The fishy form of Frankenstein's monster might be living in a lake year you, but this is one monster you shouldn't run from. This man-made mutant is the wiper, a fish that doesn't exist in nature but is now created in the fish hatcheries of many states. Wipers may be the toughest freshwater fish youll ever battle, and they offer you some unique fly-fishing opportunities. Best of all, wipers can be caught on a fly just about any time the water is not frozen, if you know where to look for them.
Vigorous Hybrids
Wipers are also known as hybrid striped bass, whiterock bass (which is what the International Game Fish Association calls them) and Palmetto bass (the common name in South Carolina, where they were first produced). They exhibit what biologists call hybrid vigor – enhanced characteristics of one or both parent species. That means they possess many of the traits that make their paternal parent, white bass, a favorite of Midwest anglers; they school, they hit baits with great gusto, and they fight hard for their size. From the maternal side, striped bass, they get size and power.
While white bass are often considered panfish, a wiper is hardly noteworthy until it reaches seven or eight pounds. Ten pounders are not uncommon, and a 15 pound fish is considered a real trophy in anyone’s book. World and state records are, on average, more than 20 pounds for wipers. For fly rodders, all the IGFA line class records are less than 12 pounds. That puts records within reach, but even “schoolie” wipers in the two- to five-pound range are worthy of your attention.
Once hooked, wipers will fight nearly to the death. They are great eating fish, so keep a few legal ones if you want. Small wipers can be difficult to distinguish from large white bass, so if your lake has both, make sure you can identify each before you keep fish for the table (see sidebar for identification tips). In Kansas the limit on wipers is two, but there is no limit on white bass. Mistaken identity could be costly.
Springtime “Spawn”
Although wipers are sterile hybrids, they retain the genetic urge to migrate to spawning areas each spring. This run provides the angler a good chance to find a concentration of large wipers, and it’s the best opportunity for wading anglers to get in on the action. Rivers that feed stocked reservoirs need to meet a few criteria to be good for fishing the false spawning run. The must be deep enough to allow passage out of the lake, have sufficient flow to allow the fish to run up, and have a variety of gravel bars, deep holes, and other habitat features.
The spring white bass spawning run occurs almost simultaneously with the wiper run, so keep your ears open for local information. Look for eddies in the river, which serve as resting places for fish moving upstream against the current. Even a three-inch tree branch lying in the water can create an eddy that a fish will find attractive. Cast your fly at, or even on the bank, and let the current move it for you.
A sinking-tip line helps hold the fly in the eddy a bit longer than would a floating line. I also use flies tied on circle hooks because a strike on a moving fly will let the circle hook find purchase in the corner of the mouth more often than not. Just remember not to set the hook; instead, just strip until you feel the fish, then lift the rod.
Large Clouser Minnows and Lefty’s Deceivers work well for river fish, but my favorite is a marabou-and-rabbit-strip concoction with oversize, heavy, dumbbell eyes. While the weight of the fly make casting a bit of a chore, I think it helps the fly hug the shoreline strike zone. Yellow is my go-to color for this wiper fly, but I also tie it (along with Clousers and Deceivers) in chartreuse, white, and black.
Two other places to check out in the spring are windblown points on lakes, and man-made moving water. Look for points with the wind hitting them head on, or quartering, and if the wind and waves are churning up the bottom sediment in the shallows, so much the better. Wipers often cruise the clear-water side feasting on baitfish blown there. Deceivers and Clousers work less, as do Tarpon Cockroaches. Stick with darker colors, such as brown and olive.
Summer Frenzy
After the spring spawning run, wipers move back down into the lake and toward their summer haunts. This is some of the most exciting wiper fishing of the year, as there can be a topwater bite. Mornings and evening, wipers and white bass push shad up to the surface and gorge on them. This feeding frenzy can be brief, or can run for more than an hour as the school of wipers and white bass hound the baitfish around the lake.
Look for fish near structure, such as underwater humps, points, river channels, road beds, or dams. Watch for birds diving to the water or surface disturbances to indicate fish working bait. If you see birds, motor over quickly, but kill the motor a good distance away and drift to just within catching range. Throw Clousers, Deceivers, and other baitfish imitators, or for a bit more excitement, toss in a popper, Dahlberg Diver, or other topwater fly.
Wipers are hardly ever selective, although sometimes they can get keyed in on a certain size or color of baitfish, and it helps to come close to that with your fly. I usually start with an all-white, white-and-chartreuse, or white-and-olive Clouser. If the action starts in the low light of early mornings or late evening, a darker fly provides a more visible silhouette. More than a couple of casts into an area where fish are blowing up on bait without a strike should be your cue to change colors. Do it quickly, as you never know for how long the action will last. Better yet, have a second rod pre-rigged with a different color or size of fly.
If you can tear yourself away from the almost sure-thing near the surface, try a sinking-tip or full-sinking line to dredge a baitfish imitation, such as a Flashy Shad, for bigger fish feeding on the fallout from the surface blitz.
