Jack in the box

Capt. Rick Gross of the charter boat "Fishy Business holds a 5-pound jack crevalle


Catching a jack crevalle is like trying to land two snook on the same line. Funny they're regarded as trash fish.

True enough, they probably taste like trash, although I would not know. Nor do I know what trash tastes like. (Knock on wood.) But jack crevalle are about the meanest-fighting fish you'll find around. Even a 5-pound jack is capable of making a drag sing a clicking song, a song many anglers want on repeat.

The above jack was landed with Capt. Rick Gross on a flat some ways off Egmont Key. There was a school of jacks abut the size of a backyard swimming pool. I simply cast a shiner into the middle and hooked up seconds later. But there aforementioned song did not happen. The reel I was using did not click when line was taken. In fact, the drag system was poor so I palmed the spool each time the jack ran. It made for a more challenging fight on an already stubborn fish that may be one of the most underrated species targets around.

Crevalle have many names - common jack, jack crevalle, cavally, cavalla, horse crevalle, and toro. How about riflefish? In the late 1800s, according to McClaine's Standard Fishing Encyclopedia, jack crevalle were hunted with rifles in the shallow waters of eastern Florida.

Sounds fun, but with jacks, hook and line can be extreme enough.