weak-fish

There was a river form that seemed particularly anxious to come to the front that is called the sea trout, from its rough-and-ready resemblance to that species, but its real name is the weak-fish -- a sad come-down for any creature.

Lines in Pleasant Places Being the Aftermath of an Old Angler William Senior

Perch, porgies, cunners, black-fish, weak-fish, may be a bass or a sheep's-head, but more cunners than anything else, except we strike some flounders at the turn of the tide. "

St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, July 1878, No. 9 Various 1868