This AJ is just hunting for livies or jigs.

As for terminal tackle, I like leaders of 130- to 150-pound fluorocarbon like Sufix Invisiline or Seaguar. These fish aren’t generally leader-shy, so give yourself every advantage. If they don’t bite, you can always tackle down to 100- or 80-pound leader.

If you’re using a downrigger to get the baits down, don’t worry about using a weight, just crimp the circle hook to one end (16/0 Mustad is perfect if you get the right baits) and then crimp on a standard barrel swivel to the other. If you’re using weights to get them down to the fish, I’d use a Caribbean swivel, which is really two large barrel swivels, one attached around the other. You can tie a short dropper of lighter line to hold the weight, so it comes straight off the swivel attached to the main line. Your fluorocarbon leader is then crimped to the other swivel and this allows the bait to stay clear of the weight as it drops and you bring it up without tangling. This also puts the tension of the line on your weight and allows the bait to swim around freely and actively.

If you are not using a downrigger and you aren’t sure about how deep you’re dropping that bait, there are a couple of tricks. One is to take a Sharpie and make marks on your line every 25 or 50 feet and just count them off as you pay out the line. A less scientific way is to lower your rodtip with your thumb on the spool, release it and raise the tip, stopping at the top each time. If you have a 6-foot rod, you’re paying out about 10 feet of line each time. The key is to get the bait in front of the fish.

We thought we had done pretty well that day with three fish over 50 pounds, and we had. But, later that week a boat returned from the same area with a jack in the 90s, and one over 100 pounds. Our friends Capt. Matt Adams and Capt. Ken Meharg put some of their clients on several 70s and one that weighed 109 pounds recently. (Hindsight is 20/20; they used much larger baits than we did.) After doing battle with a “little 53” you guys can have all the hot-shot big jacks you want. Just call me to shoot photos and poke a little fun at you while you’re fighting ‘em. I’ll refer you to a good chiropractor after the trip.

FS