Greater Amberjack

The greater amberjack is the largest and the most sought after jack by sport fishermen because of its qualities as a game fish.

Region

South

Catch Ease

Medium

Habitat

Ocean

How to identify a Greater Amberjack

The greater amberjack often have a distinctive olive colored bar from the snout through the eye, to the beginning of the dorsal fin and a broad amber-colored strip running horizontally, along the flanks. The amber stripe often causes anglers to confuse this species with yellowtails. However, the greater amberjack can be distinguished from other related species by the gill raker count; greater amberjack over 8 inches long have only 11-16 developed gill rakers on the lower limb of the first branchial arch (the count may be higher in smaller specimens), whereas yellowtails have 21-28.The rainbow runner has small separate finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins, which are lacking in amberjacks. Greater and lesser amberjacks can be separated by counting the total gill rakers; 23-26 are found in lesser amberjacks and 11-19 in the greater.

Where to catch Greater Amberjack

The Greater Amberjack is found in the Indo-Pacific around Japan, China, and the Philippines, in the central Pacific off Hawaii, throughout the western Atlantic Ocean, in portions of the eastern Atlantic Ocean (Madeira and southern and western Africa), and in the Mediterranean Sea in tropical and warm temperate waters. It is found mainly near the surface in open waters but can be found at considerable depths and around offshore reefs, wrecks, buoys, etc. The following list includes additional details on where to catch this fish:

Baitfish Patches

Floating Foam and Debris

Coastal Waters

Night Fishing

how to catch Greater Amberjack

Fishing methods include trolling near the surface with lures, spoons, plugs, jigs or strip baits, and also live bait fishing. Many incidental catches of amberjack are made while fishing the bottom for snappers and groupers. The following are fishing methods used to catch this fish: