Thread: It's 'just' a jack...

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.

Originally Posted by Pierless

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.

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 !