1992. Amberjack fishing. All it takes is a dinghy and some line

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Amberjack hunting

From Boats by Motor 1992, no. 9, October, pp. 148-152.

Strong, combative, cunning, the amberjack is one of the most sought-after prey for fishermen. Superfast fishermen are not needed for this type of fishing; all you need is a dinghy, a line and… a little bit of luck!

The amberjack (Seriola Dumerili) belongs to the carangidae family and is, tuna aside, the largest predator that can be caught by trolling in our seas as well as, according to Americans, the strongest fighter in relation to its size. If to all this we add the exquisiteness of its meat, which has nothing to envy (indeed) those of the much better known (culinarily speaking) swordfish, we can well understand how amberjack fishing can count on an increasing number of enthusiasts. Another notable note in its favor is that, for its fishing, it is not necessary to own a big fisherman of a thousand and one nights, but it is enough, in fact it even goes better (later we will see why) a very common lancet, a gozzo or even, as in our case, a dinghy. Its favorite habitat is the shallows, rocky headlands overlooking the sea and, in any case, all those areas where the current turns favor the aggregation of anchovies, garfish, in short, of everything that, in jargon, is commonly called mangianza. This beautiful fish, with its gray livery with bluish tones on its back, silvery-white flanks with large yellow/gold highlights extending to the sides of the head and white belly, can easily reach 2 meters in length and 60 kg in weight. A pelagic fish, it leads a gregarious life in its juvenile state, later isolating itself in small groups of a few individuals as it ages. It prefers temperate waters and, during the cold season, moves offshore in search of deeper waters, while in spring, also coinciding with the spawning season, it takes to depths generally ranging from 4 to 30 meters deep. The fishing season, therefore, runs from late spring to early fall, with variations varying more or less depending on the different locations. As far as the actual fishing technique is concerned, a distinction must be made between small amberjacks (up to 2 to 3 kg in weight) and large amberjacks (from 4 kg… “to the heart attack”). In fact, the former are stationed at or near the surface, often making themselves visible because of the pandemonium they manage to create by chasing the small fish that live just below the surface of the water.

We will then see anchovies, garfish, bogue and more jumping wildly, pursued by amberjacks who, heedless of our presence, feast on them. This will be the time to spinning our surface trolls overboard. The equipment for this type of fishing is composed as follows:

– 6/12 Ibs rods (excellent Penn Slammer or the brand new Fenwick Seahawk).
– fixed-drum or rotating-drum reels, it makes no difference, as long as they have sufficient capacity to hold, on the spool, at least 200 meters of 0.40 thread.
– wire from 0.30 (for the more athletic) to 0.40 (to be more comfortable).
– 0.30/0.40-ish final always about 2 meters long, attached to the mother line by swivel and snap hook (excellent American Sampo ones).
– lead (Mariner quick release ones are excellent) from 50 to 200 g, set no less than 20 meters from the bait.
– Bait: silver-colored wavy spoons or white, yellow or black Japanese feathers.

The ideal setup is a battery of 4 rods, so you can work 4 spun artificials from 30, 35, 40, 45 meters from the stern, and a trolling speed between 2 and 4 knots. If the small amberjack easily “believes” the artificials, and is therefore relatively easy to catch, the same is not true for large specimens. The large amberjack (“the big pelagic” as Massimo, my very dear friend and companion of many adventures, calls it) is in fact an incredibly cunning and suspicious animal so, to convince it to bite, the only possible technique is slow, bottom trolling with live bait. It is therefore necessary to go out early in the morning and try, by trolling on the surface small white feathers rigged with hooks of No. 12/14, to get some garfish, which I personally consider to be the prince bait along with the squid, for amberjack trolling. Do not make the mistake of believing that the garfish is an easy fish to catch, far from it, so much so that I have often trolled for hours without catching one, however, once caught and primed, in 10 minutes I had an amberjack in the barrel. So I reserve the right, in a future article, to talk specifically about trolling for this small Rostrato, which is so important for what our ultimate goal is: catching the big amberjack. So let us assume that we have 2 or 3 well-lived, darting garfish in our live bait tank (a very ordinary basin will do, as long as we change the water periodically). We fish with a single rod, which in this case must be a true trolling rod, with pulley rings, of between 20 and 50 pounds. Personally, I use a 20-pound rod (I think Fenwick and Penn International rods are exceptional) because I believe that a more elastic rod (as long as it is well made) is a great help in retrieving prey, as well as giving the whole thing a very sporty look! With a 20-lb. rod and 20-lb. line (Fenwick Saltline is excellent), we caught an amberjack weighing 26 lbs. (52 lbs) and another one of 42 kg (85 Ibs) and I assure you that, in the end, the satisfaction is really great. For the inexperienced, however, I recommend a balanced rig on 50 lbs. The bait has to work in close contact with the bottom and, to ensure its proper sinking, we will have two options: using ball sinkers (called downriggers) or the so-called “guardian lead,” which, in my opinion, is the best solution, at least for bottoms without too many depth variations. The typical pattern of the guard lead line is shown in Figure 1, so let’s go straight to the technique to be used.

The trolling speed should be the lowest allowed by the engine, at most one knot; that’s why at the beginning I was saying that a gozzo or at any rate a small boat, capable of proceeding at a very slow speed, can even be a winner compared to a more emblazoned fisherman who, with his powerful engines, cannot keep a sufficiently low speed (Maurizio, who taught us all the technique, when asked, “But how slow should I go?” In response, after a moment’s thought, he said, “Slower!” This I think sufficiently conveys the idea). At this point we prime the garfish by piercing its rostrum, from the bottom upward, with the trailing hook while the ferrule will be inserted laterally under the skin near the anal fin. A small trick, to prevent the garfish, when towed, from opening its beak, thus putting it to rotate on itself, is to insert on the rostrum, before the trailing hook, a small piece of tubing, of the type of those used as sheathing for electric cables, black in color and of such a diameter as to conveniently adapt to the size of the beak and of our bait (see figure 2).

