Species guide

Amberjack fishing: choose your coast, date and captain

Amberjack hold on rocky reefs, debris and wrecks, typically in 60 to 240 feet. Most of the fleet fishes the bottom. What you may keep changes by state, by coast and by date.

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Amberjack

Every charter here names amberjack on its own website, checked on the captain's own site

Everything below is drawn from what 514 captains publish about amberjack on their own websites, from NOAA and from state wildlife agencies. Each figure links to where it came from.

Which fish this page counts. Charter counts on this page include any site that says “amberjack”. The harvest rules and the state records are for greater amberjack specifically — lesser amberjack and banded rudderfish carry their own limits, listed with the rules, and almaco jack is a different fish. We do not claim that all of these charters identified greater amberjack.

Where to book an amberjack trip

514 charters in 149 towns across 2 states name amberjack on their own websites. A count is a website mention — not a catch, and not availability. Ask any captain how long the run to the grounds is before you book.

The waters they name

Every amberjack state and town

What anglers discuss

What anglers ask before booking

How do I actually catch one?18 threads

From the charters' own trip descriptions: bottom fishing (33 sites), trolling (17 sites) and live bait fishing (13 sites). The baits they name are live bait (11) and jigs (7). That is what the fleet advertises, not a ranking of what works.

Where should I go for them?7 threads

514 charters name amberjack on their own websites, in 149 towns across 2 states, thickest at Destin, Key West, Marathon. The waters they name most often are Emerald Coast, Florida Gulf, Choctawhatchee Bay. Compare the ports

What does a trip cost?4 threads

Across the 43 towns where amberjack charters work, a full day is typically $1,275, from $600 to $2,837 depending on the port — the boat, not a seat. That is what boats there charge for a trip of that length, not a price for targeting amberjack; nobody prices by species. Ask what the figure covers before you book.

When should I go?3 threads

Charter websites name amberjack in every month; the month most of them single out is May, with 37 sites saying so. That is when boats advertise the fish, not a measured bite — and whether you may keep one is a separate question with its own dates below.

Where these questions come from

The corpus. 151 Reddit threads that discussed amberjack, across 8 angling forums. Each was counted once.

How a question was chosen. Every thread was assigned to the decision the person was stuck on — where to go, when, on what, what it costs. A decision raised in fewer than three threads is one person's question and does not become a heading here. The count beside each question is the number of threads that raised it.

What Reddit did not decide. Nothing above the fold of the answer. Reddit selects the question; the answer is from the charters' own websites, the state agencies, NOAA's dockside sample and the captains' published prices, each cited where it appears.

What this cannot show you. The collector keeps counts and subreddits, not permalinks or post dates, so there is no representative thread to link and no date range to quote. Posts were read without their comment threads, so an independent-commenter count would be wrong to give. A thread count is not a survey of anglers.

“Amberjack are common residents of the wrecks pretty much year round which are pound for pound one of the hardest fighting fish out there.”

Manicsportfishing Charters, Marathon · their website · 14 charters say the same

What the trip is like

They hold on rocky reefs, debris and wrecks, typically in 60 to 240 feet. These are the methods charters describe when they write about amberjack — each counted only where four or more independent sites say it.

  • Bottom fishing33 charter mentions
  • Trolling17 charter mentions
  • Live bait fishing13 charter mentions
  • Vertical jigging7 charter mentions

On the hook: live bait 11 · jigs 7

Before you pay

Ask the captain

“Will this trip target amberjack? How long is the run to the grounds? Which waters will we fish? If harvest is closed, what is the plan? Do you fish live bait for them, or something else?”

Harvest rules

When can you keep one?

Seasons and limits are set state by state, and these are Florida's. Amberjack is caught by charters in 2 states on this page; ask your captain which rules apply where you are fishing.

  • Gulf Open September 1 to October 13, 2026

    34 inches fork length · 1 per person

    Closed in Gulf federal waters from October 14, 2026 until the next season begins September 1, 2027.

    Charter with a federal Gulf reef fish permit: Harvest closed season applies in state waters too

    No vessel limit is listed.

  • Atlantic Open January to March and May to December. Closed April.

    28 inches fork length · 1 per person

    Boats with a federal snapper-grouper permit: The April closure applies in state waters too

    No vessel limit is listed.

  • Lesser amberjack and banded rudderfish FWC lists no season dates

    14 to 22 inches fork length · 5 per person

    That five is an aggregate of the two species.

  • Other states Check your waters

    Michigan

Gear. Reef fish gear rules apply. With natural bait, Gulf anglers need non-stainless steel circle hooks (non-offset in state waters); Atlantic anglers need non-stainless steel, non-offset circle hooks north of 28° N and non-stainless steel hooks south of it. A dehooking device is required, plus a descending device or venting tool (a descending device in Atlantic federal waters). Legal gear is spears, gigs, hook and line, seine and cast net.

Official rules

Before keeping a fish, confirm the rule with the captain and the agency for the waters you will fish. Copied from FWC and NOAA Fisheries in Sep 2026, with every source at the foot of this page.

Certified catches

Amberjack records by state

Certified catches — historic extremes, not what a trip brings in. Each links to the agency record; a catch logged to a named town links there too.

  • Florida record · 1979 142.13 lb

    W. A. Colbert Jr. · Islamorada

    Explore Islamorada →Record source ↗

  • Louisiana record · 2009 139 lb

    Bill Weldon · South Timbalier Block 300. Too broad to assign to a town.

