A Beautiful Fish

What a Weak Jaw

Weakfish

A large, slender, marine fish, it is found along the east coast of North America. The head and back of this fish are dark brown in color with a greenish tinge. The sides have a faint silvery hue with dusky specks, and the belly is white. The origin of its name is based on the weakness of the mouth muscles, which often cause a hook to tear free, allowing the fish to escape. The weakfish grows to 1 m (3 feet) in length and 9 kg (20 pounds) in weight. It is found along the eastern coast of North America from Nova Scotia, Canada to northern Florida, where it is fished both commercially and recreationally. In the mid-Atlantic states, the fish is sometimes referred to by the name sea trout, though it is not related to the fishes properly called trout, which are in the family Salmonidae.

I caught a weakfish when I was 12 years old. I was in the middle of a bluefish feeding frenzy and one got on my line through no special strategy or technique of mine. I believe the weakfish were in the middle of the frantic bluefish frenzy and because of their size, the bluefish, bullies that they are, did not attack them. My catch was the record for Milford, Connecticut for a short time – 13 pounds. I made my mother drive all over to have this fish mounted. We never got to the best place for the job, the fish be to get ripe and it was used as bait for crabs. That was a pretty sad moment for me.

Weakfish is the state fish of Delaware