“John Kelly, Jr. – Catching Walleyes, Crappie, Trout and Hybrid Striped Bass in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska with Mepps and Mister Twister”

Part 5: Fishing for Hybrid Bass with the Mepps Aglia

Editor’s Note: John Kelly, Jr., from Denver, Colorado, a tournament walleye fisherman, works with the recreation department at Mount Elbert-Bellow Recreation Center where he teaches fishing classes to children from March through late June. Not only does he teach children to fish and catch bass and bluegills on a 10-acre pond behind the center, but once a year Colorado’s Department of Conservation stocks rainbow trout for the children to catch. Mepps and Mister Twister are proud to have a man like John Kelly, Jr., as part of their fishing team because he helps to ensure the future of fishing for us all.

Question: John, I know you’ll fish for anything that swims. What’s another favorite fish that you target in Colorado?

Kelly: I like to fish for hybrid striped bass with the Mepps No. 3 Aglia with the silver blade. The Aglia looks a lot like a shad when it comes through the water, and the hybrids seem to really like it. When I spot a school of hybrids breaking water and feeding on the surface, I’ll cast that No. 3 Aglia into the school and hold onto my rod. The hybrids usually will take the Aglia the first or second time I turn the reel handle. The average hybrids I catch are 17 to 22 pounds. Our limit is 20 hybrids per person per day, but we can catch and release as many as we like. The state of Colorado stocks the hybrids in many lakes, and since they stock them, they control the numbers of hybrids in any one lake.

Question: What pound-test line are you using when fishing for hybrids?

Kelly: I like 10-pound test line because when a hybrid hits the Aglia, it usually takes off like a halfback on the football team and will really strip some drag off your line. When the hybrids are feeding on the surface, you can catch a limit of 20 in about an hour. I like to fish for them up near Loveland, Colorado, where there are plenty of these bass. Another reason I like to fish in Loveland is because there are lots of seagulls in the lakes up there.

When the hybrids start feeding heavily, they’ll force shad to the surface, and the seagulls will begin diving on the shad. So, to catch hybrid bass, I just look for flocks of seagulls diving on baitfish. Then, I’ll use my trolling motor to ease my boat to the spots where baitfish are surfacing. I’ll cast into that school of baitfish with a No. 3 Mepps Aglia and the hybrid bass will jump all over it. When that type of fishing is beginning to really heat-up, we can sometimes limit out on one school of hybrids.