    Record source ↗

  • Texas record · 2019 133 lb

    Tricia Conner · Gulf of Mexico. Too broad to assign to a town.

    Record source ↗

  • Alabama record · 2019 132.8 lb

    Brian S. Andrews

    Record source ↗

  • South Carolina record · 2024 129 lb

    J. Carroll · Murrells Inlet. Too broad to assign to a town.

    Record source ↗

  • North Carolina record · 2008 126.44 lb

    Michael Krantz · Off Swansboro. Too broad to assign to a town.

    Record source ↗

  • Mississippi record · 2014 126 lb

    Don Wheeler

    Record source ↗

  • Georgia record · 1975 92.06 lb

    Ben W. Key Jr.

    Record source ↗

  • New Jersey record · 1993 85 lb

    Edwin Metzner · Off Cape May. Too broad to assign to a town.

    Record source ↗

How records are verified

Charters that name amberjack

Each one says so on its own website. Phone and website checked on the captain's own site; we take no bookings and no fee.

All 514 amberjack charters, by state and town

The detail behind this page

Is amberjack good to eat?

Greater amberjack has a sweet, mild flavor. Tender, firm, and delicate. The high oil content gives it a buttery texture. Sold fresh (except in April when fishery is closed) and frozen year-round.

  • 146Calories
  • 23.1 gProtein
  • 5.24 gTotal Fat
  • 55 mgCholesterol
  • 39 mgSodium

Per 100 g, cooked weight.

From NOAA Fisheries, checked Sep 2026.

Why the season is what it is

There are two stocks of greater amberjack: a Gulf of America stock and a South Atlantic stock. According to the most recent stock assessments: The Gulf of America stock is overfished (2021 stock assessment), but not subject to overfishing based on 2024 catch data. The South Atlantic stock is not overfished (2020 stock assessment) and not subject to overfishing based on 2023 catch data.

Where it is caught. U.S. wild-caught from Virginia to Texas, including the U.S. Caribbean.

From NOAA Fisheries, checked Sep 2026.

Every state and town naming amberjack

When charters fish for amberjack

Charters name them most often in May, and again in September and October. They say least about the quiet months, which is worth knowing before booking one.

  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec

“Amberjack (Spring, Summer, and Fall)” source

Counted across 37 charter websites at the busiest month and 13 at the quietest. Charters run year round, so this is when they talk about this fish, not a guarantee.

What a trip costs

Across the 43 towns where amberjack charters work, a full day is typically $1,275 — $600 in FL/seminole, $2,837 in FL/destin. That is the boat, not a seat: split it between everyone aboard.

half day $600 typical, $395–$1,100 by town · three-quarter day $850 typical, $500–$1,800 by town · full day $1,275 typical, $600–$2,837 by town

What this is, and is not. Each town is represented by the middle of what its charters publish for a trip of that length; the figure above is the middle of those towns, across 597 charters that publish a price. These are prices for a trip of that length, not for a trip that targets amberjack — the same boats run for other fish, and none of them price by species. Party boats are excluded: they sell seats, not the boat.

Which rules apply to your trip

  • The coasts differ on size and season but share a 1-per-person bag limit: 34 inches fork length and a 43-day season (September 1 to October 13, 2026) in the Gulf; 28 inches fork length and a season of January through March and May through December in the Atlantic.
  • During the federal closure, a vessel issued a valid federal charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish may not possess greater amberjack, even in Gulf state waters.
  • From April 1 to 30, anyone aboard a vessel issued a valid federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper may not fish for, harvest or possess greater amberjack, in state or federal waters.
  • What 'closed' means depends on the rule: in Gulf federal waters the bag and possession limits drop to zero, while in South Atlantic federal waters from April 1 to 30 no person may fish for, harvest or possess greater amberjack.
  • Ask whether the boat holds a federal permit: for greater amberjack, and for red snapper in the South Atlantic, federal closures apply to permitted vessels even in state waters.

About the fish

SizeUp to 60 inches and 176 pounds. Common around 40 inches
Where it livesRocky reefs, debris and wrecks, typically in 60 to 240 feet
What it eatsSquid, fish and crustaceans

From FWC's species profile, checked Sep 2026.

How big amberjack run

Federal interviewers measured 1,011 of them on charter trips between 2022–2024. The middle half ran 28.2–39.6 inches, with a median of 34.2 inches.

Separately, MRIP's catch records for those trips count 880 kept against 504 released. That is a different tally from the fish that were measured, not a breakdown of them.

  • North Carolina33" median, 498 measured
  • Florida35.5" median, 489 measured

NOAA Fisheries MRIP dockside interviews, 2022–2024. A sample of the fish boats brought in, not a total, and not a forecast for any one trip.

Fish anglers talk about alongside amberjack

Counted from the same threads as the questions above — the fish that come up in the same conversation, not a list of popular species.

Seasons, sizes and bag limits on this page were copied from FWC, amberjack regulations and FWC, reef fish gear rules and NOAA Fisheries, 2026 Gulf greater amberjack season and NOAA Fisheries, South Atlantic seasonal closures and FWC, greater amberjack profile in Sep 2026. Rules change, sometimes mid-season. Check the current rule with your captain or FWC before you keep a fish.