# Jack Crevalle???



## jwc14 (Feb 16, 2012)

does anyone catch jack crevalle in the surf up here? if so what do y'all use?


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

I would venture to say rarely would a jack crevalle be caught from the surf. They will start migrating in huge schools from east to west in a few weeks but they are usually not too hungry. In may, june they will get in our bays and will eat anything you toss at them. There will be some summer schools that will come to the gulf piers and they will also eat about anything you can throw at them.


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## Boliver T Wheelock (Feb 28, 2010)

*Hungry?*

It would be hard to convince me that Jacks are not hungry when I'm standing on the gulf beach ankle deep in alewives being chased out of the water by one of those schools.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

I've seen them while Cobia fishing. Thrown cobia jigs, they'll chase with abandon, but always turn away up close.

They don't like eels apparently. I've tried live eels too.

Same thing when trying with big schools in marinas in Key West. They chase like mad, but don't hit a lure.

I'm obviously doing something wrong.


Jim


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*You are cranking too slow*

When you get Jacks interested, try to take it away from them.


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## reelthrill (Oct 3, 2007)

It may have to do with water temperature but I have witnessed this for 40 years and it is always the same. The jacks that travel in big schools from east to west during late March and early April are just not hungry. Occasionally you can get one to eat a cobia jig etc... but you are lucky if only one or two eats out of a school of 1000! During the summer months the jacks will eat a cigarette butt if it falls overboard!


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## keperry1182 (Oct 6, 2010)

this is just hearsay cause I've never caught one, but from what I understand about them they are angry little bastards that will attack anything in their area. Maybe that's why they don't seem to want to "eat" maybe they're just being aggressive. I'm looking forward to trying to catch a few this year, heard they fight like hell!


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## penn 10/0 (Apr 7, 2011)

I have caught small ones in the surf before, both on a pomp rig and a pomp jig, nothing large the biggest one was about a foot long, but where there are small ones there are large ones, or so i hear... lol


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## Seachaser 186 (Apr 9, 2009)

Try throwing big topwater lures in front of the school. I cruise down the beach in my boat and when I locate a school, I throw big topwaters at them. They will chase with reckless abandon. Most are within casting distance from someone wading in the surf.


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

big lagoon, may of 2010.It was really nasty on the gulf side (Johnson Beach) so I decided to go cast a top water into the Lagoon, I have only caught two of these in 7 years,but when you do get one on the end of a 13' rod it's hard to to forget about the work out they can put you through


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Naw, you can't catch them in the surf. 2 years ago. A HUGE school came thru. Hundreds of them. My buddy's rods were out of the water waiting for bait and both of mine bent double. He grabbed one and I grabbed one. We pulled in these two.
About 30 minutes later another huge school came thru. Two rods bent double again. This time they straightened the hooks.


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

bet thjat was fun!


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## pompanostradamus (Oct 17, 2007)

About 4 years ago in the spring I took my kids out for the afternoon bite. A cobia boat came by right in front of us and the guys were throwing everything but the tackle box at something. We looked on, hoping to see them boat a nice fish. Long story short, turns out they were chasing a school of jacks. I know because one of my rods bent and screamed at the same time they were trying to get hooked up. While I'm fighting that fish, another rod gets hit and shoots straight out of the holder into the water while my kids and I look on in horror. Mostly because it was a brand new Ugly Stick with a brand new (to me, used) Van Staal attached. I handed my rod off and ran for the other, to no avail. The guy I handed my rod to walks down with a monster jack. I couldn't care less, mourning the loss of my gear. I posted this tragedy on the old forum and if memory serves me correctly, Joe Z was on that boat and saw it go down. Bottom line, I HATE surf fishing for jacks!


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Oh man, that's a TERRIBLE story. I'll bet it sucked to see that nice set-up headed south thru the sand and water.
I always make sure my drag is set extra loose until I get a strike and have it in my hands.


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## pompanostradamus (Oct 17, 2007)

It did suck real, reel bad. The drag was too tight and my daddy taught me better than that. And he had a good laugh when I told him the story.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

Thy are pretty agressive when they want to be, a BLAST to catch!!!!!


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## JoeKing (Apr 1, 2011)

I caught one while pompano fishing with sand fleas a few years ago. I saw him sideways in a wave about 50 yards out and at first thought I had the world record pompano hooked! Nope, just the bulldog of the sea.


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## shootnstarz (May 4, 2011)

Tackle busters, I would go out of my way to avoid hooking one. Had a huge one on in the bay once, thought I had the smoker king of all kings. I was not happy when I saw that yellow fin flash.

Rick


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## bigrick (Sep 29, 2010)

They'll eat anything and go far back in the bayous in the fall. Most fun you can have on a fly rod in the bay for sure.


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## VA Boy (Feb 19, 2012)

A few years back my neighbor hooked what he believed to be a jack crevalle off Johnson beach. Said it hit his rod so hard it started stripping line and took it to the bare spool. He couldn't turn it at all. So I'm standing there listening to this with my 6' medium action spinning rod and 12 lb. mono, my favorite pompano rig, hoping theres none in the area. What a mess that would make......quickly.


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