Jack, horse-eye Caranx latus

Agassiz, 1831

CARANGIDAE FAMILY
Also called goggle eye

Occurs throughout the Atlantic Ocean; New Jersey on the U.S. coast to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including Bermuda, the Bahamas and West Indies in the western Atlantic and off the coast of Africa in the eastern Atlantic. In the Pacific and Indian oceans it is replaced by its close relative, the bigeye trevally, Caranx sexfasciatus.

It occurs in small schools around off shore islands and reefs, deep bluewater holes, channels adjacent to flats, and in shore along sandy beaches. It is also known in brackish water and, occasionally, in freshwater coastal rivers and streams.

The body is compressed, though the profile of the head is not as vertical or as blunt as in large crevalle jacks, Caranx hippos. The eyes are characteristically of the horse-eye jack are large and have thick, adipose eyelids. There is a small black spot on the operculum, but there is no spot on the pectoral fin as in the crevalle jack. The straight portion of the lateral line has 32 39 scutes.

It feeds primarily on fish, but also on shrimp, crabs, and other invertebrates. It is a good light tackle game fish that can be taken with live baits such as mullet, pinfish, or other small fishes, as well as with plugs, jigs, spoons and flies. Lures should be retrieved at a fast pace without slowing or stopping.

Like other jacks, it is edible but not highly esteemed as a food fish. The flesh is dark and relatively tasteless, though this can be improved by cutting off the tail and bleeding the fish immediately after capture. It is one of many tropical species which have been implicated in ciguatera poisonings (see barracuda, great)

Trevally, bigeye Caranx sexfasciatus

Quoy, Gaimard, 1825

CARANGIDAE FAMILY
Also called turrum, ulua, previously known by the misnomers giant or great trevally

Broadly found in tropical waters throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans from east Africa to western America. It is found in rocky areas near shore as well as at outside reef drop offs on the edge of deep tide running channels, and in the deeper waters beyond the reef. This species is replaced in the Atlantic Ocean by its close relative the horse eye jack (Caranx latus).

The maximum verified size is 30 in (757 mm) fork length. The breast is completely scaled. The body is not very deep (more elongated) with the head curved to a slightly pointed snout. The eyes are relatively large. The lateral line is strongly curved anteriorly. The straight portion consists of 28 37 scutes. The first dorsal fin has 8 spines (rarely 7). The second has 1 spine and 19 22 soft rays and the anal fin has 3 spines (2 are detached) and 15 17 soft rays. There is a total of 20 25 gill rakers on the first branchial arch. There is a pair of lateral keels on either side of the caudal peduncle. Body color ranges from silvery to dusky or dark, especially along the back. The dorsal fin lobe is dark with a white tip and the scutes are usually black. There is a dark spot on the gill cover, but none on the pectoral fins. Juveniles are golden yellow and have 4 7 broad, dark vertical bars on the body.

Adults feed most actively at night, especially very dark nights. Diet includes eels and crustaceans, blennies (pao'o), damselfish (mamo), and other fishes. Fishing methods include trolling baits and lures, angling with live or cut baits while drifting or at anchor, and surf fishing. Trolled lure or bait should be moved slowly among other bait fish or along the outside drop offs of reefs or rocky ledges. Mullet, herring, sauri, garfish, anchovy, squid, or strip baits are used as well as Konaheads, knuckleheads, bulletheads, feathers, plastic jigs, plastic fish and squid, drone spoons and rope lures.

The flesh is pinkish and is rated fair in taste and quality. In some areas of the Pacific, it is highly esteemed as food. It is also frequently used for strip baits, cut baits, or as chum

Samson Fish Seriola hippos

Günther, 1876

CARANGIDAE FAMILY


This member of the jack family is a deeper-bodied cousin of the amberjack and yellowtail. Just like the rest of the family, it has a reputation of a brutal fighter. Endemic to the southern half of Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand, the samson fish has a cult following with anglers that like a good workout when fishing. Though superficially similar in appearance to the amberjack and yellowtail, samson fish can be differentiated by their slightly deeper bodies, steeper head profile and by the extremely broad rear corner of the upper jaw. In addition, unlike amberjack and yellow tail, samson fish have a band of papillae engorged with blood surrounding the teeth in the upper and lower jaws, which can give the teeth a red appearance.

Permit Trachinotus falcatus

Linnaeus, 1758

CARANGIDAE FAMILY
Also called round pompano, great pompano, Indian River permit

Occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts, USA to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. The greatest concentrations are off south Florida and it is there that the biggest specimens are taken. Permit are essentially shallow water, schooling fish occurring over sandy flats and reefs in depths of from 1 to 17 fathoms. They travel in schools of ten or more fish, though occasionally they may be seen in great numbers. They tend to become more solitary with age.

It is distinguished from the common pompano, Trachinotus carolinus, by having fewer soft rays in the dorsal and anal fins. The second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 17 21 soft rays (22 27 in the pompano). The body is laterally compressed and the second and third ribs are prominent—often as big around as one's thumb in fish weighing over 10 lb (4 5 kg). These larger ribs can be felt through the sides of the fish and help in distinguishing the permit from the pompano. In overall appearance it is a silvery fish with dusky fins, though the back is usually bluish or grayish. The ventral fins and the anterior margin of the anal fin may be orange in some specimens. Often there is a triangular yellow patch before the anal fin.

