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#1
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Weakfish Whereabouts
Just a few years ago my friend and I were able to entertain ourselves with some outstanding weakfishing late in the summer. We caught fish from Sandy Hook down to Asbury Park during several days of fishing during a two to three week period. The fish were only 10 to about 13 inches but they were all along the beaches for miles. We fished with freshwater outfits and had a ball. Thinking this was the start of a great future for the fishery, we have been absolutely baffled by their disappearance since then. While those fish were being caught (and released) north of SRI, they were also being caught south of MI. It was an enormous body of small fish. Where are they now, four years later? Predators might have taken a small amount but what about the rest? The fish were too small for the market so I can't believe the netters caught them all. This year, some showed up in the stomach contents of some blues and stripers but the number of small fish from a few years ago was staggering. Does anyone remember the body of fish to which I'm referring? I don't want to get started on the outstanding weakfishing back in the 80's. I thought the body of fish from about 4 years ago really had a chance to replenish the stocks of those fish. How could so many fish just disappear? We need them to make a comeback to give us all some variety and a change of pace. Any comments?
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#2
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
I hear you man and I got into that same body of fish on the surf off of pt pleasant, it was a ton of fun and also gave some promise that these fun to catch fish were on the rebound. I noticed that along with weakfish, croakers have been pretty non existent. I use to be able to go up to the beach with a dozen clams and battle monster double header croakers till I was satisfied. I am with you though having a nice spread of species to target keeps things interesting.
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#3
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
no one really knows.. they are definitely a boom and bust fish but they really havent been cycling back very strongly. all I know is that more than any other inshore species we have in the mid-atlantic, the weakfish really depend on healthy back bays filled with lots of healthy eelgrass beds..and that has been a challenge. its possible the new norm for weakfish based on the amount of healthy back bay habitat is just never going to be as many fish as the east coast used to support.. but then again maybe its just a cycle and one year they will show up in big numbers..
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#4
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
It's been more than a few years in north NJ.
NJ Fisherman had weakfish as a fish of the month in its annual boat contest, A fews years not one could make the 6 pound minimum. It's off their list the last two summers. I think the past two years south NJ, Barnie and such were getting smaller ones. Maybe they grow and come back. We are in a weird cycle. Getting fish that were rare in north NJ (e.g. trigger fish, drums, etc) and losing fish that were common like whiting , weakfish, etc. Not sure how long this cycle lasts. 5 years, decade, 50 years?
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Capt. Debs Tow boat captain/salvor 50 ton USCG Master NJ Boating College- Lead Instructor Big time hottie crabber |
#5
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
I would love to know the answer to this one. I used to have a lot of fun targeting the large tiderunners in the rivers up here. I had my spots and almost always caught. Over the last several years something has changed. They are no longer around like the used to be in the rivers and the bay fishery is nonexistent.
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#6
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
My confusion is about the obvious successful spawn of young weakfish several years ago. The number of small,spike weakfish was extraordinary during that year. I'm not too sure we can blame any environmental abnormalities (even Sandy) on the disappearance of that extremely large body of fish. They should have been the basis for a major resurgence of that species. Are they being caught anywhere......Delaware Bay, Peconic Bay, Barnegate Bay, Maryland, Virginia? If you were not around during the weakfish runs of the '80's you don't know what you are missing. I had my hopes up for a resurgence but now I don't know.
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#7
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
BB still produces weakfish , nothing like years back ! A good friend charters in the bay & when I fished with him we had decent days with fish up to 4#'s ! No Tiderunners but on FW tackle u can have a fun day .
Spots, fluke, tailers & blowfish can be had as well . |
#8
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
here is a decent article on them
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2010/digmar6-10.pdf what I dont see in the article is for years there were alot of claims that shrimpers in NC targeting shrimp in the back waters put a bad hurting killing hundreds of thousand of spikes
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Captain Dan Bias Reelmusic IV Fifty pound + , Striped Bass live release club Last edited by hammer4reel; 01-12-2015 at 04:05 PM.. |
#9
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
Thanks for linking us to the article. I'm glad that I'm not the only one asking questions. The article seemed to ask more questions than to give answers. Loss of forage is something I'll agree to. Water temps? I'm not sure about that one. Predation? There would have to be untold numbers of them to deplete the spikes so much. If I were to lean toward a major factor, it would be the absence of the lowly sand eels. When they are prolific, the fish which prey on them are abundant. Inshore tuna, bluefish, stripers, cod, even the legendary frost fish and other predators are attracted to them. In their absence, we have to look far and wide to make a catch. I can't explain the decline in winter flounder catches or the missing schools of peanut bunkers that would hug the beach in the fall. Cycles? Probably, but the highs and lows of those cycles is very wide.
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#10
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Re: Weakfish Whereabouts
I wonder were they went as well, it was at least 3 years when there were clouds of spike weakfish around at about the same time false albacore were feeding on rainfish. Haven't seen those same schools of weakfish for 3 years.
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