Weakfish are one of those fish that can make you feel like a genius one night and completely humbled the next, and that’s exactly why we love chasing them. Rich Natoli sits down with returning guest George Bucci to get practical about what actually changes your results when you’re targeting weakfish in summer on light tackle, especially in New Jersey back bays, inlets, bridges, and jetties where current and structure decide everything.

We dig into why weakfish are still listed as overfished, why the best guesses point to natural predation and changing ecology, and what that means for how we handle fish in warm water. Then we get tactical: slow retrieves, staying off the bottom, reading current seams, fishing the last of the incoming and first of the outgoing, and working shadow lines near dock lights where bigger fish often sit just outside the bright water. If you’ve ever felt that “tick” and swung too hard, we also talk paper mouths, drag settings, and the gentle hookset that lands more fish.

George shares his confidence setup, the jig head weights he carries all the way down into “freshwater gear,” why he ties direct instead of using a clip, and how counting the fall helps you dial in depth without snagging. We also touch bait options like grass shrimp and peanut bunker under a float, plus what to expect when the fall mullet and peanut bunker runs turn everything into a different game.

If you’re ready to turn random weakfish into repeatable weakfish, hit play, subscribe for more, and share this with the friend who always reels too fast. After you listen, leave a review and tell us what your go-to jig weight is when the current starts ripping.

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