Overall biomass may be down, but the heart of the fishery still beats in the Garden State. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/20). It’s possible. Ling fishing was good on Mud Hole wrecks, and sea bass bit on wrecks in 60 to 70 feet out of Manasquan Inlet. No word on flounder, but a few weakfish have been reported from the east end. "The most important habitat for the weakfish is the brackish waters of the Chesapeake bay… 1 bridge) and the tidal portions of all tributaries. Everyone has a good fish tale -- but how about a good fish photo? An average day begins with riding up and down the channel edges, watching the fish finder for piles of weakfish and signs of bait. It has a silvery-white belly, and the back is dark olive/green which gives the fish an iridescent look. That would be real nice to see another season like that one! Weakfish are found in grass shrimp chum lines along the west side of Barnegat Bay. With cycles being what they are, it could be a long time – if ever – before we see 1980 style biomass of weakfish along the Atlantic Coast. I use a bunker head with 1 to 2 inches of meat left on behind the head for my prime bait. Mention the word weakfish, and some folks think back 30 or 40 years when Fortescue was known as the “weakfish capital of the world,” as anglers heading out of Cape May and ports along the Delaware bayshore could stack up double-digit weight tiderunners along the docks like cord wood at the end of a trip. It has a sleek body that can grow to about 3 feet in length. The bay is a popular destination for recreational fishing due to its proximity to the densely populated areas of Central Jersey and New York City. Check out the reader photo gallery (it's on the rail on the left of the page under "Categories"). These “young of the year” baits often choking local canals, harbors and lagoons by late summer will soon be making their migratory move down the beach, which coincides with the kickoff of the fall run. How: Thread a sandworm on a three-way rig and you’re good to go. ... Weakfish: One meal per month. While weakfish stocks are indeed down, they’re not exactly out. ... I’m now trying to be part of the solution. In 1985, New Jersey anglers landed 3.4 million pounds of weakfish; commercial fishermen took another 3 million pounds. TACKLE. Book your trip with Fin Chaser Charters – Manhattan. Sea bass are hitting drifted baits at Shrewsbury Rocks and on the reefs. Closing the lid on my work one morning, I met up with Guy at the dock with an array of jigheads and plastics in my bag and a light tackle spinning outfit (20-pound braid on 2000 or 3000 size reel, 20-pound fluoro and rods with fast action). The unpredictable weakfish appear on the verge of a comeback, and that’s good news for Northeast inshore anglers. “In Raritan Bay in May, those big weaks are mixed right in with the bass and bluefish feeding on the bunker schools,” says Swisstack. Smaller blues are chasing peanut bunkers in Raritan Bay, and big blues surface along the northern Shore on the same baits plus rainfish. CROAKERS, ANYONE? XBMX - That was some year (2008) for Raritan Bay. I spent years living in Sea Bright in the late ‘90s though, where’d I stand along the street ends on the incoming tide well into the night, slowly working a pink Fin-S at a 20- to 45-degree angle for a few amazing catch-and-release weakfish nights, and I was always excited at not having to clean a fish before slipping into the rack for a few hours of sleep. That strange-looking creature has long been a favorite of stripers and weakfish in Raritan Bay. 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