Weakfish rules in North Carolina
Size, bag and season for recreational weakfish in North Carolina waters, as published by NC Division of Marine Fisheries.
- Size
- 12" minimum total length
- Bag
- 1 fish per person per day
- Season
- No closed season listed
Also on the agency page: NC name: gray trout. Proclamation FF-10-2024 (eff. Jan 1, 2024) states the same 12" TL / 1 per person per day or per trip, whichever is more restrictive.
Stale: this row was last checked Oct 12, 2026, past our 30-day limit. Treat it as history and go to the agency page.
Rules change in season, sometimes by emergency notice. This page summarizes the agency page on the date shown. If this summary and the agency page disagree, the agency page controls.
What to know before you keep one
Every state on file holds weakfish to one fish (Florida only inside its Nassau County management zone), but the minimum size is not uniform: 12 inches in Virginia and the Carolinas, 13 from New Jersey to Maryland and in Georgia, 16 from New York north. A fish that is legal at the Chesapeake mouth can be short on Long Island.
State water or federal water
North Carolina rules apply in state waters, generally out to 3 nautical miles. ASMFC Addendum IV requires every state to hold a one-fish recreational limit; ASMFC has listed the stock as depleted since 2003. In federal waters, 50 CFR 697.7 prohibits keeping a weakfish under 12 inches total length and sets no separate federal bag. ASMFC · weakfish ↗
Across the state line
Rules for the same fish change at the state line. If you run across it or land in the next state, those rules apply.
| State | Size | Bag | Status as of Oct 13, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 13" minimum | 1 fish per angler per day | Openas of Oct 13 |
| Virginia | 12" minimum total length | 1 fish per person | Openas of Oct 13 |
| North Carolina | 12" minimum total length | 1 fish per person per day | Openas of Oct 13 |
| South Carolina | 12" minimum total length | 1 fish per person per day | Openas of Oct 13 |
| Georgia | 13" minimum total length | 1 fish per person per day | Openas of Oct 13 |