LOL Exceptional game fish!
https://vimeo.com/112123017
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LOL Exceptional game fish!
https://vimeo.com/112123017
Pound for pound the only thing I have found that comes close to a jack are the lowly hardtail and the ever tasty mangrove snapper. The show that a pack of these wolves puts on separates them from the other two. A true game fish in my opinion.
The best line from the video..."examine why you fish"
We don't fish to feed the family - in fact, we rarely keep fish to eat. we love the hunt, the sport and the battle. If we can release a fish back to fight again - we will. Neither my wife, one I have yet to get a jack close enough for a long release - but we have battled many. It's a great sport on light tackle, and we appreciate every bite. Same with bull reds - cut them loose and notch the rod. It breaks my heart to see a wasted kill. If you are not going to eat them - blow them a kiss and cut the line.
The strongest fish i have ever put a hook in. when you guys were telling me i needed a reel to hold 300 yds of line, i was wondering WTH for? i could see the spool by the time i got my first jack to stop.
You watch all these shows where they're fishing around Australia and"Giant Trevally!" is all you hear. "What a great gamefish! Nothing fights as hard!! And here folks treat jacks like they're a bother. I like to eat fish and I'll eat a jack if I end up killing it but the main reason I like to fish is the strike and the fight. Got to hand it to a jack in those areas.
Imagine if jacks were rare, elusive fish. People would spend thousands on charters to catch this incredibly powerful sportfish. Guides would log countless hours cruising the sandbar, looking for that yellow tail. Fishermen on the end of the pier would swap stories about the time they almost had one.
But instead, they eat down half the pier three times a day in the summer, so they are a nuisance. Fishing is a weird thing.
They were elusive to me for years. I hooked one when I was a runty 12 year old and it really worked me over before it spooled me in a matter of seconds. After I grew up and had appropriate gear, I couldn't get one to take my bait, while anyone and everyone around me would be hooking up. It was as if they knew I wanted revenge. It took me over 40 years to even the score, but those suckers still owe me a lot of interest.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierless
They were definitely NOT ellusive on the old Dauphin Island Pier back in the 1970s.
A guy was going to sell me an Ambassadeur 7000C and I said OK, but first let's see if it will hold up to a strong pull.
With 20# mono I landed 4 jacks that day (and broke a couple more off).
My arms ached for days after that, but I was sold on the reel and the fighting quality of those fish!
BTW, I caught my first tarpon on that same reel, and those were the ONLY fish that were ever more 'sporting' IMHO.
Yea I've never understood why some people don't like jacks. They are fun to catch and give you a heck of a fight on smaller tackle.
JACKS !!!! When I hear that on the pier ,I'm falling all over myself to get a line out before they are gone . And I'm totally dumbfounded by those who are yelling get your lines out of the water if you do not want to waste your time with a Jack ??????
I' m also behoved when someone asks what have you got on and I excitedly tell them a Ugly and their reply is they are full of worms or I'm sorry and walk away . Maybe it's just me ,but I come to fish !
A few years back (I wont define "few") we were trolling for kings off Fort Morgan and I ended up landing two nice jacks in a row after long fights...needless to say my "fighting" was done for the day. Forearms hurt for weeks after! Big time fun. Never ate any, back then they were referred to as blood fish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by usa
I am so there with you! I go to the pier to catch fish and I am so fine with catching a jack. When I was a kid, I bought into the term, trash-fish and I am SO sorry now for the HUNDREDS of great-tasting fish that I threw back and the thousands that I didn't catch because I accepted the terminology of other people and didn't experience things for myself.
My advice to any newbie fishermen is - Be your own man. Experience things for yourself and on your own terms. Don't let your fear of comments from others keep you from experiencing life! Years ago I started keeping fish that people said were "no good to eat". I was amazed at how good big remoras were - and Sailcats, too! Hardtails, Blues, Black Drum, Spadefish - all worthy of the dinner plate. I won't eat a ladyfish, but it's a great fish to hook into. If it got to 100 lbs, it would rival a tarpon for fighting and jumping ability.
