Striper or Hybrid?

[mhall]

Bob, The KDFWR is in fact stocking Whites and has been to a limited basis for several years now off and on. They are not going all Gung Ho on this yet because they aren't sure they aren't wasting their time with it. I have caught some nice Whites over the last few years down there.

Also they are going to stock 500,000 Shellcrackers, ''Redears'' This season or next also....That is cool stuff to..

[Duayne]

Great pic Peter. The classic difference in body styles between a male striper and female striper from the same class. I've attached a jif that sorta shows the difference in length and weight between males and females per yearly class. You can also see the slightly deeper body style of the female. That deeper body style is why some people mistake a female striper for a hybrid. Some just see broken lines on a torpedo and still call it a hybrid.

One clear indicator that your fish is a striper is the shear length. I don't think Hybrids top the 20 inch mark. I am sure someone could prove me wrong on this but I doubt any hybrid will ever make the 26 inch mark.

I wonder if that fish was hung in the trees\weeds and only came out when you swung around? I've had them run under ledges and cover before while bottom fishing. I've put the rod back in the rod holder and had them come back out later on their own. I've also had them run back into the cover when tree top fishing.

[apb]

...One clear indicator that your fish is a striper is the shear length. I don't think Hybrids top the 20 inch mark. I am sure someone could prove me wrong on this but I doubt any hybrid will ever make the 26 inch mark....

There are plenty of Hybrids out there over 20 inches. I've also caught a good number over 26 inches. Once they hit around 24 inches they really start putting on weight. I've caught a few 12 pound Hybrids that measured 27-28 inches. Andrew

[mhall]

There are plenty of Hybrids out there over 20 inches. I've also caught a good number over 26 inches. Once they hit around 24 inches they really start putting on weight. I've caught a few 12 pound Hybrids that measured 27-28 inches. Andrew

I've seen the pics....they were beasts...

[stripernut1]

both fish in the pic are 100% stripers. yesterday and today we caught stripers (again 100% stripers) that looked deformed they were so fat ad deep from the back to the belly, CHOCK FULL of green eggs, the sleeker looking males would dump sperm all over the floor of the boat when you tried to de-hook them, the cooler looked pretty rough too. Yes there are hybrids in lake Cumberland, several of them, and some bigguns, but using the broken lines as the sole identifier and or the depth of the body can be confusing to some. Once again, if the fish is over 22 inches it doesn't matter what it is.....keep if you want, just count it towards your limit of 2 fish and you are good to go. Also hybrids commonly exceed 20 inches, they are eating machines and grow like weeds, my 13.10 lb caught last year was right at 28 inches. most of the hybrids we caught in the fall were way over the 22 inch mark and rarely needed to be measured. I don't think this hybrid/striper thing is much of an issue, the hybrids have been present for some time, eventually they will be gone. Even though they are present, I never hop in the boat and say "ok today we are hybrid fishing" , you might be fishing for a long time lol. good luck tight lines

[mhall]

FOR THE RECORD:

1. I don't keep any fish I catch.
2. I catch and release.....period.
3. Why? I understand human physiology, and know what happens when a person with a full blader jumps into cold water.

When # 3 is no longer the case, I will reconsider #1 and #2.

I do eat fish at Red Lobster because the kitchen and bathrooms are marked in English. "WARNING"....be careful at "Outback".

If you laughed at this, mail me $2.00 and I'l quit my day job.

Bob, my comment was a broad brush stroke and was not intended at you man just wanted you to know that... I know you are a good experienced fisherman..

[Duayne]

There are plenty of Hybrids out there over 20 inches. I've also caught a good number over 26 inches. Once they hit around 24 inches they really start putting on weight. I've caught a few 12 pound Hybrids that measured 27-28 inches. Andrew

I stand corrected! I don't think I ever measured one.. LOL Most things I've read on them stop at 18-19 inches..

[peter]

What do you think? Is the top one a Hybrid? The body height is real close to 1/3 the body length.

The fish in the top of the first photo was caught Saturday and the one on the bottom was caught Sunday in the main lake.

The top one just sat in basically one spot for fifteen minutes, if it was pulling line it was real slow or not at all. I thumbed the reel and pulled pretty darn hard with a 7' ugly stick and got nowhere but did feel some movement. I checked to see if I was hung on the bottom or hung on a tree top with the water being up and my fish finder read 120 deep. I backed up with all my planner boards out and tried to go around to the other side of the fish. Actually after turning off my trolling motor, pulling on the fish or the fish pulling me made the boat back up, then I tried to get around to the other side. I don't recall any striper acting like that lately.. It was only 26" and 8.5 lbs.

