An interested amberjack needs no coaxing. If they see it, they’ll eat it.
But as slow current or low-light conditions forestall the bite, you might consider jump-starting the surface action by attracting attention and drawing the fish topside, where you can throw those poppers and flies or sight-fish by pitching live baits.
Here’s a rundown of effective tactics:
• Call ’em with commotion — For an AJ, nothing says mealtime like the sound of struggling prey. Beating the surface with rod tip imitates splashing bait schools, and the big brown bullies know that means easy pickings at the edge of the playing field.
• Leverage jealousy — Bringing a hooked fish topside almost invariably brings gluttonous schoolmates to the surface, so keep a pitch bait, jig or surface popper handy.
• Chumming — AJs won’t exactly run from the scent of a frozen chum block, but save this routine for kingfish, snapper and others more given to feeding by smell.
Amberjack like activity, so the frantic sounds and vibrations of live threadfins tossed out by the handful is like a ringing dinner bell. Give it a couple of minutes and you’ll see those heavy marks rising on the bottom machine turn into big, dark blobs swarming to the surface.
When chummers disappear in frothy potholes, it’s game-on.
“Chum and keep chumming — you don’t want to lose their interest,” Capt. Jesse Mayer said. “A lot of the fish are getting a bait with no hook in their mouth, so they stick around.”