They feed in much the same way as bonefish, rooting in the sand on shallow flats. Their diet consists primarily of mollusks, crustaceans, sea urchins, and less commonly, of smaller fish.

It is a tough fighter on light tackle. When hooked it makes an initial long, fast run toward deep water, twisting and pausing to bump its head on the bottom or rub its mouth in the sand in an effort to disengage the hook. If there is coral, a sea fan, or any other obstacle on which the permit can snag the line, it will. To complicate matters, its mouth is as tough as shoe leather and it simply spits out the hook the first time there is a slack in the line.

Fishing methods include casting to fish sighted in shallow water, bottom fishing, fishing over inshore wrecks, and jigging from boats or while wading. Baits and lures include crabs, shrimp, streamer flies, bonefish jigs, weighted bucktails, and plugs. Permit up to 8 or 10 pounds are considered excellent eating

Trevally, bluefin Caranx melampygus

Cuvier, Valenciennes, 1833

CARANGIDAE FAMILY
Also called blue spotted jack, starry jack, blue crevally, omilu, bluefin kingfish

The bluefin trevally is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. It can be found on the Pacific coast of America from Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Baja, California, Mexico, and the Islas Revillagigedos and Tres Marias to Panama. It is common throughout Hawaii and Polynesia, occurring in harbors, channels, and on outer reefs. From Australia where it is known along the entire Queensland and northern coasts, it ranges northward through the Philippines and Micronesia to Japan. Young fish are abundant in the bays of Okinawa during September. Schools of thousands gather to spawn at the southern tip of Peleliu, in Palau, during the new moon in April. C. melampygus is also known from east Africa, the Ryukus, Mauritius, New Caledonia, India, Sir Lanka, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It almost certainly occurs in other parts of this range as well.

A large species growing to at least 3 ft (1 m) in length, it is among the most beautiful of the jacks or trevallys. In adults the back and flanks are a brilliant turquoise blue, silvery blue, or greenish blue, generously covered with small blue or black spots. The tail and other fins may be an even more striking blue than the body. The anal and dorsal fin lobes often are white tipped and the tail black edged. Young fish lack spots (including the opercular spot), and have a silvery yellow body much like that of any other jack species. Even these juveniles are distinctive with their bright yellow pectoral fins and deep blue second dorsal and anal fins.

Adults are deep bodied and have strong scutes. The dorsal fin is moderately low, with 8 spines plus 1 very small spine ahead of the fin. The second dorsal and anal fins are long with prominent anterior lobes. The tail is deeply forked and the pectoral fins are long and falcate. The sloping forehead of the is distinctive giving this fish a profile that is readily recognizable to those who are familiar with them. Males are slightly larger than females and sexual maturity occurs at a fork length of about 15 in (40 cm).

They frequent deeper lagoon and outer reef waters during the day. In evening they enter harbors, channels, and shallow reef areas to feed, then retreat to the deeper areas. They feed actively on smaller pelagic fishes and other fishes and crustaceans. In the late evening and early morning, they can be caught by surf casters using small fish baits, crustaceans, or lures. They are also taken from boats over the in shore reefs with similar baits and jigs, and with spoons and feathers trolled at 3 to 6 miles per hour.

The flesh is firm and very good table fare, prized over most of the other species of ulua

Jack, crevalle Caranx hippos

Linnaeus, 1766

CARANGIDAE FAMILY
Also called common jack, toro, cavally, cavalla, horse crevalle

Occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia, Canada, to Uruguay, including the Gulf of Mexico and occasionally in the West Indies. In the eastern Atlantic it is found from Portugal to Angola, including the Western Mediterranean.

The crevalle jack is the common jack of in shore oceanic waters. The species apparently can tolerate a wide range of salinities and occurs around off shore reefs, in coastal waters, harbors and protected bays, over highly saline shallow flats, in brackish waters at river mouths, and has even been known to travel up coastal rivers.

There is a rounded black spot at the lower base of the pectoral fin of the crevalle jack that is found in no other jacks in the area. There is also a distinct, vertically elongate black spot on the operculum. Enlarged scales or scutes, numbering about 30, extend in a line to the base of the tail fin. The similar horse-eye jack has no pectoral fin spot and 26-35 scutes.

A voracious predator, it feeds primarily on smaller fishes, which it often chases onto beaches or against seawalls. In open water, jacks will herd bait fish into a tight mass, then rush in from all sides. The crevalle jack also feeds on shrimp and other invertebrates and on garbage dumped from boats.

This superb light tackle species can be taken by spinning, fly fishing, trolling, or surfcasting. Lures should be retrieved at a fast pace without pausing or stopping as jacks tend to lose interest in anything that doesn't act normally.

Most jacks are not highly valued as food, though they are edible. The small fish taste best; larger specimens can be dark and tasteless. Bleeding the fish may improve the taste. Jacks are among the many species of tropical fishes, which have been implicated in ciguatera poisonings