Hi all,

I have been lurking around here for a while and have finally gone out fly fishing a few times with a cheapo poll and reel from BPS in San Antonio.

I managed to catch an LMB on my 5th or 6th cast using a white popper, so i'm sticking with fly fishing where appropriate.

I'm lucky enough to have a friend with a house on Lake Diversion, so that's the only place i have taken the fly rod out, but i have been quite pleased and am getting more confidante with my casting.

this bring me to a question though and it has little to do with fly fishing.

where i go on Diversion there is a dock with an underwater light. Now personally i get plenty of pleasure out of hooking a 24" hybrid, especially with a lite pole, but what are yall's thoughts on the ethics here?

have fun but throw 'em back? throw them big ones on the grill?

one thing i have been talking to the owner about is the fact that their LMB just won't grow out and hes convinced its because the hybrids (which i think look more like pure striper) are eating up all the bait fish. So we are discussing the possibility of catching them at the light as a form of population control.

anyway..

love the forum and I'm looking forward to posing some pics.

As long as one adheres to the TPWD regulations on possession things ought to work out well. Striper is delicious so I personally say, keep as many as the law allows and your appetite dictates.

And I agree that stripers on the fly are a ton of fun!

#1 Welcome

# 2 Eat Them !

Most likely, them stripers are not a native fish, and so too, probably, that is a non native dam, on that non native Lake Diversion



Soon after modern man eradicates himself OFF the planet, both 'll be gone anyway, and therefore as the song goes..

" Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think."


Eat Them ! Serve them kinda salty too ..

AND Remember folks, unless you are walking barefoot wearing a grass skirt, sleeping in a ditch and eating only road kill, you are part of the problem.

I'm glad to see everybody is in agreement.

I'm now looking forward to a packed freezer, since these guys are large, hungry, and numerous.

you may want to google fish cleaning & read up on Stripers & Hybrids(if you don't have experience with them) they are tasty...but the red portions can taste strong at times (built up lactic acid) and if possible its a good section to cut away sometimes.

good advice. i will make sure to keep only the largest ones so the bloodline is easier to remove.

i have done it on a 40lb amberjack so I'm sure I'm sure a little bass is a walk in the park after that.

If you soak the fillets in freezing cold water, you can pull the bloodlines right off.

Welcome to the forum. I am in agreement with the keep what you can eat, and within legal limits of course. I have no problem at all with it. You got to make a little back out of all the investment right...hehehe.

I'm late to the party, but I'm sure you've figured out that there are very few purists here. I'll echo what others have said by voting to catch and "release to the grease". Good luck and take pictures to share so the rest of us can see what we missed catching.

I think you need to invite some new friends to try this out.

I've been catching and eating hybrid-stripers for several years. The key is to ice the whole fish ASAP. This makes the filleting much easier and improves the taste. Three more things help. Like already posted is removing the mid body blood line, but also you should not run your knife right next to the skin. Feather it about 1/16" off the skin to leave as much of the red meat on the skin. Last of the three is to rinse the fillets under running water for 10-15 min after you are finished with the knife work. They make great table fare if you take the time and care. Sorry just in case. If you freeze them make sure they a frozen submerged in water.

I'm with chocolate, Say, is that lake on the easy side of San Antonio, or the far side? as I am in Dallas..

And Deck hand, great ideas except you're close making that fish have as much flavor as skinless boneless chicken breats. You ever eat short ribs, or braised shank, or ox tail soup ? Yummm

But dont go thinking I eat every thing just cause it crawled,
or once got petted. Propulsion and support pieces - them are OK, But for those parts which previously saw something, or filtered something, or fathered something or thought about it, I pass.

AAWW! Steve it still has the fish flavor that it needs. It is amazing just how it improves the the over all dinning experience. BTW My wife has been on my arse to get some more of those H-S to black'un(her favorite way to eat them). Me I like to bake with lemon and black pepper and serve with a lite beer. 0330 alarm and clock in at 0430