How to Catch Amberjack

There are several options that work well for catching amberjacks. The top method is bottom bouncing or plunking. Both place your bait on the bottom of the water column. Another option is to troll for amberjack using natural or artificial bait. Amberjack fish can be difficult to catch, but focusing on bottom fishing or trolling will improve your chances of bagging a big amberjack.

Because amberjack fishing can be frustrating, the fish has many names including reef donkey or sea donkey. They are known as Coronado also. Some are positive names and others reflect the difficulty of catching amberjack.

NOTE: Amberjack are often thought of as tuna or Yellowfin tuna. The reality is that these fish are not related to tuna at all.

Types of Amberjack

Greater Amberjack – 20–100 pounds.

1. Best Bait – Live bait works best. Cigar minnows are the top option for bait. Use minnows that are up to a foot in length. Other options include – sardines and menhaden. If none of these are available then choose another baitfish that looks like any of these.
2. Best Destinations – Anywhere along Florida’s coastline is likely a good spot for greater amberjack to be. As a bottom feeder, they will be deep in the 60-foot depth mark.
3. What To Look For – Seek out wrecks, reefs, and sunken structures in the 60-foot depth region. You can find them in shallower water, but they hunt baitfish, crabs, and squid along the bottom. Oil rigs can also be a good place for amberjack fishing.

Lesser Amberjack – Maximum of 27 inches

1. Best Bait – Live bait is king. Cigar minnows, menhaden, blue runners, and other bait fish are the best option.
2. Best Destinations – Anywhere there is a reef, wreck, or oil rig.
3. What To Look For – Bottom depths to a max of 400 feet. Like greater amberjack fish, seek them around wrecks, reef systems, artificial reefs, and structures.

Yellowtail Amberjack – Record at 200 pounds

1. Best Bait – Live bait or metal jigs – Cigar minnows are the top live bait option, but you can target them effectively with metal jigs in silver tones. In deep water, you can chum them to the surface and then hit them with spoons and minnow mimic lures.
2. Best Destinations – Anywhere along the Florida coast where there are structures.
3. What To Look For – Oil rigs are a top spot for yellowtail. These structures attract the bait fish, which school to the rigs to seek shelter. It is one of the few places you will find amberjack off the bottom.

Banded Rudderfish – to 11 pounds

1. Best Bait – Shrimp and Squid. They prefer live bait but will also take cut bait. Cut bait on a jig or using a metal spoon can also be a good option. While smaller than many amberjacks, the banded rudderfish makes an excellent offshore game fish.
2. Best Destinations – nearshore in weedy patches or near shallow structures. They also can be in deep water and trail sharks looking for bits and pieces of the shark’s meal.
3. What To Look For – a hard bottom layer is where most banded rudderfish are found. Stay away from sandy stretches and aim for the harder shelf structures along the Florida coast. They are often found in shallow wrecks or near reef systems too.

How To Catch Amberjack

Because amberjack fish are bottom fish, you will use a bottom fishing technique, such as bottom bouncing or plunking. Live bait is one of the best options, but you can also use baited metal jigs or bottom lures to attract amberjack. In deeper water, you can chum them to the surface and then use live bait, cut bait, jigs, or spoons to attract them.

Amberjack Fishing Techniques

1. Bottom Fishing – weighted rigging so that your bait, jig, or lure either stay in one spot (plunking.) or drifts along the bottom (drift fishing.)
2. Jigging For Amberjack – baited or metal jigs at the bottom with a quick wrist flick to mimic a struggling baitfish. You can also jig in shallow water for the banded rudderfish or around oil rigs where baitfish are plentiful.
3. Trolling – is an okay method for attracting amberjack species to your hook if you choose the location correctly. Most of the time amberjack fish are on the bottom, and it is difficult to troll on the bottom in deep water. For that reason, you would focus on trolling around oil rigs or reef systems where your bait might attract amberjack. You could also spread a large chum area and then troll through that area. Oily fish can attract amberjack.
4. Plunking – occurs when your rig is heavy so that the bait stays in one place on the bottom. It differs from drift fishing, which allows your bait to bounce along the bottom.

Amberjack Fishing Tips

Amberjack Bait

Live bait is a good option and includes cigar minnows, menhaden, sardines, and other baitfish. The size depends on the species of amberjack you are targeting. In general, anywhere between six inches to a foot in length is a good bet – longer for bigger amberjack fish.

Most species of amberjack will also chase lures, spoons, or jigs if they resemble baitfish.

Amberjack Fishing Rigs

For all big game fish, amberjack fish included, use a circle hook. A 9/0 10/0 will work fine for most amberjack.

1. A Simple Rig is best – Line, sinker, hook – use a short leader no longer than six feet. Tie the hook on one end of the leader and the sinker to the other. The terminal line attaches where the sinker is so that the weight of the sinker pins the floating bait and hook in the bottom few feet of the water column. You can use a swivel to connect the line to the sinker and your leader should be at least 100-pound test.
2. Equipment – A lot of people prefer braided line 50-pound test or higher but 100-pound mono will be one of the best options you can rig for amberjack. These fish can weigh 100–200 pounds, though most of what you catch will be in the 40+ pound range. A heavy-duty saltwater fishing rod with a matched reel will do you proud.
3. Bait – Take the time to fish for live bait. If you use cut bait make sure it is an oily fish – sardine or cigar minnow. Jigs and lures should resemble baitfish. You can use baited jigs – a nice piece of sardine or menhaden works just fine.

Amberjack Size Limits and Regulations Florida – Gulf Coast

1. Minimum Size Limit – Greater amberjack must be 34 inches from the tip of the nose to the fork. For lesser amberjack and banded rudderfish – nothing less than 14 inches from the nose to the fork.
2. Daily Bag Limit – Amberjack fishing limits Florida – one greater amberjack per person, per season. Five lesser amberjack fish or banded rudderfish or a combination of both. The total cannot be more than five.
3. Season – highly regulated due to conservation efforts – Check with the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife for changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Is Amberjack Season in Florida?

Generally, it is open year round beginning on August 1 and ending on July 31. That changes though due to conservation efforts. Be sure to check for season changes at the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife.

How Long Does It Take To Reel in An Amberjack?

Expect to battle an amberjack anywhere from half an hour to an hour depending on its size.

What Kind of Fish Is an Amberjack?

Amberjack fish are its own family of fish not related to tuna. The family name is Carangidae whereas tuna belong to the family Scombridae. Amberjack fish are benthic predators meaning they feed at the bottom or near the bottom.

Where Can You Catch Amberjack?

Amberjack are available around the world in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They prefer warm water and are concentrated in tropical or subtropical waters. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the best areas to fish for amberjack fish.