Freshwater
Hybrid Striped Bass
Where to find them, how to catch them and the tackle to use.
01Introduction
The hybrid striped bass, also called a wiper, whiterock or palmetto bass, is a hatchery cross between a striped bass and a white bass. It doesn't occur naturally and rarely reproduces, so fisheries agencies stock it in reservoirs and rivers to create a hard-fighting fishery and to help control shad. Hybrids grow fast on shad, hit lures hard, travel in packs and are excellent to eat. Most run 15 to 20 inches, and fish of 5 to 10 pounds are common in good waters.
02Where to Catch
Range: because it's produced in hatcheries, the hybrid lives wherever it's stocked, which includes large reservoirs, lakes and rivers across much of the country.
Habitat: open-water fish of large reservoirs and big rivers. Hybrids follow schools of gizzard shad, threadfin shad or herring, suspending over drop-offs and channels rather than in shallow, weedy water. They're drawn to moving water: tailwaters below dams (especially in spring and during high releases), springs and the mouths of feeder creeks after heavy rain.
Seasonally:
- Spring: runs up tributaries with white bass, and big concentrations in tailwaters.
- Summer: suspended near the thermocline in stratified lakes, rising to chase baitfish on the surface at dawn, dusk and night.
- Fall: more spread out through the water column, following bait.
- Winter: near the bottom in deeper water; in the South, a good winter fishery when other fish are slow.
03How to Catch
Casting to feeding fish
When hybrids push baitfish to the surface, especially at first light, near sunset and after dark, cast topwater walkers, poppers, crankbaits or jigs into the commotion. Hybrids hit hard.
Live and cut bait
Live shad, herring or shiners are the most effective baits. Drift or anchor with them on an egg-sinker rig or under a slip bobber at the depth where the fish are marked, or let them swim freely. Cut shad and chicken liver fished on the bottom also catch plenty, including from shore.
Trolling
Trolling minnow-style crankbaits or bait on flat lines or downriggers at the fish's depth covers water in summer.
Tailwaters
Below dams, fish the edges beside the fastest water with jigs, spoons and bait.
Ice fishing
In northern lakes, hybrids are caught through the ice on tip-ups with shiners over deep water.
04Tackle
Use heavier tackle than you would for white bass: a medium to medium-heavy spinning or baitcasting outfit with line strong enough for a fish that can easily break light line and straighten small hooks. Carry topwaters, crankbaits, jigs and spoons, plus egg sinkers, slip bobbers and live-bait hooks. Check your state's regulations; some states count hybrids with striped bass or white bass for limits.
05Questions anglers ask
What is a hybrid striped bass?
A cross between a striped bass and a white bass, produced in hatcheries, usually from female striped bass and male white bass. It goes by several names, including wiper, whiterock bass and palmetto bass.
How do I tell a hybrid from a striped bass or white bass?
Hybrids have broken horizontal stripes and a deep, stocky body. Striped bass have continuous stripes and a longer body; white bass are smaller and have a single tooth patch on the tongue, while hybrids have two (sometimes close together).
Can hybrids reproduce?
They're essentially sterile and rarely reproduce in the wild, so populations are kept up by stocking. Some run up tributaries with white bass in spring anyway.