Recreational fishing Weakfish are finicky. They are very shy and prey selective; making them a harder fish to target recreationally, this provides a good challenge for anglers. They prefer a water temperature ranging from 50 degree F to 65 degrees F. This is the best time to target weakfish, as they are most actively breeding within these temperatures. They can be found feeding in temperatures exclusive to these numbers, but they may be much more finicky and hard to hook. The weakfish also have a very fragile mouth, making it hard for anglers to keep them from spitting the hook. Conservation The main breeding grounds of the weakfish are in the near shore estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay. "The most important habitat for the weakfish is the brackish waters of the Chesapeake bay" (Gillum). This is where the vast majority of weakfish breed, to maintain a healthy population of weakfish these areas must be preserved. The weakfish experienced a crash that was recognized in 2009 as stated by John McMurray in the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, "A 2009 stock assessment found that weakfish were badly depleted. The stock had reached an all-time low of 2.9 million pounds, far below the "biomass threshold" of 22.4 million pounds, which is what scientists would consider a healthy stock. This is an astonishing drop, since the East Coast harvest in 1980 was 80 million pounds" (McMurray). Natural mortality of this species has increased since the mid 1990s from 0.16 to an average of 0.93 from 2007 to 2014 but the underlying cause is still unknown. Given the decline in SSB in excess of 60% over three generation lengths and the unknown driver of increasing natural mortality, this species is listed as Endangered A2b with an urgent need for additional research to determine the driver of increasing natural mortality. Current fishing regulations For the recreational angler, each individual state has its own size limit, possession limit, and season for targeting and collecting weakfish. For example, in the state of New Jersey, recreational anglers are allowed 1 fish that is greater than 13 inches at any time of the year as shown by the New Jersey Department of Environmental protection (NJ wildlife). Under Florida regulations weakfish are considered partially regulated, but there is a 100 lbs limit of unregulated fish including sand seatrout and silver seatrout per day outside of the Weakfish Management Zone. The Weakfish