My Personal Best South Jersey Weakfish

[newport]

I recently fully serviced (first one ever  ) my Shimano Stradic CI4+ 3000fa that I've owned for 7-8 years and replaced most of the bearings. The bearings would have lasted longer if my maintenance wasn't simply rinsing it with a garden hose and spraying superlube into the reel's oil port, and calling it done. It now feels brand new, but I still "needed" to test it. So I headed out in the cover of darkness to find some weakfish.

Long story short, I caught the weakfish on a small paddle tail attached to a 3/8oz jighead. At 26", it's my personal best weakie. Although it may not be a trophy, it was still great fun on light tackle, especially fishing an inlet.

[Crow]

Nice one !

[Donnyboat]

yes thanks for posting, it is really nice when you service a reel, then catch a nice fish, with it, very rewarding, I can only offer one tip, generally when I catch a fish over 20", I have a smile from ear to ear, cheers Don.

[Hardy Boy]

Nice one ! Is that the same as a speckled sea trout ? Great eating I hear ??

Cheers:

Todd

[newport]

Nice one !

Thanks! I haven't caught a weakie in years, so it definitely made my night.

yes thanks for posting, it is really nice when you service a reel, then catch a nice fish, with it, very rewarding, I can only offer one tip, generally when I catch a fish over 20", I have a smile from ear to ear, cheers Don.

I do smile, you just have to capture it in the moment! I just can't do it in front of the camera. It makes me feel like a sociopath. Hehe.

Nice one ! Is that the same as a speckled sea trout ? Great eating I hear ??

Cheers:

Todd

Very similar. They're both in the same genus Cynoscion, just different species. The scientific name for weakfish is Cynoscion regalis, while specks is Cynoscion nebulosus. I think they're all great eating. I prefer them to striped bass, honestly.

[Benni3]

Great job man,,,,,,

[thorhammer]

Nice! Limit is 1 down here.....years since I saw one that large.

[newport]

Great job man,,,,,,

Thanks. I caught 2 short striped bass before that one. I thought it was another, until it stopped running, came up to the surface and started violently thrashing, trying to shake off the hook. I knew then, it wasn't a bass.

Nice! Limit is 1 down here.....years since I saw one that large.

Yep, same here. The limit has been 1 for many years now. And after all these years, except for a handful of tiderunners (trophy weakfish) being caught in spring, I still don't see that many of them, big or small. But I also don't really go out of my way to specifically target them. I recently read an article that the issue is not overfishing, but a depletion of significantly important forage food for weakfish fry and young juveniles in the Delaware Bay and backwaters. It's also argued their population is cyclical. I'm not sure there's any historical evidence of that, or if it's just an excuse.

My father remembers when weakfish were so prevalent, they'd run thicker than even a school of bluefish. It was like shooting fish in a barrel the way he described the fishing. He lives 15 minutes away from what was once known as the "weakfish capital of the world."

[JasonGotaProblem]

I just gotta wonder sometimes where some of these fish species names are thought up. Like who decided to call that a "weakfish"?

I mean if it's a close relative of the sea trout it likely isn't all that intense of a fight, but still...

Nice catch though.

[oc1]

It is because the mouthparts are weak and you'll pull the hook if not careful.  That thing is BIG.  I don't think spotted seatrout get quite that large.

The description of reduced forage for the fingerlings makes them sound like a good candidate for stocking.  Spotted seatrout fingerlings have been mass produced in aquaculture ponds in Texas and South Carolina and the weakfish could be as well.  You need to move them out of the ponds by the time they are two to three inches because they become cannibalistic.

[newport]

It is because the mouthparts are weak and you'll pull the hook if not careful.  That thing is BIG.  I don't think spotted seatrout get quite that large.

The description of reduced forage for the fingerlings makes them sound like a good candidate for stocking.  Spotted seatrout fingerlings have been mass produced in aquaculture ponds in Texas and South Carolina and the weakfish could be as well.  You need to move them out of the ponds by the time they are two to three inches because they become cannibalistic.

I lived on the Gulf for a short time, and envy the speckled/spotted trout fishery; but I never knew or even considered they were aquacultured. I think it's defintely something to consider. Weakfish grow quickly and reach maturity in a year, so they sound like great candidates for aquaculture. I can only hope.

[oc1]

It's the same process/technique used to produce red drum fingerlings for stocking.  The Cynoscion clan readily spawn in captivity with high fecundity.

[Donnyboat]

All good, I was just having a little joke about the smile, sometimes, your holding the fish up to long for the shot, & the strain removes the smile, cheers Don.

[Bill B]

Congratulations on your PB....Bill

[Gfish]

No smile ☺️, but a great nighttime picture. How do Weakfish taste relative to other local species?
I gotta Ci-14 1000 size Stratic. Well designed, smooth, fast, lightweight, 2-6 lb., expensive Shimano spinner.