boat, but shore anglers occasionally get the thrill of a lifetime when a wiper wanders close to shore and takes their bait.

Hybrid striped bass are active predators and can be caught on a variety of artificial, live, or cut baits. In Ohio they consume primarily gizzard shad, so just about any artificial bait that simulates a shad will work. The most popular artificial baits are soft plastic jerk baits, crank baits, casting spoons, and spinner baits. Large shiners or shad, live or cut, are also popular baits; however, if no fish are available, chicken liver can be an effective bait as well. Live and cut baits can be suspended under a bobber or over the side of a boat. In tailwaters, use a large weight to keep live or cut bait in the current below the dam outflows.

Special Notes on Preparation

When prepared correctly, hybrid striped bass can provide delicious table fare. However, many anglers only keep smaller fish to eat, often complaining that large fish have a bad flavor. Larger fish can be just as tasty as the young “tender” ones when prepared correctly. Hybrid striped bass have a vein of red meat running down the center of their fillets, known as the mud line, which is the cause of the strong flavor. Older / larger fish tend to have more red meat in their fillets, and consequently, a stronger flavor. Removal of the mud-line is essential to eliminating the off-flavor of larger fish. Some of the white meat may have to be sacrificed to remove all of the mud line, but the difference in the flavor will be well worth a few extra moments of preparation. So when you take to the waters this year with a fishing pole in hand don’t overlook Ohio’s other bass, you won’t be disappointed.

Ohio DNR