All of this serves as a reminder to me to be supportive of my fellow fishermen and not cast negativity his way. It's HIS experience, which is so intensely personal that I'd judge myself to be out of line to question HIS experience in a negative fashion. He might be thrilled with the experience. I'm sure that people don't mean to be a buzz-kill when they express negativity, but that's a likely result.
On a related note, I've had this happen to me. It happens about once a year where some fisherman of dubious distinction (meaning I don't know anything about him) will come up to me to say something like, "You're not going to catch anything with THAT rod!" "You need a great big stout one like this one here!" It makes me question if the guy is talking about fishing rods as a metaphor. I always dismiss the guy as having personal problems, so I don't even show him my cooler to let him know how wrong he is. I bring this up as another example of people inappropriately intruding on the experiences of others for no beneficial reason. There's a HUGE difference to my way of thinking between not fishing for a species or only targeting a specific species and somebody who disparages the fish or the fisherman. Like, "You're not going to keep THAT, are you?"
Hooked up on my 1st one during a boil year before last.. he ate a 1/2lb hardtail when it hit the water. I fought that joker for 15 minutes. I would prefer a big jack over most fish for a fight. He also fed an entire sabiki brigade.
I remember being on the point at Ft. Morgan long ago fishing for flounder. My buddy and his wife showed up without gear, so I let them use some of mine. That left me with a Penn 430SS, with 4# line, on a 5' rod to use. A well meaning local nearby felt sorry for me, saying " You can't catch these fish with that rig". When I landed the second flounder ( 20+"), he began asking me questions about how to do that. I was happy to show him what little stuff was able to do.
I eat fish 4 to 5 times a week and have learned to be open minded about trying pretty much all of them. Some are better in some ways and not in others. Be open minded and try things. Jacks are fun and I have enjoyed the ones I ate. If you enjoy fighting a fish you will never complain about a jack.
From a local fb page:
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...d8&oe=57F5D971
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...cf&oe=57F2FF6F
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...00&oe=582B7572
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...77&oe=57F6D5F6
I do believe he is quite satisfied with this accomplishment!
and on a topwater too, thats pretty cool
Eym, great read and I agree with you 100% ! I too just love catching fish no matter the species, not to mention eating them. If it comes of the waters, I love it ! Here's one if my favorite catches on an ultra light and 4# test mono.
Attachment 5167
Maybe I got it up this time
Eym, great read and I agree with you 100% ! I too just love catching fish no matter the species, not to mention eating them. If it comes of the waters, I love it ! Here's one if my favorite catches on an ultra light and 4# test mono.
Nothing more exciting than a school of jacks turning the end of the pier into a ballroom dance with fishing rods!! Even though I lost a $5 lure, I loved seeing that one open its huge mouth and absolutely inhale that plug about a month ago, fish was all lit up, 5 of his buddies trying to out manuever him and then fighting that huge SOB of a jack on 10# Spanish rod/reel. How does it get any better???
... you mean something like this?
http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...tid=5178&stc=1
We love jacks!
Now that's a happy fisherman ! Way to go !
Jacks are by far my favorite fish to catch from shore. It's fun chasing them, fighting, and landing them. Dauphin island right now has been having runs of them almost daily, in Pelican Bay near the point. Met a group from Mobile that had hooked up with a handful several days in a row.
On a side note, they aren't too bad to eat either.
From Sport Fishing magazine fb page:
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...32&oe=5830246D
Quote:
This IGFA junior-angler world record, a 105-pound, 13-ounce giant trevally, took a bait fished by 12-year-old Audrey Ferrand off Réunion Island in March 2009. She needed 1 hour and 12 minutes to land the GT, which she caught using a Fish Shimano Stella 20000FA. It is also the women's 130-pound line-class world record. — with Upen Makwana, Papay Ba, DI YU and Fish Shimano.
That poor child has been traumatized by that jack or she's a stone cold fish killer. Someone who is posing with their world record would normally have an ear to ear smile. That look in her eyes says one of two things, she feels she lucky to still be alive or hurry up and take the picture I've got more fish to catch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pier#r