Maximum length almost 1 metre (corresponding to a weight of about 5 kilos) or (very exceptionally) more. This fish is sometimes called ‘gray weakfish’, but colour of the body is complicated. ‘Dark olive green above with the back and sides variously burnished with purple, lavender, green, blue, golden, or coppery, and marked with a large number of small black, dark green, or bronze spots, vaguely outlined and running together more or less, especially on the back; thus forming irregular lines that run downward and forward.’ (Bigelow and Schroeder.) The name weakfish does not refer to its general physique, which is robust, but to its tender mouth, which is easily torn by a hook.
