# amberjack Identification



## mniterambler (Jul 28, 2008)

Okay I am new to amberjack fishing.. I just want to know from the experts out here what the quick way is to tell the difference between the species. ex Greater, Lesser, Almaco, and banded rudderfish...When you catch just one and dont have anything to compare to how do you tell...I caught about 12 on sunday that were between 20 and 26 inches but I didnt see anything different about them...In the past I have caught different ones and it seemed obvious when the two were together of slight differences but there has to be an easy way...Thanks in advance....tight lines. And did everyone have as hard a time sunday on limiting out on reds just seemed like they wouldnt bite.


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

Best way to tell the difference between an Almaco and a Greater AJ is the dorsal fin. The Almaco has a longer, swooping dorsal fin. Here is a pic of the two together that I got about a month ago. A small AJ will look almost identical to the Almaco exceptfor the dorsal fin. The Almaco is a little morefootball shaped compared to a greater AJ as well.These are the two most common that you will run across. The Lesser AJis almost never caught in the gulf.


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## mniterambler (Jul 28, 2008)

Thanks for the reply I guess the banded rudderfish is another story I think the head looks different or something I caught 1 fish that had a blunter forehead and was allot darker with a dark band on the upper part of the body,


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## Orion45 (Jun 26, 2008)

The best way to distinguish a greater amberjack from a lesser amberjack is by counting the gill rakers. Greater amberjacks have 11-17 developed lower gill rakers while lesser amberjacks have 18-24. The banded rudderfish has a shorter anal fin base and has 12-16 lower gill rakers.


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## mniterambler (Jul 28, 2008)

thanks for that one too I was hoping for a major color difference but beggars cant be choosy!!!


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