How to Catch a Weakfish by Bob Kenig Weakfish Weakfish, or Sea Trout for our friends from Delaware, seem to have been replaced by Stripers as the most sought after fish by inshore anglers. I can remember, twenty years ago, when the huge Tiderunners used to be plentiful in the Delaware Bay in the Spring. It was common to catch a boat load of five, six or seven pound Weakies in a single trip. Although Weakies are still numerous, they are not nearly as plentiful as years ago. This is especially true in the Lower Delaware Bay. It is a great advantage to have an excellent sonar unit to locate the schools of fish. Without sonar, it seems fishing for Weakfish is a hit or miss affair. When The Weakies make their first appearance in the commercial nets early in the Spring. When the water temperature reaches the upper fifties, they begin being caught in the Delaware Bay and the Back Bays. They remain in these areas during the entire Summer and into the Fall. Unlike some Stripers, the Weakfish leave in the late Fall and return in the early Spring. As the ocean water warms, Sea Trout can also be caught in the ocean, especailly around the jetties and any other structure. A great time to catch Weakies is on Summer nights in the Back Bays around any structure with lights shining on the water. Bridges and docks produce great catches and a boat is not a necessity. Where Back Bays The Back Bays are a very good location for catching Big Weakies. They can be found around bridges, docks or any other structure with lights shining on the water at night. The sod banks, on the incoming tide, are fine producers of weakies. Deep holes seem to be another good location. Another great location are the pilings on the west side of the Cape May Inlet just before the jetties. At high tide, this location holds large amounts of Weakfish and a few nice Stripers. Delaware Bay The Delaware Bay was known as the best body of water for catching Weakies for years. As a matter of fact, The town of Fortescue is known as the "Weakfishing Capital of the World". Although the days of a Spring run of tremendous amounts of Tiderunners seems to have passed, there are still great amounts of Weakies in the Bay and large amounts of very big fish. Brandywine Lighthouse - The Brandywine Shoal has always been a fine spot for catching Weakies. There is a little submerged structure about a mile or so north of the Lighthouse that really produces large amounts of fish. However, this is another of Captain Tim's secret spots and I have never been able to quite find it. There is a deep hole in the mouth of the inlet to the Lighthouse. This has been a very good spot to anchor a catch some very nice fish. Bug Light, 14 Foot Lighthouse and the jetties off North Cape are a few more areas that normally produce nice catches of Weakfish. Ocean Jetties - The jetties along the ocean front are super spots for catching Weakies and they can be fished from a boat or from the jettie itself. Patti and Jerry frequent the jetties on Cape May Point and they catch some huge Weakfish. The Pilings in Front of the Coast Guard Base (North of Poverty Beach)- At first light or in the evening this location gives up many, many Weakies. Make sure the Coast Guard are not using the firing range when you go there. It could be a bit DANGEROUS and the Coast Guard could come out and chase you! The Gun Mount - This is the large WWII structure off the oceanside of the Cape May Point Beach. This is another excellent spot during the high tide. Casting 1/4 ounce bucktails with little twister tails into the pilings produce some fine catches. Be careful not to run over the circular structures on either side of the Gun Mount. In high water, they are submerged. This is also a good spot for Stripers during the summer at night. How There are so many techniques used to catch Weakfish, it would take a book to describe them all. In this section, I will try to give the most popular. As with all inshore species, make use of fluorocarbon leaders. A method that is very popular in the Back Bays involves the use of Grass Shrimp. Boats anchor in a "fishy" looking spot and begin by throwing a few Grass Shrimp into the water to create a bit of a Grass Shrimp trail for the Weakies to follow. Rods are then rigged with a very light weight and three or four Grass Shrimp are put on the hook. Once the fish arrive, the fisherman continues to through small amounts of Grass Shrimp into the water to keep the fish around and the angler continues catching Weakies. Anther great technique, used in the Back Bays, the Delaware Bay and the Ocean, is using small jigs baited with plastics or Squid Strips (Pink). Bouncing these lead heads off the bottom, off rocks or off pilings has proved to work very effectively. Using this technique in the Delaware Bay, I caught eighty-six Weakies in three hours two summers ago. However, not one of them was a keeper! The basic top and bottom rig, baited with Pink is a super technique for catching Weakfish when bottom fishing. The Pink color has proven very effective with Squid Strips and also with plastics. Sheddar crab is one of the best baits for Weakies. This can be used with a top and bottom rig, or a single hook rig. I have found it works best when anchored. When Sheddar cannot be found, raw chicken strips have also proven to be a sensational bait. If you have any comments or questions about this page, e-mail Bob Kenig @ kenig1@comcast.net