For folks who remember the days before blueback herring became established in Lake Hartwell, striped bass were often forced to choose between invading the shallows to feed on threadfin and gizzard shad or going on diets in the deeper, cooler waters where shad preferred not to tread.
Now, fast forward to the arrival of bluebacks, most likely by illegal stockings. They became established quickly in the deep, clear lake, and Hartwell’s stripers and hybrids began staying fat and healthy year-round, even through the hot summer.
The reason stripers no longer go on a summer diet is because unlike shad — which prefer shallower water and do not require higher levels of dissolved oxygen — blueback herring have the same hot-water intolerances as stripers. Herring much prefer the deeper, darker water and its higher levels of dissolved oxygen — and so do the stripers. The result is a “2-story” house of bait: bluebacks deep during the summer, then shad shallower in the fall after the water cools.
Striped bass are not the only predators who have become accustomed to feeding on the nomadic herring. Fishermen who target largemouth bass have had to adapt their fishing patterns to the fact that hefty largemouths and spotted bass also show a keen interest in eating bluebacks.
“Of course, it works both ways,” said guide Bill Plumley. “I’ve seen days when stripers would bunch up blueback herring and intentionally run them into warmer, shallow water. When that happens, the herring go into shock and become an easy meal for the school of stripers.”
Editor’s Note: This story appears as part of a feature in South Carolina Sportsman’s August issue now on newsstands. To ensure you don’t miss any information-packed issues of the magazine, click here to have each issue delivered right to your mail box.
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