Stripers on the Roanoke River, and Hybrids on Jordan Lake. Surface feeding schooling Largemouths on Harris Lake, all on the fly.
Offering pick up and drop off for people staying in hotels in the Research Triangle Park, Raleigh, Cary or Durham areas. Just drop us a line and we'll make plans to connect you and the fish by way of the fly.

Everywhere these fish have been planted they are making fishermen take notice. From the bass fisherman who wonders what the hell that was that took off with his favorite crankbait and busted his line, to the bank fishermen who had his favorite cane pole broken. The hybrid is here to stay, and now fly fishermen are taking notice of the great sporting opportunities this fish presents.

During spring the hybrids make a false spawning run. I say false because the hybrid is a triploid cross, meaning they are sterile. This spawning run provides fantastic fishing in relatively small waters. If a reservoir near you has hybrids in it, chances are that the main feeder stream or river hosts a run of hybrids. Usually this occurs in the spring as the weather stabilizes. Here in North Carolina we wait for the dogwoods to bloom before we make our first trips of the year for running hybrids.

The fish can be pursued with traditional fly fishing methods, meaning floating lines and streamer flies. I like to cast out cross current and let my fly swing down using the greased line method like I was steelhead fishing. This means that you put upstream or downstream mends in your line so that the fly is swept downstream at approximately the same speed as the current. A straight down and across presentation also works and casting straight downstream and letting the fly hang in likely looking places is highly effective and some anglers use this presentation exclusively.

If I were to list all the flies that could be effective for catching hybrids it be so long as to be prohibitive. Suffice it to say that you can get all the action you could ever want on a white wooly bugger. I like to tie mine with a yellow chenille body and white hackle with a white marabou tail. From there you can experiment and try anything you can think of. The number of flies they won't hit is probably much fewer than the number of flies they will.

So you're out flyfishing for hybrids and you've got the run figured out and now you want to get your kids or your wife or a non-flyfishing buddy into one easily, what can you do? Is all lost?
Actually, no. The solution is simply to fish with a bottom rig baited with chicken livers. Read it again if you have to, I'll wait................
It seems that the food the fish get in the hatchery as fry and fingerlings is based on chicken livers and the hybrids never seem to lose their taste for this delicacy. Don't let this get out though, it could ruin their reputation.

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