2 things-

What kind of fish is this, and is it small for it's species? Attachment 2181

And a quick story: Tues am walking halfway between the B'rooms and Octigon, older guy sitting on a bench. I hear the unmistakable sound of a rod going bye-bye and a line snap. I say "your rod just got yanked over the rail". He says... wut?

Dude is still holding the reel and bottom half of the rod in his hand, the fish took the top. Guy had baited and dropped hook before assembling the rod. Luckily he had another but TIA for fish ID.

Looks like a bar jack

Could be a small amber jack

Maybe Lesser Amberjack?

The three mentioned are what I heard from the pier guys. Just a curiosity thing.

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Originally Posted by Pop Jiggity

What kind of fish is this, and is it small for it's species? Attachment 2181

And a quick story: Tues am walking halfway between the B'rooms and Octigon, older guy sitting on a bench. I hear the unmistakable sound of a rod going bye-bye and a line snap. I say "your rod just got yanked over the rail". He says... wut?

Dude is still holding the reel and bottom half of the rod in his hand, the fish took the top. Guy had baited and dropped hook before assembling the rod. Luckily he had another but TIA for fish ID.

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Thanks for posting this. I caught some of these last year off the beach in Fort Morgan and I had no idea what they were. The ones I caught seemed a bit more blue in color than what you have, but the body shape and tail are very similar. They seemed like super small (like 10") tuna but I knew that wasn't the case. I studied up on my fish before I hit the beach so I would know what I was catching, but I didn't see this type of fish in anything I'd read. Even searched afterwards, but I didn't have a pic, so I couldn't be sure what I was finding was a match. I think what you have here is what we were catching (using gulp shrimp on fish finder rigs).

Do people eat these when larger size?

Amaco Jack

Looks like an amberjack or banded rudderfish. The bar jacks that I've seen and caught have a blue/purple lateral stripe. Those little AJ's (if that's what it is) swarm the east jetty at Destin through the summer. I've eaten a lot of them before there was a size limit in Fl.

Almaco jack I think. The dark bar above the eyes.

The dorsal and anal fins look a lil short to be an Almaco Jack. I'd say a Lesser Jack.

According to my Gulf fishes ID book, its a lesser amberjack. Size limit is 14-22".

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Originally Posted by mforbesiii

Thanks for posting this. I caught some of these last year off the beach in Fort Morgan and I had no idea what they were. The ones I caught seemed a bit more blue in color than what you have, but the body shape and tail are very similar. They seemed like super small (like 10") tuna but I knew that wasn't the case. I studied up on my fish before I hit the beach so I would know what I was catching, but I didn't see this type of fish in anything I'd read. Even searched afterwards, but I didn't have a pic, so I couldn't be sure what I was finding was a match. I think what you have here is what we were catching (using gulp shrimp on fish finder rigs).

Do people eat these when larger size?

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Think what you were catching were bluerunners.

looks like a ling mixed with a hard tail

almaco jack

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Originally Posted by the_reel_doc

Think what you were catching were bluerunners.

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You are exactly right. I just looked up Blue Runner and the pic is dead on. Really appreciate your help with that. All this time whenever I read about someone catching hardtails I was thinking they meant saltwater catfish. Goes to show how much I have to learn. Now I know what they are and that they are best thrown back, though the site I looked up the pic on had several recipes that people really enjoyed. They said it tasted like any oily fish (mackerel, blue) but perhaps a bit fishier.

Hardtails/Bluerunners are edible, just remove the red meat. Once again, they aren't flaky white reef fish, a little stronger tasting. But shouldn't fish taste like fish???

that is not a blue runner this is a blue runnerAttachment 2187 that fish you caught is called an almaco jack.

#r likes purple n golds answer of lesser jack,so I guess that's what it is.

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Originally Posted by kingkiller7255

that is not a blue runner this is a blue runnerAttachment 2187 that fish you caught is called an almaco jack.

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Nope, not an almaco, its a lesser AJ. Fins and body shape are wrong for an almaco.

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Originally Posted by kingkiller7255

that is not a blue runner this is a blue runnerAttachment 2187 that fish you caught is called an almaco jack.

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I think the_reel_doc was telling me what I had was a bluerunner. I looked at the OP's pic and though it was what I caught, but I mentioned that what I caught was a bit more blue. the_reel_doc correctly pointed me in the direction of bluerunner, which now that I can see the pic, is more like what I caught than the OP's original pic.

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm going with the Lesser, and I will now tell people I've caught Amberjack from the pier.

To Clarify: The thing pictured in Kingkillers post is a bluerunner. The pic from the original post is a lesser aj.

Every time I think there are a select group of species that hang around the pier I'm surprised when something different comes over the rail. Last Friday I over heard a guy talking to his son saying, " looks like a little ole bass". So I walked over and right before he lipped it I said that might have teeth. It looked like a teeny tiny grouper. Kinda splotchy, dark and light brown, with off white coloring throughout the whole body. Of I was reaching for my camera when he tossed it back...

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Originally Posted by SNAKE

Every time I think there are a select group of species that hang around the pier I'm surprised when something different comes over the rail. Last Friday I over heard a guy talking to his son saying, " looks like a little ole bass". So I walked over and right before he lipped it I said that might have teeth. It looked like a teeny tiny grouper. Kinda splotchy, dark and light brown, with off white coloring throughout the whole body. Of I was reaching for my camera when he tossed it back...

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Might have been a rock bass, we catch them when we go out on the boat, they fit your description