3 Things You Need to Know About Yellow Jacks
the only true cable steer with gps anchor
www.motorguide.com
written by Evan Anderson
Yellow jacks are an unusual fish for the Florida Keys, and in this episode of Saltwater Experience captains Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor get into a pile of them using Tudor’s Motorguide trolling motor just off the shore from their resort. They’ve got a lot of insight into catching and cooking this elusive beauty. Here are 3 things you need to know about yellow jacks.
THEY LOVE PILCHARDS
Yellow jacks were extremely uncommon until just recently. Captain Rich Tudor remarks, “I don’t know why, but since this past year it’s been yellow jacks everywhere.” No one knows what has led to this dramatic spike in Florida’s yellow jack population, but it’s certainly welcome. Says Captain Tom Rowland, “The yellow jack is a little bit more of a shy fish. They eat a lot of fish, but they don’t have a lot of teeth in their mouth. They tend to be more shrimp eaters. But they obviously like pilchards.” Rowland compares the mouth of a yellow jack to that of a permit.
Tudor and Rowland credit their success to their use of pilchards as bait. Though yellow jacks tend to eat shrimp, the two captains were happy to discover that their choice bait fish, the pilchard, got the jacks excited. “Really pilchards are the key,” says Tudor, “We could catch some things on shrimp and other stuff, but having the pilchards really gets everything excited.”
“Really pilchards are the key...having the pilchards really gets everything excited”
@ SE Multimedia 2019
GOOD EATIN’!
Yellow jacks make great table fare, according to our hosts. Tudor remarks that he hadn’t ever eaten one until just recently, since he never caught many before. “Since we started catching so many of them this year,” says Tudor, “I took a few home, filleted them up and I’m looking at that meat and it’s beautiful, it’s like mahi.”
One thing to watch out for when preparing yellow jacks is the bloodline, according to Tudor. “It’s got a bloodline in there,” he says, “you gotta make sure you take the bloodline out. But other than that the meat was fantastic.” A bloodline is that dark line you see in many fish that runs down the length of the spine. If that’s not cleaned out it can result in the filets tasting “fishy”. Once you remove the bloodline you can prepare the filet just as you would mahi or swordfish. Rowland says, “The first one I ever had was smoked and it was outstanding.”
@ SE Multimedia 2019
WHERE TO FIND THEM
Right now, everywhere. The population boom has resulted in yellow jacks in many different locations, according to Tudor. “Everywhere, from the bridges to offshore, there’s been yellow jacks,” says Tudor. For this episode, Tudor and Rowland needed only to go just on the other side of a bridge right next to the resort, made easy with Tudor’s Motorguide trolling motor. If you feel like going offshore, Tudor recommends fishing around the reefs, saying that he’s seen them chasing ballyhoo while spearfishing out there.
“The yellowjack’s a pretty interesting fish. I’d caught so few of them that I’d never even tried eating them,” says Tudor as he reigns in his Mercury Marine motor, pulling into the marina, “These are right up on the top of my list, now.”
Ready to slay some jacks? Check out the full episode below for lots of action including yellow jacks, grouper, and tarpon on S14:E10 of Saltwater Experience.
