Hybrid help

[jaystaler88]

Hey y'all,

I'm new to fishing for hybrids and would like to get out to some area lakes and try them this weekend. Can anyone suggest artificial tactics, and what would be the best set-up.

Would my normal Medium Weight spinning rod work for these, or should I get something with more backbone?

I've heard any kind of fluke is a great place to start. How are these fished and with/without weight?

Thanks

[MNfisher]

I like to fish a fluke on a 1/4 oz jighead. It all depends on what they want as far as how to work it. Some nights they want it swam very fast with quick jerks, somedays you need to jig it back very slowly. And anywhere in between, but one thing is always the same, they SMACK it when they hit!

I just use s 6'6" Med Spinning with 10 lb Fireline and a 10 lb flouro leader. Percy Priest, Tims Ford, and some of the williamsports lakes have good populations of them.

[Travis C.]

Some nights

Do they bite at night or are they more a sunrise, sunset than all night.

I guess better question is could I target them at night..

[StriperFan]

Do they bite at night or are they more a sunrise, sunset than all night.

I guess better question is could I target them at night..

Yes, they can be very active at night. The more into summer time, the more the night action increases. The next couple of full moons are excellent times to throw redfins right on the shoreline. Then as the water warms more, I will use downlines at night.

[Travis C.]

Yes, they can be very active at night. The more into summer time, the more the night action increases. The next couple of full moons are excellent times to throw redfins right on the shoreline. Then as the water warms more, I will use downlines at night.

Awesome!

On avg I get more chances to fish at night than daytime. The hybrid bug bit me finally last weekend. :D

[aero320]

I got hooked on hybrid fishing in 1979 on Sooner Lake in north central Oklahoma and have chased them since. Right now I am fishing Tims Ford. A couple of weeks ago, the fish schools were easy to find (lots of bird activity). I precision troll 1/4 oz. jigs with Slider plastics at about 1.0 MPH with the trolling motor but a lot of guys were casting Tennessee Rigs and catching fish. This past weekend, the large shad schools seem to have moved out toward the main lake but fish were still being caught. Not nearly as many fishermen as before. This time of year, they should be moving up the river but I went all the way the the Loop with the Structure Scan scanning both right and left and found nothing.

The hybrids in Tims are really healthy (having hybrid for supper tonight) but are not as big as the ones in JPP. Will switch to JPP in June and start live shad fishing.

So many fish, so little time!

[Scott715]

I had good success on JPP last spring near Party Cove back toward Hobson Pk bridge. You will find hybrid guys also fishing around Seven Points. If you're bank fishing, try by JPP dam near the Nashville Shores area. If they still let you park at the end of Old Hickory Blvd, I know they would be at that boat ramp in the spring as well. Look for the seagulls! Where there are birds, there are fish! When the water temps are 55 - 60 (like now) they would pound the super zaraspooks, cordell redfins, and topdawgs (all topwater or shallow). This was normally the only time of year I would fish for them because they were aggressive on baitfish and hammering the topwater bite. Last spring was also the first time I threw the umbrella rig. It produced some good hybrid too, but make sure you have some heavy braided line and a strong arm! I bought an umbrella rig from a guy that was making them out of east TN and selling them online. He had a reasonable price and sent me a freebie for buying several from him. I would switch the arms up with different-sized swimbaits and maybe one spinner. Anyway, it is such a heavy rig that it wears on you, especially if you're catching a lot of fish! Here's a pic from last year...

[jaystaler88]

How long does this hybrid season usually last? I've been out the past couple of days on JPP and had decent luck. How long will they be within casting distance of the shore?