Striper or Hybrid?

[HURRICANEBOB]

Hmmmm....slight hump on the back......broken stripes.......hmmmmm? Caught in Caney Creek when it swallowed a shiner.

[peter]

Funny you should say. Several of the fish I have caught this year in Greasy I have said to my self and mentioned to others. "man, that looks sort of like a hybrid.

Stripers are elongated/torpedo shaped and these were very deep (from belly to dorsal fin). They didn't have the smaller "face" if you know what I mean. Maybe it's just the extra weight they have put on which is quite a bit. They just looked taller.

Maybe they are of "wack" from being on death watch for a few years. Caught quite a few that were paper thin in the last years...like maybe less that 4 pounds at 24". Now it's more like 6 pounds at 24".

[JoeB]

That's a striper. The broken lines don't mean a thing. I have hundreds of striper pics with broken lines.

[peter]

That's a striper. The broken lines don't mean a thing. I have hundreds of striper pics with broken lines.

I agree about the broken lines common on stripers.

To be clear all I am saying is some of the fish made me pause and think. I am not suggesting they were hybrids.

[fishassasin]

Hybrids. The lines are lighter in color the stripers. And i agree some stripers have broken lines but not like those.

[thunderstorm]

The fish I have caught this spring have sure been healthy and fat...good news for the future (hopefully).

[mhall]

Definate Striper...............People get that broken line thing messed up all the time. As mentioned before, THOUSANDS of Stripers have broken lines...it means nothing. That pic looks nothing like a Hybrid to me.

There are no Hybrid in Lake Cumberland.............until somebody shows me one and I haven't seen one yet....

[Mean Morone]

Thats a striper. I do know of a couple of hybrids caught from LC including one I caught a few years ago up in Greasy Creek. Here's one that a friend of mine caught earlier this year.

http://i1245.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9514c8be.jpg

[Duayne]

Easily a striper. Dorsal fins are way too far apart for a hybrid. Fins together white bass, fins only slightly separated, hybrid. Fins decidedly apart, striper. Body doesn't have any signs of a hybrid. Some of the smaller female stripers can look slightly like a hybrid but still won't have the bowed back or taller first dorsal. I don't think water patrol would even recognize anything as a hybrid on Cumberland. They recognized the mean mouth as smallies when we were catching them a few years ago.

Hybrids that did happen on Cumberland would probably be the reverse of what is produced in fish hatcheries. Those in the fish hatcheries usually (probably always) use female stripers and male white bass due to the increased number of eggs and the more appealing growing patterns. It's very rare for a fertilized female striper egg to stay adrift long enough to hatch but I feel strongly it has happened on Cumberland. It is much more possible for the female while bass eggs to be fertilized by a male striper and make it to hatch. That combination does not grow as fast and doesn't get as large as the reverse version produced in hatcheries.

[stripernut1]

the fish bob is holding in the picture is 100% striper, no wiggle room, broken lines and all. However, not only are "Hybrid Stripers" present in Cumberland , they are present in greater numbers than you might imagine. Over the last couple years we have encountered entire schools of hybrids with multiple hookups, multiple fish landed with all fish being hybrids. Some of these fish have been verified by fisheries biologist as hybrids. The fact that these fish were showing up came as no surprise to the biologist I spoke with as he explained there "MAY" have been an accidental mix up at one time during one of the stockings. Also local law enforcement officers are very aware of this situation and as of last year I was advised that discussions had been held to determine how to proceed whe handling hybrid catches as there is no present regulation regarding hybrids. I was advised the "best" way to stay legal is to always observe the 22 inch minimum size limit, and it is ok to keep a hybrid striper as part of your 2 fish daily creel. but it definitely counts toward each anglers daily creel limit. I have to admit I have some great recipes for crow, they are best when simmered in humility and seasoned with embarrassment. I have become quite good at eating crow since my son ad brother got into the "hybrids" 4 years ago, and I told them on the phone they would end up in jail with their "hybrids", I WAS WRONG. Not only have I caught them personally, I have watched Jeremy Morgan (Morgans Guide Service) as well as Jerry Morgan, Mike Keel (Lake Cumberland Guide Service) catch numerous hybrids. My personal best was 13.10 lbs caught last may. Forum member "KR" has actually personally physically witnessed these fish being caught in Cumberland while we were fishing together. Once again if you don't keep anything under 22 inches it doesn't matter, the last word I had though was this"if you make a mistake and keep a short striper ....shame on you. Good luck to all, tight lines

[Duayne]

Interesting take with the "mixup at the hatchery". If they are that prevalent, then they probably could set creel and size limits on them. I assumed there would be some rouge hybrids showing up when they reintroduced the whites. I didn't think there would be enough to worry with. Even still, it might be best just to leave it alone. As it is, they already have people catching 15 inch females with broken lines and throwing them in the cooler.

[mhall]

Interesting take with the "mixup at the hatchery". If they are that prevalent, then they probably could set creel and size limits on them. I assumed there would be some rouge hybrids showing up when they reintroduced the whites. I didn't think there would be enough to worry with. Even still, it might be best just to leave it alone. As it is, they already have people catching 15 inch females with broken lines and throwing them in the cooler.

Isn't that the truth. People need to educate themselves better on fish. Stripers COMMONLY have broken lines....