04-28-2007, 12:37 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks, Bro. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yes, wipers do pull hard. They are a sterile hybrid between white bass and stripers and they have the best fighting characteristics of both. They hit like a freight train and pull like a nuclear submarine. They don't go airborne, but they really make your drag scream.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most of the wiper fans in northern Utah fish for them by trolling (washing lures). Since wipers are schooling fish, that cruise around the whole lake and don't stay put much, trolling is a good way to find them. But, it is not always the most efficient way to catch them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you know the general area where the wipers are hanging out, chasing their food source...gizzard shad...you can launch a tube or toon and catch plenty. Use your sonar and your eyes to watch for wiper activity. You can find them around bait schools and fish them deep...or you can watch for wipers smacking shad on the surface and get in on some wild action.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The guys who troll for them usually use heavy tackle. They need it to keep from breaking off on the strike. But, they also horse the fish in while the boat is still moving. What fun is that? I fish them with medium light rods, light reels and 6# line. Not only can I cast and work my lures better but when I hook a fish it is more fun than I can stand. The 21" fish that I finally netted yesterday took off on a couple of runs over 50 yards, and it was at least 15 minutes before I got it to the tube. They do not give up until they are in the net...and, as that one proved, they keep trying to escape. That one actually tore his way out of a metal fish basket. That's tough. I gotta salute a fish like that.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]They are also terrific on the table. Firm white meat with a simple bony structure. Easy to fillet and good almost any way you want to prepare them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And, in Willard Bay, the limit is 6 fish and you don't have to feel badly about keeping them. They are planted to keep the huge gizzard shad population in check and to provide a fishery. The state Fisheried Dept. monitors the populations and just adds more as needed. Since they are sterile, you do not have to be concerned about taking spawning fish out of the gene pool by keeping some for the table.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]After a good day with the wipers you have to go to the doctor...to get the
surgically removed from your kisser.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Yes, wipers do pull hard. They are a sterile hybrid between white bass and stripers and they have the best fighting characteristics of both. They hit like a freight train and pull like a nuclear submarine. They don't go airborne, but they really make your drag scream.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Most of the wiper fans in northern Utah fish for them by trolling (washing lures). Since wipers are schooling fish, that cruise around the whole lake and don't stay put much, trolling is a good way to find them. But, it is not always the most efficient way to catch them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you know the general area where the wipers are hanging out, chasing their food source...gizzard shad...you can launch a tube or toon and catch plenty. Use your sonar and your eyes to watch for wiper activity. You can find them around bait schools and fish them deep...or you can watch for wipers smacking shad on the surface and get in on some wild action.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The guys who troll for them usually use heavy tackle. They need it to keep from breaking off on the strike. But, they also horse the fish in while the boat is still moving. What fun is that? I fish them with medium light rods, light reels and 6# line. Not only can I cast and work my lures better but when I hook a fish it is more fun than I can stand. The 21" fish that I finally netted yesterday took off on a couple of runs over 50 yards, and it was at least 15 minutes before I got it to the tube. They do not give up until they are in the net...and, as that one proved, they keep trying to escape. That one actually tore his way out of a metal fish basket. That's tough. I gotta salute a fish like that.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]They are also terrific on the table. Firm white meat with a simple bony structure. Easy to fillet and good almost any way you want to prepare them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And, in Willard Bay, the limit is 6 fish and you don't have to feel badly about keeping them. They are planted to keep the huge gizzard shad population in check and to provide a fishery. The state Fisheried Dept. monitors the populations and just adds more as needed. Since they are sterile, you do not have to be concerned about taking spawning fish out of the gene pool by keeping some for the table.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]After a good day with the wipers you have to go to the doctor...to get the
surgically removed from your kisser.[/#0000ff][signature]