Obviously, a boat is almost imperative for effective summer wiper fishing, but shore-bound anglers can sometimes cash in by walking the face of a dam, a rock causeway, or a point. Fishing piers or jetties near deep water can also be productive, and wade fishing near drop-offs can put you within casting range.
Going Deep in Fall
Once the water temperature begins to fall, wipers spend less time cruising the open water and begin keying on deep-water structure. Once the water temperature drops to about 50 degrees, many wipers will head for submerged river channels, which are favored fall and winter hangouts. The deep water maintains a more stable temperature, and the bends and differing water depths adjacent to the channels afford fish an easier opportunity to find the right combination of cover and temperature.
This is where a good GPS unit and some research come in. Once you’re found these deepwater structures on a map or on scouting trips, punch them in to your GPS for use later. An electronic sonar unit or “fish locator” will help you home in on and see the undulations of the bottom far below the surface.
Once you locate a promising channel that looks fishy, tie a big Flashy Shad or Deceiver on a short leader. Fall and winter wipers usually hang out at around 30 feet deep, and I use a Scientific Anglers Deep Water Express full-sinking line - cut back to about 20 feet and attached to a level running line – to get my fly down near the bottom in only a few seconds. I won’t lie to you; this rig doesn’t cast well. You’ll need a 10-weight for the back bone when you’re trying to bring up a nice wiper from 30 feet down, especially when he’s dragging that heavy fly line.
It’s pretty easy to tire of this kind of chuck-and-duck, so one way to avoid blowing out your rotator cuff is to combine your fly fishing with conventional methods the way many saltwater anglers do. In late fall, I use electronics to locate the river channel and some fish, and then I troll large diving plugs to find active feeders. Once I locate a hot pod of fish, I break out the fly rods and have a go. The best part, other than the fish, is that you’ll almost always have the lake all to yourself.
If you’re boatless and hurting for a late-season wiper fix, check out the same man-made moving water areas discussed above as springtime spots. They might still be holding fish, especially those where the inflowing water is warmer than the lake water.
Get to know wipers. They hit like a freight train, fight like the dickens, and offer three seasons of opportunity. Plus, they’re darn good on the table. Check out your state fish and game agency’s Web site for information on where they stock wipers. They may be artificially created, but they are anything but fakes. They’re Frankenfish!
Wiper, Striper, or White Bass
Small wipers can be hard to distinguish from large white bass. White bass have faint stripes, and the first stripe below the lateral line does not reach the tail. Wipers have a similar body shape – short length and tall height – but have more pronounced and less-broken stripes than white bass. The first stripe below the wiper’s lateral line is distinct and extends to the tail.
The most reliable method of distinguishing wipers from white bass is by looking at the tongue. Wipers, and their maternal parent, stripers, have two patches of teeth near the rear of the tongue. White bass have only one tooth patch.
Stripers and wipers are rarely stocked in the same lakes, but if they are, stripers have unbroken lateral stripes that distinguish them from wipers. They also have longer, slightly more slender bodies than wipers.
Most state fisheries agencies include fish identification guides in the fishing regulation brochures. Study those before you keep fish for the table.
The Spawning Run – When and Where
Although they are sterile, wipers retain the genetic drive to swim upstream to spawn. White bass spawning runs are near legendary in some parts of the country, and today, wipers can add an awesome surprise to that traditional fishery. But how do you know when to hit the river? The best way is the keep up with the local angler network. As soon as the water starts to warm in spring, someone in the area will be probing the water looking for pioneering white bass. Get yourself plugged in to the network at the local bait shop, gas station, or coffee shop, and you’ll hear. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with spending a lot of time on the water just to make sure you don’t miss it!
If you want to rely on a more scientific method, here are the generally accepted facts regarding white bass spawning. Spawning behavior in white bass, and in wipers, has been observed when the water temperatures are between 55 and 65 degrees. Here in the center of the country, that means it may be worth a shot to fish to fish the river around the first of April. Of course, that will be earlier to the south and later to the north. It typically peaks in late April to early May, but fish may remain in the river until late May, especially if heavy rains keep the fish out of the river for a couple of weeks.
There is some evidence to indicate that the spawn is not purely a temperature-dependent activity. It may be triggered more by a rapid rise in water temperature. So, if the ambient temperature rises, say, 10 degrees in one day, and it stays that much warmer for several days, the water may warm rapidly. Such an occurrence would seem to warrant a trip to the river.
Wipers act like white bass during the spawn, keying on riffles for places to spawn. Most spawning is confined to the first three or four major riffles above the lake, so focus your attention to that area of the river. Sure, some fish will push farther up the river, but your odds are better in those first few riffle areas. Your best fishing will be when the fish are moving up the river. Once they arrive and settle in to the mating ritual, they are nearly impossible to catch.