But that popularity has reached new heights since the fish became desirable at restaurants. And that question is what led me to Frenette's Venice-based Teaser II charter boat that Friday. But in our section of the Gulf, we don't have natural reefs that run along the bottom. Our reefs are vertical reefs the oil rigs. And that makes fishing for amberjack considerably more difficult because the first thing these fish try to do when they're hooked is swim right into the legs of those rigs.
Greater amberjack are among the largest, most aggressive reef fish found in the northern Gulf.
While most specimens caught go 20 to 40 pounds, fish over 60 pounds are not uncommon. Peak amberjack season in Louisiana runs from April through October. He baits his hooks with live hardtails, which he catches at the shallow-water rigs. The drags on his reels are cranked down to zero. As soon as you set the hook, I'm going to throw the boat in gear and run as fast as I can away from the rig for about 50 yards.