Description: terminal mouth, slender body, small
scales; last dorsal ray not elongated; head small and pointed.
Similar Fish: juvenile tarpon, Megalops
atlanticus.
Where found: INSHORE fish, in bays and
estuaries; occasionally enters freshwater, occurring in tidal pools
and canals; often forms large schools and harasses bait at the
surface.
Size: 2 to 3 pounds.
*Florida Record: 4 lbs., 10 ozs.
Remarks: known to spawn OFFSHORE, ribbon-like
larvae very similar to Albula and Megalops, peaking in
fall; adult feeds predominantly on fish and crustaceans; leaps when
hooked.
The Jack Crevalle (Caranx hippos) or common jackfish
of inshore waters can attain weights of over 40 pounds. It has dark
red meat and is not considered to be very edible. It is most prized
as a hard fighting game fish. Believe me when I tell you, when
you’ve battled a beast like a Jack to the boat, you know you’ve been
in a fight. Typically, fish over thirty pounds will still be pulling
hard at the end of an hour. And forget about them laying over on
their side and giving up. Surrender is not a word used in a big
Jack's vocabulary.
Jacks are experts at cornering baitfish and then
relentlessly hammering them, which produces a sight that resembles
nothing else. Next time you see mullet scattering to the four winds
and the water literally boiling from underneath them, chances are
good that a Jack is to blame. Crevalle are voracious scavengers that
will often follow shrimp boats around looking for an easy meal.
Jacks are also suckers for a good chum-line. If your in a mode for
keeping your rod bent, your arms tired and your reel smoking; the
Jack Crevalle is just the ticket.
ST Augustine
JACK CREVALLE