A really big surprise, a 7 1/4-pound hybrid striper, Braidwood: Fish of the Week

Ryan ‘‘Ski’’ Kwiecinski, one of the best young fishermen in the south suburbs, caught one of the best fish at the Braidwood Lake opener last week. It was a 7.25-pound hybrid striped bass.

What I found interesting is that there were numerous reports of pretty good-sized hybrids caught the opening days of fishing at Braidwood. Interesting because Rob Miller said they literally only found a couple hybrids in surveying last fall.

FOTW, the celebration of big fish and good stories around Chicago fishing, runs Wednesdays on the Sun-Times’ outdoors page. Submit nominations on Facebook (Dale Bowman), on Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or by email (straycasts@sbcglobal.net).