COOPER — If Tony Parker were a K-9, I’d call him a cross between a Rottweiler and a bird dog.

Parker is a big guy with a kind disposition and a keen nose for sniffing out thick-shouldered hybrid bass on Cooper Lake. Experience has taught the 40-year-old fishing guide from Sulphur Springs that the afternoon bite is almost always the best.

“You might catch a few in the morning, but as a rule they won’t really turn on until later in the day, after it gets hot,” Parker said, as he watched his depth finder for signs of life below his bass boat. “About 6 p.m. is when it usually gets started — sometimes a little before, sometimes a little after.”

Parker’s prediction could not have been any more on the money. At 5:45 p.m, all was quiet on what had otherwise been a sultry and uneventful August afternoon. The guide’s father/son clients — Steven and Cliff King — had boated only a couple of fish.

The mood changed significantly at around 6:05. That’s when a small band of gulls showed up and hovered effortlessly over choppy water on the main lake. Moments later, the birds started dive bombing five-inch gizzard shad that broke the surface, apparently in a last ditch effort to save their skins from the hungry mouths below. The blood bath we’d been waiting for was finally under way.

“There they are,” Parker said. “Get your baits in there, quick.”

Both anglers lofted their Strike King Sexy Spoons in unison. The Sexy Spoon is a heavy metal bait shaped like an elongated tear drop. It casts like a bullet and falls rapidly to the bottom with an enticing wobble. More importantly, it closely resembles the tasty bait fish Cooper hybrids look to on a daily basis when the dinner bell rings.

Cliff, a 26-year security officer from Dallas, was the first to hook up. Then Steven. That was the easy part.

Hybrids are no pushover when it comes time to brawl. They hit like an NFL linebacker and pull like a Mack truck. It took the anglers the better part of two minutes to subdue the fish, which weighed about five pounds apiece.

“Pretty stout, aren’t they?” Parker mused as he tossed the fish on ice. “These are just average size. Wait until you latch on to one of those 7-8 pounders. They’ll really stretch your string.”

The hybrid’s muscular physique and nasty attitude comes natural. So does its voracious appetite.

Hybrid bass are a genetic cross between the striped bass and white bass. Both are open water species that thrive in lakes that offer bountiful forage and plenty of contour changes.

Striped bass are saltwater transplants that frequently grow beyond 20 pounds in several Texas reservoirs. White bass don’t grow as large as stripers (a three pounder is a giant), but they are aggressive in nature and like to run in large gangs. Together those genetic traits add up to the piscatorial equivalent of middleweight prize fighter pegged with a very short fuse.

Stock 190,000 hybrids on consecutive years into a 19,000-acre impoundment with an abundant food supply and good times are almost certain to follow for fun-seeking anglers willing to chase them.

That’s exactly what the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has accomplished at Lake Cooper — a five-star hybrid bass fishery that is arguably one of the best in the state.

Interestingly, Cooper’s hybrid fishery also ranks among the most underutilized by recreational fishermen. Of all the good hybrid hotspots in Texas, the Post Oak reservoir just outside Sulphur Springs probably sees less fishing traffic on a daily basis than any other. On many days, Parker and his clients have the burly hybrids all to themselves.

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary to spend an afternoon out here and see just a few boats,” said Parker, who also guides for hybrids, stripers and white at Lake Tawakoni, located about 40 miles to the west. “That is one of the main things I like about Cooper. I usually don’t have to contend with a lot of boat traffic and the fishing can be outstanding.”

Such was the case on the afternoon of Aug. 12. In four hours we only saw about 6-7 boats. A few navigated quietly around underwater humps, points and roadbeds in open water near the dam, but no one appeared to be catching much except us.

Our boat accounted for more than 30 hybrids in 3 1/2 hours fishing, but we never saw anyone else catch a single fish. I realized why as we drifted within 50 yards of the nearest boat.

The two anglers on board were throwing silver slab spoons that appeared to be 2-3 inches long. The hybrids were schooling full circle around their boat, yet they never got bit the first time. It had to be disheartening when our boat whacked a triple right under their noses.

Hybrids usually aren’t that selective when they are feeding, but they can be. For that reason Parker always tries to make use of a bait that closely resembles what the bass are feeding on.

Color is important. White, chrome or pearl usually work best. Even more important, says Parker, is size.

“Using a bait that is too small can be a big mistake,” Parker said. “It’s a pretty good clue as to what the fish are feeding on when you see a bunch of five-inch gizzard shad scrambling for their lives out there.”

Parker has struck gold with assorted baits, but none seem to get the hybrid’s attention as well as the Sexy Spoon. The bait measures a full 5 1/2 inches and comes equipped with a high quality treble hook.

He makes a long cast and allows the bait to sink to the bottom, then engages the spool and reels the spoon rapidly for 8-10 revolutions. Then he disengages the reel and allows the bait to flutter back to the bottom and repeats the process. Most strikes come on the fall.

The curvaceous shape of the spoon’s body gives it a seductive action that is naturally enticing, but Parker thinks he has figured out a way to make it work even sexier.

The guide adds a 3/16-ounce bell weight to the treble O-ring. The tail weight makes the spoon cop a backwards motion when it falls. If there is a fish following it, the spoon falls back in its face.

“That’s usually more than they can stand,” Parker said. “They can’t help it. They have to eat it.”