Everything You Need to Find & Catch Weakfish in NJ

Weakfish or Seatrout are one of the best tasting and most colorful fish in our waters. They typically like to congregate in bays and rivers rather then the open ocean. They can usually be found along or in deep channels and are often stacked up in great numbers in concentrated areas. Since they are usually in tight schools you will need to locate them. Once you have located a school it’s not uncommon to catch 20 + per person. They will typically average a few pounds and get as large as 8-10 lbs.

Time of Year:

Weakies will usually arrive in the area around June or July and will stay until mid September. They are usually one of the first fish to leave the area when the water starts to cool.

How To Catch Them:

• Drifting Sandworms from a drifting boat is perhaps the most popular and effective ways to catch Weaks. A three way swivel with a sinker and a 3 to 4 ft leader works well.
• Chumming from an anchored boat with Grass Shrimp is also popular.
• Jigging with lead headed jigs works as well. Tip your jig off with a Sandworm, Grass Shrimp or Fins.

Best Places To Catch Them:

• Delaware bay is perhaps the most popular area of the country to fish for Weakfish. It has a good number of Party boats that fish form them exclusively.
• Raritan and Sandy Hook bays are enjoying a good come back of these species in recent years. Areas like the Raritan Reach Channel, Princess Bay and the edges of Flynns Knoll are popular.
• Barnegat bay is also a poplar area but only in specific areas.

Some Fishing Tips:

• The best bite is at dusk and into the evening
• In addition to a sandworm, put a fire tail rubber worm on your hook.
• Try to avoid heavy traffic areas since these fish spook easy.
• Once you have located the fish keep drifts in a concentrated area. These fish are usually in tight packs rather then spread out over a large area.
• The best way to locate fish is to look for a concentration of birds. If you have a fish finder you will usually mark what looks like clouds of bait fish.
• When chumming with Grass Shrimp be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the shrimp. It’s a good idea release 5-10 shrimp at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent slick and hold fish. Too much shrimp in the water and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little and your not going to hold or attract fish.
• A slight change in wind direction or tide can turn these fish on or off.
• When fishing from shore with bait it’s best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs.