By Matt Chiccarine
Striped Bass have been known to dominate many New Jersey anglers spring enthusiasm for inshore trophies, however there was a time not long ago our striped desires were delayed or put on pause with the arrival of yet another beautiful trophy traveling about 5 to 7 degrees behind the stripers, Large “Tiderunner” Weakfish. The previous 4 to 5 seasons prior to the 2013 spring season, the inevitable result of too many gill nets and overfishing was finally upon us. Each year I still found myself walking known Weakfish haunts with no, or minor results. Trying to picture these now vacant spots from seasons past lined with as many as 25 to 30 anglers landing 8lb weakfish with regularity felt like trying to reconstruct cloudy fragments of an old dream.
Tightened regulations and lower interest in targeting these fish brought hope along with it. One late April evening in the Spring of 2013 I began my annual pursuit of these large spawning weakfish after sundown. My confidence was rocked early knowing I would be casting straight into a moderate to strong North West wind. Wading out into the choppy bay water did nothing to help my expectations. Even though I found myself slightly swaying in the waves of the waist deep water I was able to feel just enough contact with my 1⁄2 oz jig and bubblegum zoom pulled through the water by my 7 ‘ rod and braided line. Answers were to come quick this particular evening, not 10 minutes into the effort I felt a double bump strike and set the hook, I felt relief as I glanced up to see the rod was bent.
Moments after the hook set I felt the trademark headshakes of a fighting weakfish and my thoughts quickly went to “just let me see this fish before I lose it.” As it got close I anxiously flipped on my headlamp early to get a look, the fish did a half circle around me just under the surface and its eyes illuminated in my light, it was a 6 lb weakfish. This would be the first of several weakfish that night, in the weeks to follow reports of 4 to 7lb weakfish started to trickle in from all over the state of New Jersey. Anglers tossing small lures for Bluefish or Stripers were surprised to find an occasional Weakfish on the end of their line, seemingly light appeared to begin to peak through the end of the multiyear dark tunnel. The reported catches of the 2013 spring season were predominately weakfish in the 4 to 6 lb. range, although not as large as seasons past, a good sign the stocks are rebuilding. As these fish are spawning in the back bay water this time of year, New Jersey may have seen its best opportunity for a decent spawn class in years.
With any species of fish, the spawning time presents anglers with their best opportunity for catching large fish. The time of the weakfish run can vary depending on which part of the state; generally starting the last week of April through early June is considered the prime time. Shallow bays and flats often are where early season “Tiderunners” seem to show up first due to the temperature of those areas reaching the magic number first. That magic number is usually above 55 degrees when the first fish are taken.
Weather patterns can play a key role as to when to find fish, look for multi day patterns of stability without rain or wind that provide clean water. Stirred and churned up water have been known to make Weakfish hunker down for a few days after a storm or front. Tides can also play a role as to when these fish will bite, in many instances large weakfish prefer the clean water of the incoming tide, although cooler than the warmer outgoing spring tides. Each spot can vary and you may need to experiment with which tide is better. Unlike the small school size weakfish caught in early fall, these large fish need a fair amount of current to energize their bodies, I have found the optimum times to be 1 hour before and after the dead middle of the tide. As I have already alluded to, I prefer to fish under the cover of darkness when these fish become most aggressive, but once again spots vary and I have found some areas to be more productive just after sunup or right before sun down.
Efforts should be concentrated on the edge and inside the bay, reports will come in from Inlet jetties usually resulting from new arrivals, catches out front away from the inlet on open sand are very rare. Without question spring weakfish seem to find their way to coral, shell or mussel bottom areas time and time again. Signs to look for are firm sand and broken shells in the shallows highly rated above a soft muck time bottom in the bay. If you find horseshoe crabs that mistake your foot for another crab, you might be in a productive zone for weakfish as these two species are forever intertwined, sharing prime real estate. As mentioned above, jetties both on the inlet and bay side can be quite effective locations. Unfortunately, many anglers miss out on a catch by over casting and giving up on the retrieve prematurely, weakies often hug the rocks and will bite right below your feet. Traditional productive water like pinch points and rips along the Inter coastal waterway are also great locations to find both baitfish and fish.
Small plastic products such as zoom and Fin S fish dominate as top lures. Sizes 4 to 5” are most popular on a 3/8 to 1⁄2 Jig head depending on the conditions. Top colors are pink, white or black. Similar sized buck tails with a worm or curly can be even match for jig’s productivity as well. A colorful gulp added to the bucktail could be just what tempts a large weakie to strike. In a shallow water situation, plugs can also be effective. Mirro Lures, Yozari Mag darters are top choices; I took my largest of 2013 on a Daiwa SP minnow, which was just over 8lbs. I try to cast at angles with slow to very slow retrieve occasionally twitching just bouncing along the bottom and basically creating a sweep with each cast. Again some experimentation is advised mixing up retrieve speed and amount of twitching to find the right lucky cast that produces. To a lesser extent a few large weakfish are taken on bait offerings, the most popular being a blood worm under a float close to rock piles, used most often in the very lower area of the state.
As discussed, the stocks are still in recovery mode, Catch and release is essential with the spawning time of year to help provide a full recovery to the weakfish stocks. Some of the younger anglers are unaware of such a great inshore fishery we had not long ago, hoping we will be back fully to those days very soon!
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