What do you do if you want the power of a Striped Bass with the speed of a White Bass? Try Hybrid Striped Bass fishing, that’s what! Commonly-known as “Wiper,” this mix of Striped and White Bass is loved by anglers across America for its greedy and aggressive nature.

 

Combine a female Striper and a male White Bass, and you get Whiterock Bass. Mix them up the other way around, and you get Sunshine Bass. Whatever you call them, you could spend a lifetime fighting these feisty fish and never get bored.

The average Hybrid Striped Bass weighs around 7-10 lbs, whatever its mom and dad were. In fact, the IGFA doesn’t differentiate between Whiterock and Sunshine Bass. The largest of either they’ve ever recorded was a 27 lbs 5 oz monster pulled from a lake in Arkansas.

A great Hybrid Striped Bass caught on Cherokee Lake, TN.

 

Wipers can only live in freshwater. Cross-breeding does sometimes happen in the wild, but most Hybrid Striped Bass swimming around today are the result of stocking programs. They can be found hunting in open water in lakes all around America, most commonly in the southern half of the country.

Hybrid Striped Bass are sight hunters and greedy eaters, so they will go after a range of shiny lures. During late summer, you can enjoy “jump fishing” - targeting them on the surface as they pin baitfish to banks. Sight casting with spinners, spoons, jigs, surface lures, and various flies works well this time of year. If there's no obvious action on the surface, troll to find the fish then switch to vertical jigging to bring them in.

Surprisingly enough, they taste just like Striped Bass! Their meat is soft and low in oil, although they’re slightly less flavorful than wild Stripers. They still make excellent table fare when baked, fried, grilled, or steamed, though.