[rockbass]

Well I did not sleep a bit last night so about 5:15 this morning, I decided to go to Tappan. I was there for about an hour and caught 3 striped bass. Or hybrid stripers. Whatever they were. I know they are stripers. No matter though. It was fun. Caught them on a 2 inch pearl color grub fished on 1/16 oz jighead.

 

[WillyB]

Rockbass, you sure they weren't just white bass? Don't think there are any stripers or hybrids in Tappan. What size were they?

 

[Corey]

They were White Bass. No Stripers in Tappan and only a very few Hybrids have been released here by anglers. I know of only 2 Hybrids being caught in the last few years.

 

[rockbass]

well they were dark along the top half or so of there body and they had the dark stripes on them . A lot darker than any white bass I have ever caught. The biggest one was about 18 inches long and the other 2 were smaller. At first I thought white bass but they were so dark, I thought they looked more like a striped bass. I will look up some fish ID's and compare them to some pics. I have caught many white bass but very few striped or hybrid. Only caught 2 stripes or hybrid out of the Will's creek. One was 24 inches and the other about 12

I am also a dumba$$ so I could be wrong. Maybe were white bass with sun tans!

 

[crappiebub]

Check inside the mouth on the tongue. There will be 2 tooth patches on wipers and stripers. White bass have 1 tooth patch. There are some big whitebass in Tappan.

 

[rockbass]

I did feel the tongue, but did not pay attention to the number of tooth patches. It must have been a white bass, but I just have never seen a white bass that was that dark before. I mean its back was nearly black and the lines on its side were also very dark. oh well I will post again when I want to make a fool of myself.

 

[Lewis]

You didnt make a fool of yourself at all!
It can sometimes be very hard to distinguish a White Bass from a Hybrid or Striper.

 

[Corey]

Ditto what Lewis said. You certainly weren't making a fool of yourself. There are a few hybrids in Tappan that have been brought there by fishermen and every once in a while one shows up. It's not likely but it's possible. Are the lines on its' sides continuous or broken? -------- as compared to --_--__-_? The broken lines usually mean hybrid but, as with other hybrids, including Saugeye, remember that the hybrids carry the color genes from both parents and "can" look identical to either one, although the majority will look like they are supposed to look, a blend. As for the dark color, I wouldn't attach much significance to it; some fish are born with either an overabundance or shortage of Melanin which can cause striking color differences between individual fish or even show as dark areas in an otherwise normally colored specimen. Smallmouth often show this trait and I've caught a nearly solid black Saugeye from Tappan.