I was fishing near shull island this afternoon.Rod went down. My wife grabbed it and thought she had godzilla. I started laughing when i saw it was on about 17 inches.Gut hooked so i threw him in the box. Got home cleaning fish noticed the meat was a different color. Saw the staggered stripes then.Does anyone have any info on hybrids in lake Murray if so please reply. 
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON !!!
Halftime of the Carolina game, and I thought I’d look at the fishing boards… Richard, we have caught a few decent hybrids in Lake Murray over the years, but there is not really a targetable population. Some get mixed in by mistake, and some end up in the lake due to failed pond dams. With all that said, it’s entirely possible that your wife caught a hybrid.
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175 Yammy Jammer
Thanks Fogman. Thought I was going crazy so had to go dig it back up to take another look. It was a hybrid. great talking to you again today. My wife really had a good time.
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON !!!
Just remember broken stripe pattern doesnt automatically mean hybrid. And meat coloration is usually due to diet. Skinnier than normal fish in the summer tend to have a white cloudy look to it due to not eating enough.
“All fisherman lie. And if they say otherwise, then they’re lying”
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Murraymaker, he was short,fat and rounded . The top of his back is green and had a goldish color on his sides. Im almost positive it was a hybrid. Thanks for the info.
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON !!!
Richard, PM sent
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I have probably caught around 8-10 hybrids on Murray in the past 15 years. It does happen but is rare. A few mix in somehow, and I think you can trust me. I do know the difference:smiley: Hybrids would do well in Murray, but the DNR has chosen not to stock them and upset the predator-forage balance in the lake. I was told that they are also concerned about tarnishing the Santee striper population downstream if entrainment occurred.
I’m certain Richard’s wife’s fish was a hybrid. Not lost on me at all.
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175 Yammy Jammer
Fogman sometimes biologist have to use a lab analysis called electrophoresis to distinguish whether or not a fish has enough genetic material from both striped bass and white bass to actually be classified as a hybrid. So your eyes may not be quite enough to tell my friend. Because hybrids can reproduce with themselves or with another striped bass, the resulting F2 hybrid or “backcross” with a striped bass, and future generations of those offspring could “contaminate” the genetics of the native stocks, also known as “genetic introgression”. The resulting backcrosses may also produce a striped bass or white bass that could also be “ecologically superior” to native stocks and out compete them for resources. So thats why there is concern. A study conducted in 1984 in the Savannah River basin confirmed that the recombinant genotypes indicative of hybrid reproduction were present in 6 of 642 fish sampled from the Savannah drainage.
I’ve caught a couple football shaped fish in Lake Murray that made me pause for a second and think to myself “Thats a hybrid”. I have also heard the story of hybrids getting into the lake through a failed pond dam. So maybe it was…
Team Shad Up & Fish
If you’ve had fun catching fish on the transom bait, you are welcome…
I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…
Good stuff Woody! I was waiting on you to chime in with a scientific approach. I still hold fast to catching a hybrid every once in a blue moon on Murray. Compared with Clark’s Hill fish, the look and hard circular fight was the same. That’s all we have to go on. I just don’t have access to a lab or the expertise to get to the genetic level:smiley:
Perhaps if I catch one again on Murray I can take it to the DNR for testing.
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175 Yammy Jammer
You can bet if you brought in a 21 lb hybrid to DNR to be certified as a new state record, it would get a lab analysis too lol…
Team Shad Up & Fish
If you’ve had fun catching fish on the transom bait, you are welcome…
I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…
Just so you know, Electrophoresis can be done in your garage …
My eldest Daughter won both school and Regional Science Fairs doing projects using in-house electrophoresis …
Just need a base sample for comparison …
… it’s my Wife’s fault we HAVE to fish !!!
2005 Sea Pro 2100cc / Yamaha 150hp 4-Stroke
Crusher, I had to look up what the 
that is. Remember you’re talking to a man with a music ed. degree:smiley: That would be something for my buddy and teammate Rick K with his successful chemical engineering career… Very impressive accomplishment for your daughter!!
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175 Yammy Jammer
I did put him in the freezer if anyone is wanting to do a little experimenting. lol:smiley:
Team (Cat-Chin-Any)
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON !!!
Just a thought, there are some very big white bass in Murray. They closely resemble hybrids. Is it possible that’s what it was? I caught one from Murray that was over 5 lbs a few years back. It was DNA tested then, pure white bass.
Yes… I caught it on my favorite 1/2 ounce Berry spoon 65’ deep, along with a bunch of keeper stripers.
Wow Spoon! The State record is a little under 5 lbs. 5 oz.
Captain, that is Spoon’s fish. He’s too dang humble to flaunt his state record!
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175 Yammy Jammer
Its funny how you remember things (or fish)and I remember this like it was yesterday, but many years ago while fishing for Crappie, I caught a fish that I immediately knew was different. My first thought was “what kind of fish is this?”. I had caught plenty of White Bass before with my father so I knew it wasn’t one of them. It looked a lot like a Striper, yet it was so different. I let that fish go, but never forgot about it. I never considered it to be a Hybrid because we don’t have them in Lake Murray and I haven’t ever caught one. Thinking back now, maybe it was.
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In my “humble” opinion, most if not all State record fish are the result of luck combined with a lot of time spent fishing. First you have to be lucky enough to get to go fishing. Then you have to be at the right place at the right time with the right bait and the right fish has to bite. In my case there were three of us fishing deep (65’) with Berry spoons for perch and stripers. My white bass happened to be feeding in with all of the other fish we were catching. I was very lucky to land the fish, as we had two fish on at the same time and our lines were crossed. I ran from the front to the back of the boat to uncross the lines. If the line had been cut I would have thought I lost a nice striper. Luckily for me I landed the fish and called the SCDNR thinking I had caught a nice hybrid out of Murray. They wanted to see the fish, saying at that time, that there shouldn’t be any hybrids in Murray. They also urged me to get the fish weighed ASAP. Afterwards, I took the fish in for them to identify and found out then that I possibly had a record white bass! The DNA testing later confirmed that it was a pure white bass.