Once the garfish has been baited (take care not to injure its vital organs in the slightest, in fact only in this way will it be well alive and enticing) you row the entire terminal into the sea; having reached the eyelet joining the mothership, you tie the arm bearing the lead to it. At this point you grant line until the lead touches the bottom, retrieve a few turns of the crank and after a few moments repeat the operation, since, with the movement of the boat, the lead tends to rise. Needless to say, in order to properly follow the bottom and consequently adjust, by retrieving or giving up line, the working depth of the lure, the depth sounder becomes absolutely essential. It may happen, in spite of everything, that the lead becomes entangled on the bottom; in this case the structure of the line, thanks to the small diameter of the lead sling in relation to the section of the main line, will allow us to limit the damage to the loss of the lead only. The rod, throughout the fishing action, should be kept in close visual contact, and as soon as the fish bite is sensed, it should be promptly ferreted to prevent the amberjack, realizing the deception, from spitting the bait. Once ferreted, the amberjack will put up incredible resistance, with vigorous points toward the bottom that will put a strain on all our fishing gear (and here I want to insist on the importance of using top quality gear). Once we get to the junction knot of the lead arm, all we need to do is to board the latter, cut the arm as close to the knot as possible and continue quietly (so to speak) retrieving the fish with rod and reel, all while fully complying with IGFA regulations.

How to recognize it and where to find it

The amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is among the most well-known and widespread carangidae. The body is elongated and slightly compressed. The eyes are proportionally small. The mouth bears numerous small teeth arranged in wide bands. There are two dorsals. The first, short and preceded by a small spine pointing forward, has 7 spiny rays, the first of which is typically covered by epidermis in adult fish; the second dorsal is very long and reaches to the caudal peduncle. The pectoral fins are a little longer than the ventral. The anal fin is preceded by two isolated fins, also covered in adults. The caudal is distinctly incised. Coloration is blue or olive on the back: silvery white with pinkish hues on the flanks and belly. A dark band runs across the head from the eyes to the base of the first dorsal. Often an amber-yellow band (hence the Anglo-Saxon name amber-jack) runs down each flank in the center of the body. Pectoral fins have a white lower edge. Very young specimens have the band on the head sharper and more visible and are characterized by a series of dark vertical stripes on the sides. The amberjack reaches an average size of 50-80 centimeters (maximum 190 centimeters). It is a deep-sea species where it is found between 20 and 70 meters although it sometimes goes deeper, especially in winter. It prefers waters with temperatures between 17-19° that affect its movements. During the summer months it comes closer to shorelines especially rocky overhangs at headlands and shoals to spawn. This fish lives in small schools or even solitary. Juveniles are more gregarious and like to stop in the shade of floating objects. The amberjack is essentially carnivorous and feeds on small fish and various invertebrates (mollusks, ecfalopods and crustaceans). In the Mediterranean, the species is most frequently caught during the summer pass in the waters south of Sicily (Lampedusa is renowned), along the Calabrian and Campanian coasts and further north to the Tuscan archipelago, Sardinia and Corsica. Amberjack are also found in the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic. Recently, experiments have also been started in our waters to assess the possibilities of artificially breeding this interesting fish similar to what is already happening in Japan.

The golden rules of amberjack trolling

1) Use a small boat: a lancet,a gozzo or a dinghy.
2) Locate an area rich in eating.
3) Fishing period: late spring to early autumn.
4) Fishing technique (small amberjack):
a – Use battery of 4 rods to work four spun artificials 30, 35, 40, 45 meters from the stern.
b – 6/12 lb. rods.
c – Fixed or rotating drum reels (minimum 200 meters of 0.40 or 0.30 wire for the more sporty).
d – Line, again of 0.3010.40,about 2 meters long and attached to the mainstem by swivel or snap hook.
e – Lead of 50 to 200 grams fixed not less than twenty meters from the ‘bait.
f- Baits consisting of wavy silver-colored spoons or white, yellow or black Japanese feathers.
g – Speed between 2 and 4 knots.5) Fishing technique (large amberjack): go out early in the morning, get some live garfish (or some squid), employ a single rod.

In addition:
a – Use trolling rod,with rings and pulley, between 20 pounds (for the more experienced) and 50 pounds (for the less experienced).
b – The ‘bait must work in close contact with the bottom, so use ball sinkers (downriggers) or the “guard lead”
c – Maximum speed of 1 node.
d- Trigger the garfish correctly (with trailing and ferrating hooks) so that, when opening the beak, it “does not rotate on itself. Use the tube trick on the rostrum before the trailing hook.
e – Be careful not to injure the vital organs of the ‘garfish, which must be well alive.
f – Spinning the entire terminal overboard and arrived at the ‘junction loop with the mothership tie the sling bearing the lead.
g- Row until the lead touches the bottom and retrieve with a few turns of the crank. Repeat the operation from time to time. The depth sounder is indispensable.
h – Promptly stop the rod at the first sign of a bite: the garfish, sensing the deception, may even spit out the bait.
i – Arrived at the junction knot of the lead arm, board it and cut the arm as close to the knot as possible and then continue the retrieval with rod and reel.

by Andrea Gallo and Dario Pravettoni

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