Podcast Q & A with Bill Butts

[Zach Matthews]

Hey guys –

Bill Butts generously agreed to answer our white bass and striper questions on the Podcast.

[Bill Butts]

Zach,

Temperate Bass that are moving into a river for spawning purposes in the Spring are affected by multiple factors which are many times difficult to get or keep a handle on.
Early in the season, the biggest single factor is water temp.

[Zach Matthews]

That’s very good advice, Bill.

[Gary Sundin]

Bill and Zach, thanks for that great interview.

[Mike Anderson]

I listened to the podcast today and really enjoyed it, excellent information in there for sure. About the fish Zach caught in the photos. I wish I knew the details but there is something about crossing male Striper and Hybrid sperm or something like that that creates these fish. A few people think they are just Striper with broken lines but I don’t believe this at all. The size and attitude of these fish is not Striper like and the broken lines just confirm IMO that they aren’t pure Striper. Here’s a pic a friend of mine took of one. You can clearly see that if it was a Hybrid it would have been the world record. I think the fish weighed around 30 pounds. Ask anyone who has spent a few yers chasing these fish what that fish is and you’ll get the same answer everytime, Hybrid. Those lines are way to broken for a Striper at least any normal Striper.

He called TWRA and they told him a story about a mix up at he hatchery and some egg vats weren’t cleaned or something to that effect and therefore this fish didn’t qualify as a record contender. They call it and X Striper or something like that…

Anyway, Bill give me shout if you ever head to TN. We have world class Hybrid and Striper water all around us here in Nashville.

[Bill Butts]

flyg,

All Temperate Bass can be cyclic for a variety of reasons, but the most common White Bass are pretty consistent.

[Bill Butts]

Mike,

Thanks for your positive remarks about the podcast.
I enjoyed working with Zach, though 36 minutes is only time enough to scratch the surface.
Zach does an awesome job with them and injects lots of energy into each one.
My favorite part was the music, both at the beginning and end of the cast.

I would say the same about the pic of your behemouth fish, definitely SOME type of Hybrid.
If it was a fluke, it would make sense to get such large fish from a Striper X Hybrid mix.
All the Fisheries Biologists (FBs) I’ve talked with say they use new fish each year to breed for the Hybrids.

[ty goodwin]

Bill and Zach,

[Bill Butts]

Ty,
Thanks for your post and positive comments.
Over the years, I have had a great deal of success with night fishing.
The most important factor to know is specifically where fish are holding before it gets dark, so the fish are already located.
An odd factor I’ve experienced many times is when I stay until after dark and always expect fishing to either continue as good or better than at dusk.

[Zach Matthews]

Hey Bill –

I completed my interview with Dan Blanton a couple days ago and he raised some interesting new questions.

[Bill Butts]

Zach,
Sorry for the tardy reply.
We’ve been down in your hometown area chasing Hybrids and Whites.
Caught bunches of Whites though we didn’t spend much time casting smaller flies, but no Hybrids were even hooked and we didn’t hear a single one caught, except for a friend of ours that caught a 12# Hybrid on Wed eve.

Can’t wait to hear your interview with Dan Blanton.

[charlie kreitler]

Bill and Zach,

Great job. As someone who fishes for stripers on Long Island Sound, I found it pretty fascinating. The fishing we do is a bit different because of the strong influence of the tides. We can catch stripers quite shallow as they move into feeding positions to catch the baitfish as they get washed around with the currents.

I’m curious about the health of pure striped bass in fresh water. During the winter the big fish migrate south, but some of the smaller ‘holdovers’ remain in the rivers. Whether it’s due to the fresh water or other stresses from the cold or less abundant food, many of the holdovers aren’t as healthy as the ones that migrate. That’s very anecdotal, and it could be for lots of reasons. It was very interesting to hear that they can survive and even thrive in the purely freshwater environment.

Thanks again!

[Bill Butts]

Charlie~

Thanks for your kind kudos.

The history of freshwater Stripers is a very interesting one, and accidental in origin.
Back in the 1940’s when the Santee Cooper Reservoir System in SC was being completed, the Dams (I believe there were two) were completed while Stripers were in the rivers to spawn.

[charlie kreitler]

Bill, very helpful! Thanks for the follow-up.

Charlie

[Author]

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