The production of hybrids begins with the collection of broodstock, which the state gets from the wild during the spring spawning run. "Looking at spawning runs," Nichols explained, "white bass usually arrive at spawning areas early. In South Alabama, it can be late February or certainly into March. As you move to the northern part of the state, it can be mid-April. Striped bass tend to spawn a couple of weeks behind white bass, and the hybrid, as you would expect, is in the middle.

"For example: On the Coosa River below Neely Henry, usually the male white bass arrive first, followed by the white bass females. Then you will start seeing some hybrids followed by striped bass males and striped bass females."

In terms of water temperatures, Nichols said, white bass spawn in the upper 50s to low 60s, while striped bass do it in the mid-60s.

The state collects female striped bass for hybrid production from the Coosa River in the tailrace area of the Neely Henry Dam. Since the Atlantic coast strain reproduces naturally in the Coosa's headwaters, it's not used to produce striped bass, as Alabama is trying to restore its native Gulf Coast striped bass. But the eggs from the Atlantic strain are great for producing hybrids.

"We expect striped bass to be there the first week of April," Nichols added, "but we can usually collect fish eligible for spawning throughout the month. In an hour or two, a two-man crew using an electrofishing boat will collect the four or five fish we need for our annual production. We prefer fish in the 12- to 25-pound range."

To collect the roughly 100 white-bass males needed for the process, biologists use an electrofishing boat on the shoals above Lake Martin on the Tallapoosa River in late March.

On arriving at the hatchery in Marion, broodfish are injected with hormones, inducing ovulation among striped bass and enhancing milt production among white bass. Upon ovulation -- detectible by eggs flowing freely when slight pressure is applied to the fish's abdomen of the fish -- spawning for hybrid production occurs by manually stripping the eggs and milt into a container and carefully mixing to ensure the eggs are fertilized; fertilization is complete within two minutes. Biologists expect to strip 750,000 to 1 million eggs from a healthy 20-pound striper.

"Once the eggs are fertilized," Nichols continued, "they are decanted into jars, usually 75,000 to 150,000 eggs per jar. The jars are designed so water is introduced at the bottom and slowly rises to the top. This maintains the eggs in suspension. Typically, with the water temperatures we work with, the eggs hatch within 38 to 45 hours after fertilization.

"The hatch rate is highly variable. We are satisfied when hatch rates are in the 50 to 60 percent range. In many cases, it has approached 100 percent, but typically, it's 30 to 75 percent."