Club History

Founded in 1988 by current member Lloyd Hanks, the club started out with meetings in the garage of Lloyd's home.

Prior to the formation of the Percy Priest Hybrid and Striper Club, organizations such as the Spoonpluggers and the Tennessee Rockfish Association helped build the foundation of who we are today. Records from those that were around back in the early days include the names of Ray Prodines, Ken Wainwright, Tom Whatley, Eldred Allen, Nell Odum, Sonny Hobeck, and Lloyd Hanks. These persons planted the seeds of our organization and were instrumental in teaching many how to fish for stripers and hybrid.

Since 1988, the following persons have served in various roles as the leaders of our club: Lloyd Hanks, Jeff Hudson, Joe Hesson, Jody Franks, Roy Foster, Herbert Odum, Ken Willoughby, Sherry Marlow, Richard Olive, Dan Liles, Rene McComb, Wilson Frazier, Bob Angello, and Dan Braswell. The list continues to grow as more and more people learn the value and enjoyment of Striper and Cherokee bass in the state of Tennessee.

The club originally began as a Cherokee, or hybrid, club following a die-off of stripers from Percy Priest Reservoir during the drought conditions of the mid 1980's. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) stocked Percy Priest with Cherokee Bass because the reservoir exhibited poor oxygen saturation during the heat of summer. The Cherokee was a much hardier fish and tolerated the condition better.

Over the years, the TWRA experimented with different ratios of plantings between the Cherokee and the Striped Bass. In some cases they alternated higher numbers of each species on a year by year basis. Current Regional Fisheries Biologist Todd St. Johns is working on a consistent planting ratio for the reservoir to receive each year. The club is now taking an active role in performing studies on the reservoir. Weight, length, and in some cases the age of the fish landed by members on pleasure and tournament trips are recorded and forwarded to the TWRA. We hope this will ensure not only the quality of fishing for the Striped and Cherokee Bass, but also for other species present in the lake.

For the first eight years of the club only hybrid were allowed to be weighed in during tournament competition. Beginning in 1996, the club accepted stripers to be weighed in, but they only counted as half weight. Then by vote from the membership in 1997 stripers were accepted as full weight in competition.

The club has seen many changes over the years. We hope that this year will be the year in which we expand our reach and get all persons that fish for striped bass and hybrids actively involved with the state Striper and Cherokee Bass programs.

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