i have a pretty beefy 9 weight that I’ve caught big bulls on but I’m trying to get in to the jack game..do I up my arsenal to a 10 or just grip and rip it with this 9?..I’m not sure what I’m getting into any advice on gear would be appreciated thanks!
Hook a 30” jack and let us know...
If you have someone at the wheel to chase it you might be fine but straight up fighting a bigger jack without running after it will probably not be in your favor with just a 9 weight. A bull red usually fights like a wet beach towel and jacks are rocket propelled.
I fought this one on an 8wt. Had to chase him down and I didn't think I'd ever turn his head boatside. I'd size up if you have the option. Those things are crazy strong. Then again it's kinda fun to be undergunned sometimes and try to make it happen haha.
They don’t make small jacks in the northern gulf so my standard is at least a 10wt. I know plenty of dudes that use a 12 and trust me, you’ll still have fun. When you hook that 40” plus fish in anything more than 3ft of water you’ll be wishing you had a 14wt.
You didn't say what size jacks for that 9wt... I wouldn't hesitate to fish them up to 15lbs with a 9wt - but that's just me.
Bigger fish need bigger gear (and one of the real advantages of a 10wt is that you can toss bigger bugs...). Yes there are plenty of big jacks that will need something bigger than a 10wt... In downtown Palm Beach right at dawn on a high tide in the middle of winter I know a few spots where a 12wt might not be enough rod. Unless you're in a boat and can chase after fish teaching mullet how to climb up a concrete seawall.... Way back when we were on foot chasing them up and down a big urban seawall - and a good pair of running shoes along with sailfish sized poppers were what we used - but without a boat we were generally on the losing end of most fights...
By the way when the big busters are around I generally try not to chase them... Instead we do our best to get ahead of them and do an intercept instead.. Big jacks (and little jacks...) will chase a school of bait forever... You'll see a blow up, run to it, and find they've moved on - still chasing the bait they've targeted (at least that's how they behave in my area...).
We call them Jetty Tuna. I always chuckle when I see some poor soul posting a photo of a Jack they caught and telling everyone it’s a tuna. If they read some fishing regulations and identification books while waiting for a fish to pick up their cut bait they might know better...
I caught bazillions of jacks and a few less tarpon when I lived in Florida. Since I moved to Texas I have yet to catch either one here. I keep seeing photographs of big jacks, but they never come around me. So sad........
If I go jack hunting I just grab the 12wt and be done with it. I have caught them on 8-10wt’s usually when they pop up while redfishing. I’ve never caught one and after thought man I wish I had a smaller rod.
You can do it with your 9 if you are in shallow water. Make sure your terminal connections are bombproof because those fish will test your gear. Better would be getting a good 10wt.
We got refused by big jacks cruising the flats the other day 3 times. They would smash some mullet but couldn't even get a look on the fly. Of course we had some smaller redfish flies tied on. We'll get them next time with some big flashy mullet patterns.
So my next question is do I skip to an 11 or buy a 10..don’t know how much difference there is or what casting a 11 would be like..can you walk the jetties blind casting with a 11 weight or will your shoulder fall off..again I don’t know
I hooked a 15 to 20 lb jack in Belize this May. I was using a 9 wt. Fish spooled me with 125 yds of backing in minutes. Kept him on but the panga could not handle the coral so I jumped out to give it my best shot. Fish wrapped around coral and with luck my backing was not cut. Spent 20 minutes going from coral to coral, disconnecting my line. I finally git my line clear and lost the fish after wading arm-pit deep chasing. So much fun! Would a 12 wt have made a difference? Maybe, but still, what a day.
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