Bottom fishing July 7 -- several surprises

[Capt. Rubber Hooks]

See, I always thought that Sea Trout and Weakfish were the same fish just called a different name depending on where you were and who you talked to.

I Googled both and they seem to be a slightly different species. Sea Trout or Speckled Trout is called Cynoscion nebulosus and the Weakfish is a Cynoscion regalis.

That one looks like a Weakfish to me

Anyways, nice report and I'm also glad to see some Flounder but does that tell us anything about the health of the Bay?

I believe that you are confusing "spotted sea trout" (Specks) with "gray trout or sea trout" (weakfish). The pict is definately of a gray trout or weakfish. Good to see. I used to catch them regularly at the Stone Rock but haven't for more than a decade.

[diskgolpher]

John, your mystery fish appears to be what my dad called a "Virginia Sand Perch". Back in the 60's they were pretty plentiful in the bay, not so much lately.
Ken

I have to agree with Ken, the mouth on that thing doesn't look to be the right shape or large enough to be a trout, especially the lower jaw. (we just caught a bunch of dink grey's/weakfish around the CBBT and none of them looked like your fish in the picture.) Plus the lateral line and coloring are so similar to white perch it would make sense it is part of the perch family.

[Abter1]

I'm out of my league here in identifying fish, but last year Skip put up some photos of a fish he caught near the bridge he called a sand perch. Nobody disagreed with him (shockingly...this is TF after all). His picture doesn't look much like John's (note the yellow tail in Skips pic), although I am certainly no expert

Skip's post:
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...t-Bridge-w-pic

[zags]

Nice report... always fun to catch lots of species. My wife caught a 6" flounder on a stingsilver at the green mark at Tolly Point last week. I've never caught one and fish there all the time, so I was quite surprised by it.

[goose70]

I have to agree with Ken, the mouth on that thing doesn't look to be the right shape or large enough to be a trout, especially the lower jaw. (we just caught a bunch of dink grey's/weakfish around the CBBT and none of them looked like your fish in the picture.) Plus the lateral line and coloring are so similar to white perch it would make sense it is part of the perch family.

Despite its name, a "sand perch" is not a member of the perch family. It is a member of the drum family, just like spotted seatrout, weakfish, spot, croaker, whiting, red drum and black drum. The fish in the pic looks exactly like the juvie weakfish we used to catch all of the time in that area. I echo those who have opined that the ID is pretty clear.

To add to the name confusion, locals often called weaksish "trout" (or "trayt"...but that's another story). "Tiderunner" was the name often given to the huge ones (8lb-14lbs) caught by the dozens while jigging a bucktail tipped with peeler crab, pork rind or plastic bass worm from Hoopers Island south in the June and again in the fall. I do not recall much talk about catching spotted seatrout. When one referred to trout -- at least in Maryland -- one typically meant weakfish.

Weakfish fishing seemed to decline the Bay by the late-80s if my recollection is correct, but in the 90s, weakfish just under tiderunner size (18"-24") became numerous enough in the Annapolis-area to be targeted in the fall. The last hurrah for them was near the end of 2001-02 drought, when those of us in the newly formed Severn River Rod & Keg Club could catch them on "trout bomb" jigs or swimming plugs all the way to Ben Oaks at the headwaters of the Severn. The fish that fall were between 18"-22".

The next year the rug was pulled out from under the fishery for reasons that still seem subject to debate. The last weakfish of any size that I caught were two (15" and 16") while trolling a spoon umbrella in 2005 at Hacketts bar.

That's my 2 cents and tackle-shop history tale. Back to work.

[dckhd247]

Definitely a sand perch... Not a seatrout...

[J.A. Veil]

I can tell you without a doubt that the fish had trout-like canine teeth at the front of its upper jaw. Given the very hot weather, I chose to take a quick photo then drop the little fish back overboard without doing a detailed inspection. I hope it survives, whatever species it is.

[hippie]

To me that is a grey trout, commonly called a sea trout or weakfish. No question in my mind! Bob

[dckhd247]

To me that is a grey trout, commonly called a sea trout or weakfish. No question in my mind! Bob

I'd like to bet you a thousand dollars that it's not...

[CGCHRIS]

Nice report. Thank you. Chris