Scales and Tales

If you’ve heard rumblings about a potential new International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record weakfish caught from Staten Island’s Raritan Bay surf, you’ve heard about the real deal. The 19-pound, 12-ounce brute was beached by angler Dave Alu (right in the photo), from Jackson, N.J., at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, May 7.

“It was just a magnificent fish,” said Alu's guide, Captain Rich Swisstack, Jr., of Shore Catch Guide Service (www.shorecatch.com). “We were targeting stripers with bunker chunks but my partner, Dave Torrick, and I, knew some really big weakfish were around because we had caught and released several 11- to 15-pound monsters during the past week. Still, I never expected to see one this big!”

According to Swisstack, 40, from Clark, NJ, the big weak took a bunker head and fought like a striped bass. When it first rolled in the surf after the 15-minute battle, it didn’t look like a weakfish at all.

“The head on that fish was so large,” explained Swisstack (left in photo), “that I thought we had a red drum. As I lifted it from the water, it seemed to grow bigger and rounder. The body shape appeared more like a king salmon than a weak.”

Swisstack cradled the fish in his arms and carried it up the beach. When the huge weak pulled the scale on his fish gripper past the 19-pound mark, Swisstack began to realize the enormity of the trophy. Goose bumps on his arms, he held the lunker for the lucky fisherman to examine. Alu, who has fished from boats for over 30 years but was on his very first surf fishing expedition, was amazed to see a weakfish so large. After taking a long look, he smiled and suggested the fish be released. A short discussion ensued, the decision was reversed, and the pair headed off to record an official weight at The Tackle Box in Hazlet, NJ, when the shop opened around 6:00 a.m. They later recorded an identical weight at Michael’s Tackle in Great Kills, NY.

“I was completely shocked at the size of that weakfish,” said Alu, 38, “but I didn’t realize it might break the world record. Rich and I worked hard to pick the right night to get out. I guess being patient and playing the tides really paid off because we also caught six bass with three stretching the tape past 40 inches.”

Swisstack noted that Alu did a nice job of fighting the big weak, making all the right moves at the right times. “I’m just thrilled to be involved in the catch,” he added. “My dad, Rich Swisstack, Sr., was probably as happy as me and Dave when he found out. He taught me most of what I know about fishing – including how to find the fish. I just want to tell him, ‘Thanks.’”

For the record, the big weak was caught with a 10’ St. Croix spinning rod, Daiwa Emblem Pro 5500 reel, and 30-pound test, yellow Stren Super Braid line. The IGFA filing will be submitted soon. If the big fish is accepted, it will displace the current record holders. That’s right holders: two are tied at 19 pounds, 2 ounces. The first was caught in Jones Inlet by Dennis Rooney on Oct. 11, 1984. The latter was pulled from Delaware Bay, by William Thomas, on May 10, 1989.

(Dave Alu shows off a potential IGFA world record weakfish caught from the shore of Raritan Bay. The huge tiderunner weighed in at 19 pounds, 12 ounces -- Photos courtesy of Alberto Knie and Shore Catch Guide Service)

The Freeport Tuna Club and Northeast NFSS are co-hosting a Shark Seminar on Thursday, May 8, from 7:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., at the Cure of Ars Church, 2323 Merrick Avenue, Merrick, NY. Captain Lawrence Festa will be the featured speaker, covering all aspects of shark fishing with a special emphasis on strategies specific to Long Island. A question and answer session will follow the seminar. The night will cost you $20, payable at the door. Admission includes a barbecue and soft drinks, plus door prizes. For more information, visit www.ftcfishing.com.

Don’t let the cool and windy weather of the past few days get you down. Instead, think of it as a reset button for the start of fishing season. If you weren’t able to get in on the early catches of stripers and blues that chased bunker schools deep into Raritan, Jamaica, Great South and Peconic bays over the past two weeks, you might get a shot as the waters heat up again. Catches should also rebound inside Manhasset and Hempstead bays, and in the tidal creeks of Shinnecock Bay. Be ready.

The damp weather also slowed freshwater efforts over the past week, but anglers will get a second chance on this front as well. Trout, crappie, yellow perch and white perch are all very active as water temperatures rise from 55 degrees up into the low 60-degree range. Those are water temperatures you’ll likely see over the next ten days. For the trout, small gold spoons, size 01 Mepps or Blue Fox Vibrex spinners, and 1/32-ounce KastMasters are productive offerings. For the crappie and perch, two-inch segments of night crawler or small white grubs work well.

Nasty weather or not, there is always some good fishing to be found if you look hard enough. Thursday saw the large herd of Peconic Bay blues off New Suffolk and Cutchogue slide deeper into the bay. Lucky anglers working the area caught six- to ten-pound choppers until arm weary. The Route105 Bridge was the hot spot on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning. Anglers also scored with big blues off Flanders, Jamesport, and from the beach at Indian Island County Park. Poppers, tins and swimming plugs all accounted for fish, as did live bunker and bunker chunks.

Too bad blackfish season had to come to an end on April 30. The City Island open boat, Island Current, and the Captain James Joseph, Huntington, as well as the Montauk charter fleet, all left them biting. It was a good spring for blackfish in terms of size, with quite a few bulldogs in the 8- to 10-pound class reported. The Island Current (www.islandcurrent.com) is now targeting stripers and blues in the evening, flounders in the morning. The James Joseph (www.jamesjosephfishing.com) will be sailing full day trips for flounder.

Last year saw some monster weakfish caught in Raritan Bay and Jamaica Bay. Most of the weaks, some weighing between 15 and 19 pounds, fell to live bunker or bunker chunks intended for stripers and blues. The action has begun again this year with weakfish of 14 and 16 pounds already reported. It makes me wonder how well anglers might score if they specifically target the weaks with large red, purple or white jelly worms? With the size of the fish weighed-in last year, it is very possible a new world record is cruising beneath the west end bunker schools this spring.