SGR Weakies

[Gumada]

Not great eating, but if you smoke them like trout they are delicious 😋.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Gumada

Not great eating, but if you smoke them like trout they are delicious 😋.

meh.. you could smoke your socks and drawers and they would taste good.
Not a reason to net them out of existence.. I can recall guys night fishing between the channels off SH taking 100 pounds of them and selling for a nickel a pound to local fish markets, just to help pay for gas... This was before size and bag limits of course, and we thought the fish would always be there... Until the day they weren't... bob

[Billfish715]

I realize that many of the members who either post or lurk on this board were only a twinkle in their father's eyes when the weakfish were all over Delaware Bay, Sandy Hook/Raritan Bays, and Peconic Bay on Long Island. For all of you who were too young or not yet born back in the "good old days" let me give you a few terms to look up on your favorite search engine. There were only three lures you needed back then. One was a "Jelly Worm" Size and color did matter on any given day and they were sold in quantities from ten to a hundred.
Nordic Eels in various weights were standard items as were tiger tails in a natural color.

Latex tubing was being sold by the yard to fishermen who tried to make their own lures or refurbish what they had. If you were fishing for weakfish back then, you will remember what you used. If you did not use artificials then you bought dozens of sandworms. No matter what you used, there were weeks and weeks when weakfish were all over. Some were truly trophy sized.

In the fall, you could count on catching some in with the bluefish schools along and just off the beach. Mixed in were the occasional striped bass as well. All of the migrating fish were gorging on the vast schools of sand eels that were on every high piece along the coast. Recently, the weakfish migrate along the shore in early September in rather respectable numbers although they are not much bigger than a foot. This has been going on for many years. Considering how many fish migrated south, the number of fish that returned as adults in the spring was minimal.

Yellowfin Tuna by the hundreds at Little Italy; Giant Bluefins in the Mud Hole: Ling and Whiting at the Annex or Klondike: Whiting at the Long Branch Pier: Blowfish in the surf: Bluefish (day and night) at Barnegate Ridge, Manasquan Ridge, Acid Waters, Klondike; Fluke along the beaches everywhere: Boston Mackerel in the Spring........are all memories I can only share in stories with nieces and nephews and grandchildren.

Enjoy today. Fight like hell to keep what you have. When things get close to any resemblance of what they used to be, be prepared to conserve the resources.

[Capt Sal]

I love weakfish !! My dad's favorite fish was weakfish. My nephews and nieces loved to catch them. From Delaware Bay in the late sixties early seventies to the tremendous runs in the late nineties and into the turn of this century. The negative comments about them make me sick ! If you ice them down they were good table fare and smoked was even better !!! I wish we had the runs like we did. It was good for everyone because they were local and you don't have to be an expert to land them. Not only that i love the colors on these"Tide Runners". To post negative ridiculous BS on this site is not helping anyone. I know many PB and Charter Capts. along with many private boat owners that wish this fishery would revive itself. My Grandfather told us they had this happen in the Thirties and it bounced back ! In this day and age we need to read things that are positive and give us some hope for the future. Just my opinion but i hope there are others who will agree with the logic. Wouldn't it be great to go down to Party Boat Row and see a sign saying 'Magic Hours Weakfish" ??

[porgylber]

Originally Posted by Capt Sal

I love weakfish !! My dad's favorite fish was weakfish. My nephews and nieces loved to catch them. From Delaware Bay in the late sixties early seventies to the tremendous runs in the late nineties and into the turn of this century. The negative comments about them make me sick ! If you ice them down they were good table fare and smoked was even better !!! I wish we had the runs like we did. It was good for everyone because they were local and you don't have to be an expert to land them. Not only that i love the colors on these"Tide Runners". To post negative ridiculous BS on this site is not helping anyone. I know many PB and Charter Capts. along with many private boat owners that wish this fishery would revive itself. My Grandfather told us they had this happen in the Thirties and it bounced back ! In this day and age we need to read things that are positive and give us some hope for the future. Just my opinion but i hope there are others who will agree with the logic. Wouldn't it be great to go down to Party Boat Row and see a sign saying 'Magic Hours Weakfish" ??

Sal - I don’t think that anyone disagrees with you regarding the fish making a comeback. We’d all love to see it. The more, the merrier!
Regarding taste, that is a subjective matter. My wife for example loves bluefish more than anything else that I catch! Most here find the taste to be revolting. Tastes vary.
I’d rather not see this place turn into a site with nothing but positives. Reality needs to set in. I can do without sunshine on my porthole!

[Captain Rich]

I remember catching weakies in the late 70's in Delaware Bay that were as long as my arm. The fishery was not sustainable for two reasons. First the net boats would come into the bay and grab the fish when they came into spawn, boats would come in loaded to the gunnels. Yes they would drive the price from a dollar a pound down to a nickel a pound. Second when the fish migrated down to the Carolinas in the winter, the net boats down there knew where to find them and continued pounding the stocks. To be perfectly honest, recreational fisherman overfished them also, there were no limits back then.

[shresearchdude]

Hello all,

I've got a great pic of @18" weakfish I was reeling in that got great big bites out of it by larger bluefish. Oh and it was one of the weakfish that I caught and inserted an acoustic tag in that was used as part of the data set below.
Here's a study to consider. While I'm not such a big fan of models that tell a story of what might happen....sometimes science can illuminate things that we don't see...

https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley....002/mcf2.10095

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Capt Sal

I love weakfish !! My dad's favorite fish was weakfish. My nephews and nieces loved to catch them. From Delaware Bay in the late sixties early seventies to the tremendous runs in the late nineties and into the turn of this century. The negative comments about them make me sick ! If you ice them down they were good table fare and smoked was even better !!! I wish we had the runs like we did. It was good for everyone because they were local and you don't have to be an expert to land them. Not only that i love the colors on these"Tide Runners". To post negative ridiculous BS on this site is not helping anyone. I know many PB and Charter Capts. along with many private boat owners that wish this fishery would revive itself. My Grandfather told us they had this happen in the Thirties and it bounced back ! In this day and age we need to read things that are positive and give us some hope for the future. Just my opinion but i hope there are others who will agree with the logic. Wouldn't it be great to go down to Party Boat Row and see a sign saying 'Magic Hours Weakfish" ??

Weakfish are wonderful gamefish, and I would love to have them back.. They were always a great favorite of mine... Saying they are not that great to eat is NOT negative .. its an opinion.. Look up the word "subjective"... Some like them, some don't.. I ate them, they weren't bad, not great either.. Thats not being negative, or angry, or contrary, its just a personal opinion....

[PortlyRedhead]

Thanks guys as always for your spirited conversation.

I encourage you to read this recent article from On The Water magazine that argues that predation by bottlenose dolphin is what keeps spike weakfish from reappearing the next year.

https://www.onthewater.com/what-happened-to-weakfish

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by PortlyRedhead

Thanks guys as always for your spirited conversation.

I encourage you to read this recent article from On The Water magazine that argues that predation by bottlenose dolphin is what keeps spike weakfish from reappearing the next year.

https://www.onthewater.com/what-happened-to-weakfish

Great read,, thanks for the link.. Not sure I buy all of it.. Dolphins were out there 40 years ago too, when NJ waters were loaded with 8-12 lb tiderunners ..

I think commercial bycatch, large blues and the resurgence of Stripers has had more of an impact than dolphins, but hey, I'm certainly no expert....