HARDY HYBRIDS 



Eastern North Carolina: 

 A Hotbed for Hybrid Bass 



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Hybrid Striped Bass 



Muiwie saxatilis x morone chnsops 



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43 



By C.R. Edgerton 



The striped bass is a species in 

 danger. 



Legendary for its size and strength at 

 the end of a rod and reel, the "rockfish" is 

 not often seen in its natural habitat. 



Overfishing and poor water quality 

 have taken their toll. 



But in Aurora a hardy hybrid of this 

 prized fish is doing quite well. 



Aurora is like any other small town in 

 America. 



When the guy down the road finds a 

 new way to make money on the farm, the 

 neighbors prick up their ears. 



Three years ago, Lee Brothers 

 successfully harvested and sold North 

 Carolina's first batch of hybrid striped bass. 



The neighbors swarmed Brothers like 

 a bee on honey. 



Within two years, four other area 

 farming families had made commitments to 

 raise hybrid bass in ponds. 



Now some folks call this small town 

 "the hybrid striped bass capital of the 

 state." 



"I just saw hybrid bass as a good 

 opportunity several years ago," Brothers 

 says. "The wild catches of striped bass 

 were declining, and I figured the demand 

 would be there." 



He was correct. 



In his first year of operation, his fish 

 were grabbed up by fish dealers along the 

 East Coast. The price was very good. 



Now, Brothers has 30 ponds stocked 

 with 600,000 fish. It's a job that leaves him 

 little time for anything else. 



"You don't get any sleep," he jokes. 

 "The fish literally have to be watched 24 



2 JULY/AUGUST 1991 