OK I hear what folks are saying here. Let me ad some more info to consider.

When I caught this fish I thought it was a hybrid by the way it fought, what it looked like and what I saw when I filleted the fish. The belly was not all guts and eggs, it was meat and bone and a lot of it. I have cut up a lot of stipers. Some folks I showed the photo to said it was a hybrid some said it looked like a hybrid but weren't sure. The two people I showed the actual fish to that striper fish and live at LC said it sure looked like a hybrid.
Everybody on here was pretty sure it was a striper...so I thought well I guess it's a striper. I talked to somebody that fished today and they said they caught two deformed fish..real fat. We dubbed them "fatties".

That got me thinking again so I sent a bunch of photos to KY Fish and Wildlife. The biologist replied back immediately that it was a hybrid. Here are the reasons he gave.

Shaped more like a football, not a torpedo shape. Hybrids are football shaped and stripers are streamed lined like a torpedo. The height on a hybrid is approx. 1/3 the length. This one was .29 the length. Hard to really picture so here is a picture.





Which object matches which fish?

Tooth patch on the tong of a hybrid is two parallel lines that are connected to make the shape of the letter U.
Striper has just two parallel lines that are not connected.



Broken lines. Yes plenty of stripers have broken lines too. Look at how and how many of these lines are broken.
I only count one that is a full intact line. Above the lateral line lines that are broken that form the letter W is also an indicator I read somewhere else. The other side of the fish had maybe three full lines as you can see in the next post.



One more photo next post.

[peter]

Look at the head on this thing. To my eye it doesn't match the body..more like a white bass head on a striper. It's sort of pointed. That and the shape is what I used to always look for on the Ohio at the dam. It was easy to identify them there because they are supposed to be there. I had more trouble telling the difference between a big white bass and a small hybrid. Now, I was holding the fish out trying to keep it straight and instruct the camera operator at the same time so it sas not really 4' long.





As I mentioned in an earlier post I caught two 24" fish several weeks ago that I immediately thought were hybrids when I was netting them but dismissed it because there are no hybrids in Cumberland. I did mention it to some folks.

When Hurricane started this thread that got me thinkin..there I go again thinkin. On closer inspection, blowing the photo of Hurricane's fish up there is only one maybe two lines that are not broken and again how they are broken. I would not make a bet for five dollars that that is a striper based on the broken lines and the fact that He has been striper fishin ever since he was a kid on the Chesapeake Bay and he put the question out there.

Any body have any thoughts on this.

If you catch a weird looking striper get some photos and let us know.

[peter]

Here is the hybrid Stripernut caught a year or two ago.
13.1 pounds. Only one intact line as I see it.
That's his buddy Mike in the photo.

[HURRICANEBOB]

Bob, my comment was a broad brush stroke and was not intended at you man just wanted you to know that... I know you are a good experienced fisherman..

Dude no offense at all taken.. I thought it was funny and just wanted to add to the laughter.

Another reason.....I puke at fish guts.......YUCK!

[HURRICANEBOB]

When Hurricane started this thread that got me thinkin..there I go again thinkin. On closer inspection, blowing the photo of Hurricane's fish up there is only one maybe two lines that are not broken and again how they are broken. I would not make a bet for five dollars that that is a striper based on the broken lines and the fact that He has been striper fishin ever since he was a kid on the Chesapeake Bay and he put the question out there.

Pete, I'm flattered, and I threw the question out there cause all the bay fishing I did meant I was for sure catching Stripers. So when I see something a little different it wonders me some.

I bow to Stripernut's and your expertise on freshwater Stripers. Since I never had to sort species out, I'm just not that good at it....even when I sober.

And to all, I swear I'm telling the truth when I say I only catch and release. Fish guts just makes me "girlie".

And besides, I just love the taste of salt water fish. Again, just my goofey taste preference, but most freshwater fish....for me....is just to strong a taste.

Now, when they start stocking Cumberland with oysters, blue crab, scallops, red snapper, grouper, and cod......."ISH" will buy a filleting knife and a shell cracker. Of course, I'll weigh a little of 450 pound iin less than 3 months.