Do female hybrids produce eggs? They are sterile correct?

Steve

Yes. They will go thru all the spawning motions but the spawn will not take.

why did I find eggs in several hybrids I caught today at lewisville when I cleaned them? . Do they get eggs but dont hatch??

http://aquanic.org/publicat/usda_rac/efs/srac/300fs.pdf

or

http://www.arkansasstripers.com/hybrid-striped-bass-spawning-habits.htm


Since hybrid fish cannot reproduce, hybrids must be stocked to maintain fishable populations.

Hybrid striped bass produced at Texas and Louisiana state fish hatcheries are the "original cross," a 20 lb female striped bass crossed with a 2 lb white bass male. They seldom produce viable offspring, so populations must be maintained by a "put and take" restocking system.

Wow I guess they do according to these articles.

Hybrid striped bass, unlike some
other hybrids, is fertile. It is
oviparous (egg-laying) like the
parental species and produces eggs
and sperm in the spring when
temperatures are 15 to 20� C. Some
males mature at the age of 1 year
(approximately 250 mm long and 500
grams), and all are mature at 2 years
of age. A few females are mature at
2 years of age, but all are mature at 3
years. Females produce an average
of 160,000 eggs per pound of body
weight and spawn once a year.
Males may spawn many times over
the spawning season.

I think Ranger R's reply is almost an exact quote from the TPWD website. Reread it and notice the "seldom". Somewhere I read that approxinately 1 out of 50,000 female hybrids are actually capable of a successfull spawn. The rate then drops down for their offspring to something like 1 out of 250,000 or something like that. Then it keeps dropping for each generation. The male factor doesn't matter as white bass or striped bass males can fertilize the eggs.

In other words, some of them can spawn successfully but they can not sustain a population. If a lake isn't stocked they will all be gone within 10-15 years.

Kevin

Thank y'all for the clarification.

Steve

interesting, I feel like im ready to take my job at the fishery already!

The offspring of the hybrid are even harder to identify then the parents. I guess they are only 1/3rd or less striper which could help explain why so many whitebass look like hybrids with the broken lines above the lateral line and the odd shaped tongue patchs. I don't think pure whitebass have broken lines but there might not be many "pure" whitebass anymore in lakes that get regular hybrid stockings.

The hybrid stocking program has had some problems enforcing the rules based on being able to identify by looks alone. I know one of the wildlife fisheries guys that does the lake sampling and testing and even he has had problems identifying hybrids and whites from just looking. He suggested that about half the time what looks like a hybrid is really a mature whitebass but only tissue samples tell the whole truth.

The other things to consider with regard to spawning fish are environmental conditions....termperature, predators, running water, soil, etc. all affect a viable, fertilized egg's ability to hatch into a larvae and on to fingerlings.

Striper being one piece of the cross don't reproduce in Texas lakes. They are a salt water speices that thrive in the sea and come back to their natural spawning grounds much like salmon do.

Here is an article that provides a bit more detail as to the conditions required for striper to have a successful spawn....

http://www.ospreymarine.com/biology.html

Texas hatchery info:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/management/hatcheries/fw_production.phtml#striper

R

The statement saying stripers don't reproduce in Texas lakes is incorrect. Texoma is one of only 2 lakes in the country where stripers reproduce in the wild. They don't stock that lake. There is a salt deposit which the Red River flows through which provides the salt content needed for the spawn.

The other lake is in either Tennessee or Kentucky. I forget which but it is for the same reason, the river flows through a salt deposit.

Kevin