Weakfishing This Summer? - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

HighHook94 · #1 07-17-2015, 11:22 AM

I was just reminiscing about the great years we had for weakfishing in RB years ago. I've been wanting to get back in on that action. We had a few really down years after the weakfish boom in the early-mid 2000's. So after like 2008 we just stopped fishing for them because we were just wasting our time. I've noticed that nobody really fishes for them at all anymore from what i've heard. I want to try to fish for them again this August because fluking can get boring after doing it every weekend - need to mix it up. I know they get a few in BB, but has anybody fished for them or had any accidental catches in RB either this year or last year? I don't need any spots, I know where to go, just curious if they are even there or any speculation. I know the only way to know is to get out there, but I just wanted to ask around on here beforehand and maybe hear a few stories. I'm not interested in keeping the weakfish, all catch and release.

Gerry Zagorski · #2 07-17-2015, 11:50 AM

Those were the days High... You could go out with a flat of worms and in an afternoon catch as many as you wanted.

I've not heard of any this year but August was traditionally the best month as far as I remember. Lets hope they show up again.

2 falls ago we were out Striper fishing and ran into a big active school of them working sand eels under the birds and were able to jig them but that was the last I've seen or heard of them.

HighHook94 · #3 07-17-2015, 12:15 PM

Thanks for the reply Gerry. Yeah we used to pick up some sandworms and just kill the fish all day long. Even got some in the 10 pound range. The fish were all over the place. We always did best in August, so i'm going to try it this year. I actually saw a youtube video of some guys fishing RB in the exact spot i used to fish for weaks and they had a phenomenal day on the water - this video was posted last summer. 99% of the fish were pretty small (b/w 12-15 inches) but on a freshwater setup, they are a lot of fun to catch. It's good to hear that you got into a school of them last year. That does give me some hope. Honestly, i do think they are there (obviously not the same numbers as years ago), but nobody fishes for them so we really don't know how many there truly are. And the people who do catch some are probably very tight lipped about it - which is understandable. I'm going to spend a couple evenings targeting weakfish this august (i remember doing well for them around dusk), even if i only get one, it will be worth it. I really do love those fish, and i hope they can make a comeback sometime soon.

bulletbob · #4 07-17-2015, 02:27 PM

Weakfish, especially big ones, are mainly nocturnal.. Just like stripers are in the warm months..

Try going to the same spots you used to catch them in RB,, but go at dusk, and fish into the night.. Either that or go out at 2 am, and fish till maybe 7 am.. Years ago i used to catch them in Raritan Bay at night or at 5 am before the boat madness started...

keep this in mind.. Boating/fishing pressure has exploded in the past 20 years, and weaks are pretty skittish.. and I bet you'd see a lot more about them in the reports, if guys drifted at night or before and just after dawn with sandworms.. I have a feeling there are more weaks around than we think, but drifting in and out of 1000 other boats during mid day just won't do it these days... Try and catch them when its dark and quiet the way we used to catch them when there were millions of them around.... I'll bet you will do better than you think.... bob

HighHook94 · #5 07-17-2015, 02:55 PM

Bob,
I always did best for them at night. Like you said, they seem to be a skittish fish. The insane boat traffic during the day (especially on weekends) probably spooks them. I agree with you, I think there are a lot more weakfish than most people think. There's nobody targeting them. I'm going to give it a shot in august in the evening. I'll drift some sandworms from dusk til like 2am in the areas that were productive years ago.

I miss the weakfishing that we had. They're a hard fighting fish, easy to catch, and you can use really light tackle for them. I really do believe they are still there, but I just have to go out there and find out for myself later this summer. I know there are a lot of theories as to why we just stopped catching them, but hopefully they can make a comeback.

TomKat · #6 07-17-2015, 06:15 PM

Try #20 rockpile.Weakfish in this area last year.

fishinanalyst · #7 07-18-2015, 03:27 PM

In the summer of 2013 when we had an overabundance of croakers and spots in sandy hook bay, my buddy live lined a spot and hooked into about a 4 pounder. We knew the weeks were around because we were getting some 12-14 inchers on the hi lo croaker rigs.

Earlier that same year in late may, I got a nice 5 pounder in the shrewsbury while buck tailing for fluke.

I'm with you, it would be great to mix it up over the season and get different fish. Weakfish are some of the best looking fish in our waters, I think.