Yellow Jack Crevalle

Yellow Jack Crevalle

12 weight, Clouser minnow

Southwest Florida about 35 miles offshore of Naples

Jacks are fun to catch especially on a lighter weight set up. I caught this one when we came upon the classic “Jack Attack” when they were swarming a school of baitfish. The rod/reel I was using was way overpowered for the fish but it’s because I was out fishing for Cobia and Shark. There were a couple of Barracuda’s and a Giant Grouper around as well.

When I saw the pack of jacks surrounding the sharks in the water, I went ahead and tossed my lure out.

On the first Jack that I caught, the Jack got eaten by a shark and I had the shark online for maybe 5-7 minutes before being broken off. I was actually casting to the shark and the Jack grabbed it first. It would have been quite a fight because it was a big shark (5-7 feet).

Because the Jack swarm was still there, I grabbed the other ready-rigged rod and tossed out another lure to the pack.

Note to the wise – always have a second set up ready to go. IE – be prepared for different fishing opportunities – especially in salt water. You don’t always know what you will come across. Ideally, have different types of lures on as well.

It can get crowded in the boat with 2-3 rods, but it’s worth it when you suddenly need a different set up both in terms of rod/reel weight and rigged flies. I ideally like to have two 8-9 weight set ups, one with a sinking line and the other a floating line. I also like to have either a 10 weight or 12 weight depending on what I am targeting. A 10 weight is versatile here and will get you pretty much anything you want except for large sharks and Tarpon. This is where you need the 12-weight rig and specific flies ready to go.

It was a quick toss it out to catch the second Jack. Oddly enough, there were around 7-10 fish that swam right up to the lure and pulled away – something I haven’t seen happen that often with Jacks. It didn’t have anything to do with the cast, lure or speed of my retrieval – they were totally locked on to the fly but then just turned off at the last second or two. Normally they just hit the lure/bait/fly. I think they were wary because of the two sharks nearby.

After this fish, I kept tossing to the jacks and pulled in a couple more just for fun on an 8 weight. They are a fun fish on a fly rod.

I have caught much larger ones on a traditional rod, but this is the first for me on a fly rod. I knew it was an easy fish to add to my 50 total goal. We see them a lot here in different seasons like some of the other Southwest Florida species, so I knew it would be relatively easy fish to mark off the bucket list.

Jacks are great on fly rods as they are aggressive and can easily be site fished because of how they swarm. You’ll also catch them blind casting when there is a lot of bait nearby or in fast moving tidal patterns. They put up a great fight once you hook them. You can tell when you’ve hooked one because of the way they run and turn.

You should try to use a fly that is larger than the bait you are seeing nearby. Know what the main baitfish is in the area you are fishing dependent on the conditions and time of year.

Clouser minnows are the most common one I would use with the size being dependent on the seasonal bait that is around. The fish is so aggressive that they will take almost anything – crab flies, shrimp, minnows, and poppers.

You can either use a sink tip line or surface fish them. I prefer a surface lure as I like to see the fish strike. If you use a sink tip, you can go down deep into the water column and have chances at the same time for other mid to low water column species (mackerel, snapper, etc). If you are using a sink tip line, give the line some time to settle and get down before you start your retrieve.

Even if you don’t see them and they move off, be patient and keep fishing the areas where you have seen them. If this is the case, let the fly stay out a bit longer before recasting. They sometimes hang around or will come back. You can start stripping right away. When you feel a strike, make a strong strip set.

You don’t need a super long cast for them, but it doesn’t hurt as the pack can move quickly. You want to get into the scrum when you see them swarming. This might require a longer cast. If they are close to the boat or shore, fast short casts will work to them over and over. Just get the fly into the water over and over.

Accuracy matters but not nearly as much as with other Southwest Florida fish. Just get the fly near them, present it as many times as you can, and they will probably take a good hard look at it. Be ready.

Because of the way the fish runs, it’s important to keep a tight line and keep turning its head away from any structures. You can’t muscle it in so let the fish tire itself out a bit. When you get it close to the boat, don’t raise your rod too high as you might lose the fish boatside. Grab its tail or net it. They are a sturdy fish and will easily handle the catch and release. You don’t have to worry about damaging the fish.

There are several species of Jacks, and they are widely distributed.

There are three species of jacks that can be targeted in Florida’s surrounding waters: The Yellow Jack above, Bar Jacks and Horse Eyed Jacks.

Bar Jacks

Horse Eyed Jacks

Jacks have many species and can be found in most of the warmer oceans. They inhabit most of the tropical and temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic and down into Central America and the Caribbean. It can also be found in northern waters as far north as Nova Scotia. In the Pacific, you find the Pacific crevalle Jack and the Longfin Jack.

In the Indian Ocean and Arabian see, you will find other Jack species as well as its massive cousins the various types of Trevaly’s – a totally different, much larger and aggressive fish.

You won’t get tired of catching these aggressive fish on a fly rod.