It is knuckle-busting season

Here in the panhandle May = amberjack for those that beg for a beating! Whether you call them Reef Donkeys or Knuckle Busters one thing is for certain, there is no mistaking the impressive and unrelenting power of a hungry AJ.

Let’s build a football team real quick.

The Mangrove Snapper is gonna be our quarterback - smart, a little sneaky and keeps the team on the right page. Our wide outs are gonna be Wahoo - built for speed and hungry for action! Our linemen will be made up of grouper and if it’s my team I’m paying extra for goliaths. Our halfback is gonna be the show boating sailfish and our full back is gonna be brute strength with a touch of speed - the Amberjack.

There are two main methods of targeting Amberjacks. The old school way of live baiting and the new(er) method of jigging. Like with any fish, you must match your tackle with the grade of fish you are targeting. With live bait and larger fin bait is preferred with long leaders. By long leaders I’m talking 10-15’. Mate your leader to a hook that’s big enough and strong enough to catch the fish but it also must not overpower you bait size. Just look at it and you will know.

There are LOTS of jigs out there. I prefer a butterfly jig with a strong assist hook. I like changing the cadence of my jigging motion in the water column. Fast, fast, fast, fast then slow and wide for a bit then fast again. Sometimes I will bounce the jig using a snapping wrist motion without any retrieval at a certain depth.

Keep this in the back of your mind while AJ fishing…these fish are athletes and they know how to do one thing and that is EAT. They are competitive with one another as well. Picture one tennis ball and 4 golden retrievers in he same room. AJs like fast, lively baits and rapid retrieval on the jig.

Good luck and happy May fishing in the Florida panhandle!

Capt Preston Muller