Targeting Weak Fish (Grey Trout) in the Western Shore, MD

[Friday]

Well, I am now targeting weakfish and stripers. I am planning to fish for few hours for weakfish until the mid October. I will be fishing off the western shore, MD.

Any tips?

Thanks,
Joe

[ictalurus]

The only weakfish I've ever caught were down in Virginia in the York River at night under the lights of the Coleman Bridge in the late 1990s. There were big schools that were probably 50ft+ in diameter that would just move back and forth around the lights, sometimes almost all the way into shore, while feeding on anchovies and silversides. I'd cast a chartreuse with metal flake trout killer (kind of like a paddle tail bass assassin but a little more streamlined), and reel as fast as I could. It was a blast, and there were times when I caught a fish every 3 minutes for an hour or more, but they were almost always just undersized (had to be 14"). The cool thing was that there'd be 18-26" stripers hanging out underneath the weakfish, if you could get your lure through to them.

According to Lenny Rudow's book, they are often found in deep water in Maryland and are caught on peelers or trout bombs. I can't remember all the details, so I'll look through that section again tonight. According to post I've seen on the main board, they can sometimes be found on the bottom under breakers. Lastly, I've heard of people catching them in the Patuxent slow trolling small bucktails around drop offs around the bridge up to Greenwell State Park, but I can't remember if that is in the spring or fall. It was somewhere that I thought I could do it from my kayak pretty easily. The stock is at an all-time low, I think, so they're probably few and far between. http://www.asmfc.org/press_releases/2009/pr25WeakfishStockAssmt.pdf

Found some reports from the Tackle Box in Lexington Park. I couldn't find the one that mentioned Greenwell State Park, so I guess that report was from before 2007:

St. Mary's County Local Fishing Report 8-22-07 (http://tour.stmarysmd.com/fishing/8-22-07.asp)
http://tour.stmarysmd.com/fishing/9-10-07.asp
St. Mary's County Local Fishing Report 10-1-07 (http://tour.stmarysmd.com/fishing/10-1-07.asp)

St. Mary's County Local Fishing Report 7-1-08 (http://tour.stmarysmd.com/fishing/7-21-08.asp)
St. Mary's County Local Fishing Report 9-23-08 (http://tour.stmarysmd.com/fishing/9-23-08.asp)

[Bob G]

They're often around the Great Wicomico River light. There's a big shoal in the river just before the light, and they like to hang on that edge too. Long paddle,need a quiet day.

[ictalurus]

I finally checked the weakfish section in Rudow's book. It wasn't tremendously helpful and the advice depends upon using your fishfinder. They school up this time of year, and the sonar signature looks like a caterpillar suspended just off the bottom. Part of the caterpillar may be connected to the bottom. I've been seeing this marks off and on all summer at various places in the Potomac and Patuxent, but I can't remember exactly where--probably not too far off my usual fishing routes. I've also heard that they could look like upside-down Christmas trees on the sonar. Rudow says they can be deep--even 60-100ft. If you find a school but can't get them to hit during the day, go back to the spot at night.

Rudow's book has sections about where to fish in different parts of the Bay and what you might catch at each hotspot. I didn't look through all those. The book is worth picking up for that section alone because you might know of places with similar conditions where you usually fish. I found some new spot that way.

I measured fish for a summer at a couple places on the Potomac where the poundnetters landed their fish, and I don't think I could ever eat weakfish after that. Me and the other guy got so that we could tell what we would be measuring that day as we drove up to the fish house, and menhaden and weakfish days were the worst smelling by far. Sometimes my wife (then girlfriend) could tell what I measured that day based on how I smelled when I got home. I think weakfish meat gets mushy really easily.

Speckled trout, on the other hand, was one of the first fish I ever considered eating raw. All the ones I've filleted always smelled like lemons, and the translucency of the meat was really appealing. The difference between gray and speckled trout flesh is surprising given how closely they're related.

[Friday]

Bob,

The VA side Chesapeake Bay (Lower Bay) is a little too far for me. It takes 2 hours 50 min – 3 hours 45 min. I tried/will try VA side when the water temp drops below 50-55F in upper/mid bay. I probably start fish in VA water from mid or end of October.

Bill,

Thanks for the Info. I used to catch weakfish on my boat up to 2004. Since then, weakfish have been scarce around Deal/Chesapeake Beach area. I used to catch weakfish at 25 inch + on trolling lures in Fall usually. I caught them by jigging Sting Silver (2-5 oz) or buck-tail tipped with grub with curly tail. Weights of the lures were determined according to the drifting speed and depth of water. On calm days in October-November we caught them in 90’ of water in the main channel. We used 10lb mono or super braided and heavy sinkers/5 oz Sting Silver on calm days in 90’ of water. In Fall, under the breaking fish (bluefish), there were small weakfish feeding on the bottom.

My knowledge is limited to a small area and fall. It will be a quite challenge to catch weakfish since they are scarce, especially on a kayak. One of the reasons I thought about catching weakfish was that I thought Gulp Swimming Mullet Alive would be excellent lure for weakfish feeding under the breaking fish. If the depth of water is less than 40’, I think I have a good chance to catch them with a 2oz-3oz buck-tail with a Gulp Swimming Mullet.

I don’t like weakfish meat as much as my wife does. But still I like them. Unlike flounder or stripers, I think you must eat the trout the same day. I don’t think I can tell weakfish meat from that of speckled trout now unless they are laid next to each other. I only ate less than 12 speckled trout so far.

After studying the site you mentioned, my current game plan is that I go to St. Jerome’s Creek. Launch from Buzz and fish one side shore line for puppy between Buzz and the inlet. Perhaps catch a couple of spots for strip bait. If weather is good, head out to Point No Point light and look for any sign of fish. If there is no sign of fish, fish along the edges (in 15’-35’ of water) for Stripers and Weakfish. On the way back to Buzz in the St. Jerome’s Creek, I can fish the other side of shore line for puppy.

I just read Rudow's article on the web. It also explaned how to care the captured weakfish. Chapter 26 on page 196:

Rudow's Guide to Fishing the Mid ... - Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=Jys6JXWYWM0C&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=weakfish+Rudow&source=bl&ots=H7K8UFdWtK&sig=1gp4YyekrtPP3ASZ89DGpm0dPt0&hl=en&ei=cjqySpKPNIeSlAen5OWSDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false)

[SteveL]

Friday,

The grey trout population is at a very low level now in our area, even a few years ago you could routinely catch them feeding under breaking rock and blues in the fall in many areas in MD tidewater. In around 2002-3 I got some nice ones in the Patapsco, near Thomas Pt light, and at the mouth of the Pax, including some nice fish in the 2-4 lb class. In the 80s the population was very high and you could easily catch hundreds of them in a trip out of Chrisfield in Tangier and Pocomoke Sound, and they were commonly caught up to and well over 10 lbs. Those fish are long gone and the population is at a historic low.

You would have a better chance of targeting specks than grey trout at this point in time, but all my MD specks have come from the Eastern Shore, I have never caught one on the Western side. I am telling you all this so you have reasonable expectations, the info from Rudrow's books is not a good representation of the current fishery in MD waters.

Another thing to add re: care of the fish for top quality table fare is to never let them sit and soak in icewater, due to osmosis they will absorb water through their skin and it makes the flesh even softer than it already is. Trout seem especially delicate, but I don't let any fish sit in icewater, although if you brined it that would be ok. I keep my fish well iced and drain the water off so the fish is kept buried in ice without any water mixed in. A lot of Tidalfish photos of fish show them in a cooler with little or no ice or in meltwater; in warm weather all fish should be promptly iced in order to retain top quality.

[Friday]

Steve,
Thanks for the info. Now I understand why some weakfish were particularly soggy in the past. I am lowering the expectation of catching weakfish even more. Catching a weakfish may be harder than catching a keeper puppy in the western shore. I may put more hours to catch a keeper puppy until I hit VA side water later.

Joe