Tarpon were once considered a trash fish...

[TrailChaser]

I've read a lot of coastal history, and one of the things that really stands out is that back in the day when tarpon were plentiful on the Texas coast. Most fishermen considered them trash fish that were only good for tearing up your fishing gear.

With that being said.. The point of this post is that we currently have a fish in the bays and just offshore that offers a world class fight, but we all currently just call/consider it a trash fish.

I've only caught four jacks since I seriously got back into kayak fishing. The three I caught inshore on light tackle, and they offered the best fight hands down. The first one was about an hour fight and a 1.5 mile sleigh ride, the second was about two hours and over two miles of water covered, and the third was last Sunday.
The Sunday jack was crazy. The wind was blowing out of the NW and the jack was pulling me out to the middle of the bay and I kept locking the rod in the holder and paddling us back towards the shore. After about the third big run I finally got him to the kayak. He was way too big for my net, so I just grabbed his tail. I realized that was a mistake when my line wrapped around the tip of my rod when the line got some slack. Now I was in a pickle.. If I let the jack swim again I would either have him break off, or break off the tip of my rod.. Neither was an option for me, so death grip on the tail was my only course of action. My grip was getting tired fast and the jack was constantly fighting.
I had to do something, so looking around for a plan B... I spotted my stringer and decided to throw the loop knot end over his tail. That worked great and I was able to finally get the fish grips in his mouth. First thing was to cut the line since my slayer paddletail was deep in his mouth. That freed my rod from the threat of a broken tip.
So I hauled the beast onboard and paddled back to the launch area with my catch. I got a few cheesey pics with it and donated it to a fisherman who seemed very impressed with it. He didn't seem to believe that I caught it right by where he'd been fishing, and was even more surprised when I got my lure out of his mouth.(he was thought I was using bait)

On Monday I was fishing Port O'Connor and got into some ladyfish. As one was dancing on top of the water three huge jacks hit it all together. They were so close to each other my buddy thought it was a dolphin that took it. Not long after that I hooked into one. I was not sitting in a good place to be towed around safely(too much boat traffic) so I stayed on the anchor and got spooled real quick on the first big run. Luckily my line broke at the uni knot connecting my fluorocarbon leader to my braided line.

They may not be any good to eat, but anyone looking for the best/strongest fight in the bay should look into catching a jack crevalle.

I'd love to hear your story about any jack encounters you've had.

I'd also love to hear a comparison from anyone who has caught both a big jack and a big tarpon. How do the fights compare?

Here's my catch from Sunday.


Here are two from last year.

This one was caught offshore. I was fishing that rig you can see over my shoulder.


This one was caught inshore about 20miles north of the nearest pass.

[Karyuu]

I think you need to try another btb trip this weekend. pretty sure you will catch a bunch of jacks.

[karstopo]

A few years ago I was in the surf fishing for trout. I was wading that second bar and casting a baitfish fly, olive and white, blindly into the gut and along the bar with my 8 weight BVK. I was pretty new to fly fishing then and figuring things out (still am). I looked up the break and see a marauding school of big jacks terrorizing baitfish. They were steadily coming my way. They got in range, but as it was in the excitement I get tangled up in the loose fly line and missed the chance. Then another school comes along and I'm ready. I make the cast, get the take, and the fish puts on the afterburners and ping, broken tippet. I had my off hand pinching the line against the rod and just couldn't react in time to release the tension. They whole episode gave me a case of buck fever.

Second Jack encounter was in the bay. I was near an entrance where water was moving at a good clip. I was on some fish, trout mostly, again with a baitfish pattern and I think it was my 7/8 wt CGR. Every once in a while, I'd hear a big fish destroy something. It was loud and quick and it took me some time to locate the source. I paddled around some and saw a big Jack appear then quickly disappear before I could take the shot. Eventually, I got tired of being the cat chasing the mouse and went back to my trout spot. But then I see something big annihilate bait within casting range. I make the cast, get the eat. The fish took off at light speed for the bay entrance. It was moving on a right to left trajectory so it wasn't taking out line very much, just moving the line through the water. Then it suddenly changed directions and that's when the hook pulled free.

I've caught some jacks in nearshore waters fishing around rigs. They will wear you out even on bigger offshore tackle. I even speared one, the first fish I ever speared while scuba diving. My dad was diving with me giving me the "no" signal. A school was circling me and they were huge and a few had chunks missing out of them and healed over, probably a shark encounter. I really wanted to take a fish with the spear gun and here was the opportunity. I made the shot and the Jack folded over instantly dead. When we surfaced, my dad said " you were lucky, that Jack would have pulled you all over the ocean had it not been shot exactly like you did."

[TroutSupport.com]

Yeah, I pitched a favorite corky in front of a small school in lower Galveston Bay.. it was a small school of 20lbers. LOL. 45 minute fight on a trout rod. After about 15 minutes I just wanted that corky back. I'd love to chase them more but with the right tackle, maybe a boat rod. Catching a big poon is on the bucket list for sure. Hope to start working on that more often as the surf and winds calm over the summer. There's supposedly already some poons outside both Galveston and POC according to a buddy of mine that fishes for them.. Almost a month early due to water temps being ahead of schedule.

Can we see a revised "What the hell did I catch?" video but with some big jack footage?

[jfraymond]

jacks are fun to catch... if its been slow day offshore Ill usually slow troll the last 5 miles in to the jetty at POC to catch a few and end the day on a high note.... great for when ya have the kids with ya to give em a good fight and keep em all excited.

[KingO'Dinks]

Have hooked few Jacks wadefishing, and it was like bringing a knife to a gunfight, was an exhilarating few seconds.
Would love to hook one while in a yak, and have a chance to follow it. Have caught them offshore, and even with tackle suited for them ( 8' heavy spinning rod penn 750ss spinner with 350 yds 0f 65# braid) they can still make a drag sing.

Anyone ever hooked one on a topwater ? That would be a thrill!

[Endo]

I like catching one or maybe two jacks while i'm out BTB, but after that I'm totally done with them. They dive deep and turn on their sides and it can be like hauling an anchor up at times. If jacks are in thick it gets to be a bit bothersome having hook up after hook up on them when you'd like to catch some other species. I know, I know, better than catching nothing right?

They are overly slimy also and like to cuss you out (croaking) when they're out of the water.

This time of year in the spring, jacks are pretty thick offshore, so now is the time to go chase them!

I can't tell you exactly why I don' prefer to catch jacks, just personal preference. Just the same as I don't really care to catch trout and love to catch redfish (referring to similar thread on this).


.

[Jigawatt]

Perfect timing for this post. May is a great month for Jackfish along the Upper Texas Coast. There should be quite a few jacks along the beachfront, as well as in and around deepwater channels leading into the bay. Find a school of big menhaden and there's probably a school of jacks nearby. If you're using natural bait, cut shad is hard to beat. I've seen shad out-do mullet on the piers time and again. But when a school is in a frenzy, just about anything you toss in the water will get ate. As for surface lures, absolutely they work. It is fun to watch a +20 lb'er slash at a surface lure. I've caught quite a few jacks on spoons. I think the only reason jacks are considered trash fish is because of the strong, fishy flavor. It's even more ripe than the red meat you see on gamefish.