Target Species: Greater Amberjack

Family: Carangidae

Scientific name: Seriola dumerili

Common names: Greater amberjack, amberjack, amberfish

Chinese name: 杜氏鰤

Habitat: Primarily a pelagic species found offshore in deep water, often over or near structures such as sunken reefs, pinnacles and oil platforms. They will occasionally move inshore near reefs, bays and drop-offs.

Size range: Average size is around 15 pounds (7 kg), but large specimens in the 40 to 50-pound range are not uncommon. The all-tackle record is 155 pounds 10 ounces.

The greater amberjack is arguably the king of Taiwan’s offshore sport fishing targets. No doubt tunas, giant trevally and billfish and a host of other pelagic species have their diehard adherents, but few species send Taiwanese anglers into a rabid jigging frenzy like these brutes.

A larger cousin of the yellowtail, think of the amberjack as a yellowtail on steroids…with a healthy dose of ’roid rage thrown in for good measure. The amberjack’s powerful torpedo-like shape tells you it is built for speed, something immediately apparent to anyone with the good fortune of finding one on the end of their fishing line. They can be distinguished from other jacks by the diagonal “fighter stripe” that extends from the upper jaw, through the eye to the first dorsal fin.

Edward Lee from Jigging Master shows off an amberjack. Along with selling tackle and jigging gear, Edward and Jigging Master arrange fishing trips. Click the pic to contact them.Late winter and spring are prime season for amberjack in Taiwan. They can be found offshore all around the island, but the waters between Taiwan and Japan are the prime hunting grounds for local anglers. Charter boats often seek out sonar marks near sunken reefs, submerged sea mounts and man-made structures like wrecks and drilling platforms. Vertical jigging is the preferred approach, with anglers dropping blade jigs to the proper depths and retrieving them with a rapid yo-yo action, then repeating until they get a hookup.

Greater amberjacks feed on crustaceans, squid and large baitfish. They are found both solitarily or in small schools. Amberjacks are highly desirable as an eating fish and are particularly prized for sashimi in Japanese cuisine. Care should be taken that fish are properly cleaned, as the species is suspected in cases of ciguatera poisoning. 

Video of the Day: Jigging for Tuna at Green Island

A few readers have asked about charters and party boats that target offshore species like tuna, amberjack and other pelagics. Charters can be found at most major harbors, particularly around Keelung in the north and Hualian and Taidung on the eastern side of the island. The experience is a bit different than what some anglers from western countries may be accustomed to. Tackle and fishing style usually favors fast jigging using knife jigs, rather than trolling or bait fishing. The video below was originally posted on YouTube by the same people that shot the kayak fishing clip. The poster also provided a link to the service through which they booked the boat, which unfortunately is in only Chinese.

Ishigaki fishers seek pact with Taiwan, brace for China's advance

I missed this news piece the other day about the disputed Diaoyutai Islands between Japan and Taiwan. These mostly uninhabited islands are a favorite stop not only for commercial fishing boats from Japan, China and Taiwan, but also sport fishing boats looking a variety of big pelagic species like dogtooth tuna and amberjack, to name a few.

ISHIGAKI, Dec. 3, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- Fishers from Ishigaki island in Okinawa, which has administrative jurisdiction over the disputed Senkaku Islands, have called on the central government to deal with the increasing presence of Taiwanese fishing boats in nearby waters, which they say threatens their safety and livelihood.

Ishigaki islanders have also been largely perplexed by the escalation in tensions between Tokyo and Beijing following the Sept. 7 collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats near the Japan-controlled Senkakus in the East China Sea, which exacerbated a longstanding spat over the chain of five tiny uninhabited islands claimed by China and Taiwan.

Located some 170 kilometers southeast of the islands, which remain a powder keg for the three Asian economies, fishers of Ishigaki often venture into waters near the Senkakus by navigating for about six hours to reach ''a sea of treasure'' harboring tuna, bonito and snapper. Read more

Diaoyutai Islands are claimed by Taiwan, Japan and China.