Weakfish

About

Weakfish are the most common sea trout caught in coastal waters around Long Island and southern New England. Weakfish is also known as the gray sea trout and by it's original Native American name, squeateague. The name weakfish is misleading because it is really a powerful swimmer and a strong fighter when hooked. The name weakfish, was bestowed on this fish by recreational anglers because of its fragile mouth structure, which permits a hook to tear out rather easily.

Information

Other names: seatrout, gray trout or squeateague.

Translations: Kuprzivs, ナガニベ, Grba, Sciénie, Acoupas, Weichfisch, Smuha, Kulbiniec, Уэкфиш, Pilkkuveltto, Llucet, Уекфіш, 韦克菲什, Trommefisk, Веакфисх, Pescadilla

Physical Description

Weakfish have a dark olive back, iridescent blue and copper sides and a silvery white belly. Other identifying features are yellow fins, large canine teeth in the upper jaw and dark spots on the upper part of the body, sometimes forming diagonal lines. Most adult weakfish range from 12 to 18 inches but can grow up to to 3 feet long and weigh 4-18 pounds.

Colors: Off white flesh

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Sweet

Mouthfeel: Lean and finely textured

Wine complements: White wines

Beverage complements: Beer, Hard cider

Substitutes: Snapper, Rockfish

Selecting and Buying

Procuring: 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.

Preparation and Use

It makes a delicious meal when fried or broiled. Because of the texture it's also fragile and must be iced immediately after capture to retain its natural elasticity and flavor. One of the finest methods for cooking weakfish is to cook the fish whole with seafood or other stuffing in the oven or over hot coals on the grill. Weakfish fillets can also be broiled or baked with a variety of sauces or vegetable accompaniments.

Social/Political

History: During the years shortly after World War II fleets of charter boats and commercial seiners were unable to more than dent the vast schools of tide-runners weakfish that invaded eastern Long Island from late April to July. No fish has such extreme highs and lows in its abundance. Weakfish virtually disappeared in the early 50s and showed no sign of recovery until 1972. The local catch in New York also varies from year to year, and weakfish are likely to be most abundant in the marketplace in the fall and, to a lesser extent, in late spring.