
Grey Trout
Gray trout, also called weakfish, are distinguished from other species in its genus by several meristic characteristics: the anal fin on gray trout have 11 or 12 soft rays, 11 to 13 gill rakers, and the lateral line scales number from 76 to 86. In adult gray trout the coloration of the dorsal scales are dark green fading into a silver underside. The coloration of the sides can range from spots of purple, green, blue, and gold that are generally found on the top half of the fish. The fins are yellowish in color. The basic shape of the gray trout's head is elongated, and it comes to a sharp point. The mouth is large and oblique, with the lower jaw protruding past the upper jaw. The dorsal fin of the gray trout is spiny, but the spines are flexible and usually the third or fourth spine is the longest. The anal fin is comparably smaller to other fish in the same family as the gray trout, with its base ending slightly in advance of the dorsal fin.
Habitat
Gray trout are found along the Atlantic coast. They migrate seasonally in the relatively shallow coastal water of sandy mud bottoms, and then to the brackish water of river estuaries for reproduction and feeding in the summer, finally returning offshore in the fall (Virginia Tech, 1996). During the spawning season, the most important habitat for the weakfish is the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay.