Quick shallow day out of Dania

    This Thursday started for me like any other, get up get ready grab the coffee get in the van and go to work. It was a very nice day to be diving I told my self. I get to the supply house to pick parts and they were not in and I did not have any more work orders for the day, at around 8 I call the boys and they were in the water all ready, so I call my father and since I did not know any other diver that was not working I had to go shallow with a driver..... Picked up my boat and headed to Dania, got in the water around 11, dove a couple of shallow very fished out spots, caught one here one there and right before going in I cross the jetty and said well lets take one more chance at about 35 feet in this one place that I have been lucky before. Get in dove under some ledges and nothing, on my way up I saw something just sitting there, the water was of course dirty like usual, so I take a breath and when to check it out, there it was a lesser jack just hanging out, took a shoot right behind the gill plate, in the cooler...All of a sudden all the bait fish started to take off, my though was barracudas, or some really big sharks, it was a big school of jacks, probably 50 or 60. I had a hard time picking one and also they were going very fast so I made a decision on one and took the shoot, all I felt was my reel spinning out of control, called the boat and the fish was taking me everywhere, finally my father got it on the boat.... The fish was 30 pounds and also I caught some other small ones, not bad for a Thursday diving only 4 hours and shallow.....

    Well done Joe.


    You sure that's a lesser Jack? I got a couple of lesser AJs today and Alan got one about the same size but it was different, looked like yours. It was more deep in the body than the lesser AJs. I wish I took a pic o it, I'd like to identify it. A while back I got stopped by FWC and I had what I always took to be a lesser AJ because it fit in the slot size. The FWC guy, a young fellow, showed me a how to definitely tell whether it's a lesser of a small AJ, maybe something about the number of gill rakers, I wish I could remember. It was a lesser that time BTW.

    I was told by an old and experienced spearo that the way to ID the Greater AJ vs. the Lesser AJ is to look at the black line/stripe that runs from the dorsal fin towards the eye of the fish. If the line ends at the eye is a lesser AJ but if the line goes past the eye then its a Greater AJ. I am only saying what I was taught, it could be wrong but I've been using this to ID the fish for the longest without any issues.

    Nice one Joe, I bet it fought hard.



    Quote from Dan

    A while back I got stopped by FWC and I had what I always took to be a lesser AJ because it fit in the slot size. The FWC guy, a young fellow, showed me a how to definitely tell whether it's a lesser of a small AJ, maybe something about the number of gill rakers, I wish I could remember. It was a lesser that time BTW.



    BTW, that same guy called my yellow jack an nice sized AJ.

    Davie Peguero

    Biological description for lesser amberjack:


    The lesser amberjack occurs in the Eastern and Western Atlantic Oceans. In the Atlantic, it is found from Massachusetts to Brazil. This is a benthopelagic species, primarily found in depths of 55-130 m (180-427 ft). Maximum reported size is 68 cm (27 in) FL. It feeds on squids and fishes.


    Lesser amberjacks don't usually venture into water less than 100 feet in depth and the largest ones stay exclusively in deeper water, sometimes over 600 feet.



    The diagonal dark bar through the eye may stop short of the dorsal fin. It extends to the dorsal fin in the greater amberjack.

    Davie Peguero

    Edited 3 times, last by seaweed ().

    I don't understand the description I just read in my book about the line stopping short of the dorsal fin for lesser AJ.


    But, my fish had the line extend past the eye and 12 gill rakers, so according to Adrian's and Davie's methods of identification what I have here is a greater AJ. Oh well..

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