The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-06-28
now THE WHAKFISH RUN
The Angler Favorite Salt
Water Prey Are Off the
Coast.
IT'S HABITS AND HAUNTS.
Rods, Reels, Lines and Hooks for
Their capture---Notes on Out
Door Sports.

When the weakflsh come there is genu-
inc rejoicing among the salt wnter
anglers. No other fish gives such steady
sport and no other salt water fishing is so
satisfactory. The weakfish is the New.
ark's anglers chief dependence for sum
iner sport, and the man who Yields q
stumpy rod, a big wooden reel and u linen
line with an ounce or two OF lead at
tached, can hardly wait for the June an
nouncement tnat the tide runners have
arrived and are croaking in the Sound
That was the news from Roserille last
week. and for ten days reports have been
heard Of singles, pairs and trios Of fish
having been taken on the hook at jamaica
Bay, Robbins Reef light and at Princes
bay.
Weakfish arrive in May. and In the
latter hair OF that month are found in the
markets. These nsh are caught ia nets,
however, aud serve only TO gladden. The
hearts OF the anglers with the prospect.
The fish do not usually bite until u month
ALTER the first few are found III the pound
nets nloug shore. Some authorities say
That the run into the bays and eSEuaries
TO spawn aud do not forage until this
business is over, but the theory lacks con-
fiFnlatien, and the authorities are still
unable TO tell either the time or place OF
spawning. The young of the weakiish,
about four inches in length, are OCCASION
ally caught in hne natS late in August,
but they 90 not look like weakfish ana
would not be recognized by anglers.
They are thin little fellows, with broad
vertical bands on their sides and none of
the Characteristic OF the older fish
Where they spend their early days is en-
tiIeiy "a fnntter of conjecture
Il EARLY in the season many large weak
ftsh are taken on tin squitls or with men,
haueu bait on the hsuing banks by the
shore fishermen, who go out from Seal
bright iii their sKiifs. One of these flsh-
erfnen recently remarked that he never
saw ore Of these fish with spawn in it.
The fish caught on the banks weigh
from three TO eight pounds each, and
when they come into the bays and
sounds are known as tide runners to dis
tingufsh tnem from the small fish which
run IN schools ia comparatively shallow
water during the summer mouths. One
OF the pecuiiarities OF all weakfish is that
they are tidal feeders. They are caught
CHIEFLY when the flood tide is nearly at its
height and Perhaps for u tew minutes
altsr it has turned to ebb. One writer
Oh tie subject hazards the opinion That
tue fish seek deep holes aud lie still when
the tile is low. 1t is we'll known by all
auHiers who frequent the channel ways
OF orr bays and estuaries that the best
1ishing Is tor huff an hour or SO st the
top ol The tide. The fish seem to come
ttf0n9 at the same stage of the tide IN
places miles apart, and after biting for
half an hour or all hour they disappear,
and while the tide is running out again
only stray fish may be caught. AT
night the wenkfish may often be found
far up the littie creeks on the salt
marshes, end many are caught by set
fzfEt he
water.
THE PEDIGREE.
The wenkEish belong 10 the drumfish
family, and their Indian name Is sque-
league With natnralists the family
name is sci0nidm and tine individual
fish in Northern New jersey. butin South
Jersey, Delaware aud Virginia they are
called pluefish, and further sonrh they
take the name of gray trout to distin-
guish them from the spotted squeteague,
cynoscion maculatum, fish similar In
everything hut coloratlon, which Is oc-
caslonally found upon the Jersey coast,
but it is plentiful along the seaboard OF
the Southern States.
Ihe weakfsh are sharp biters and
lively fighters. They seldom stop to
Noble. but take the bait with rush, and
Try to make off with it, The mouth OF a
weak fish is quite tender, and generally,
when hooked, q hole half an inch or more
in diameter ~ torn In the membrane back
Of the lip. and the hook has no hold IN the
flesh, consequently taunt line must be
Kept between the angler aud his prize. for
siiould the fish get any slack at all he
would probably drop the hook from its
insecure hold. As a consequence. the ma
jority OF weaKflsn anglers who use stin
rods must have rapid reels. A
double multiplying reel is expensive, and
aquadrupie multipgier Is so hard TO man
Inn lfoft w non n
that IL is out OF the question. The big
wood en- reel. however, Is cheap, anG easy
to handle, and the bigger it Is the more
line il will take up in revolution. Some
anglers have tn cir reels made eight inches
In diameter, and use them on rods upon
which the Zip is five-eights of an inch in
ainmeter at the ferrule. It is all q mis-
take to use such heavy TICKLE for weak
fishing, but it Is useless to try and convert
or convince the man who has been brought
up IN company with anglers who use the
Dig winches and heavy rods. The big
wooden reels are awkward, because they
are on the side Of the rod and their weight
constantly inclines TO turn the rod in the
hand, while The line in running through
the guides on the rod has constant ten
dency to run between the reel and the
grip.
THE TACKLE
The proper tackle TOR weaktishing con-
sists of light and flexible rod just heavy
enough TO carry without strain the ounce
of lead necessary to carry the bait down
in strong tideway. The line should be
uine-thread linen twist, and the hooks
should be 40 Carlisle or No. New York
trout on heavy double gut One hook on
the line is enough. and it should be at
tached TO a two yard leader affixed to the
line above the sinker, with freely rum
ming brass swivel. Any reel will answer
Tilt will carry from so to 100 yards of the
fine line. Weakf1sh take shrimp best in
the early days Of the summer, and later
on they want Shedder crabs: still later
they take white sand worms sIhe
first fish caught are usually larger than
those which run in large schools on the
oyster beds and in shallow waters in
August and September. They are known
as tide-runners, and are caught in the
swift tideways OF the channels.
FAyoR1TR SPOTS.
Newark anglers go most frequently to
the waters OF Raritan Bay aud Arthur
Kill or Staten Island Sound. Their ia
yorite place on the Sound is Boynron
Beach below Sewaren on the Long
Branch road, and to reach the Raritan
Bay grounds they 20 to Perth Amboy.
The summer grounds on the south shore
OF Staten Island are slightly inconvenfent
TO reach from Newark. but they are the
favorite resort Of thousands OF New
Workers.. Many anglers start out from
Communipaw and go thence to the in
land grounds In New York Bay. Others
start from the north shore Of Staten