You Don’t Know Jack

One of the things I’ve loved about my three fishing trips to Panama is the variety of the fishery. Not only are there inshore and offshore options, but within each of them, there are further variations. Outside, we can chase yellowfin tuna, mahi, and a host of billfish. When we go inshore, we target roosterfish, cubera snapper, and bluefin trevally, among others. On the rocks, there are also tons of hard-fighting Crevalle Jacks. They eat topwaters and pull hard, and yet I’m disappointed every time one comes into view. I would’ve rather had the more charismatic rooster, or the rarer cubera, and my heart sinks a little.

But why?

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the jacks. In fact, several other members of the family – including the Amberjack and the Almaco Jack (which I caught for the first time last week) are highly prized. The locals eat the Crevalle Jacks, so they can’t be horrible, and they pull better than anything I’ve caught in freshwater. So why do I – as well as my traveling mates – get bummed when I spend the energy to catch one? Apparently, the fish’s unearned negative reputation precedes it.

We all have similar regard for other unappreciated species. Part of it may be situational – if you’re fishing a bass tournament, then unwanted stripers or wipers can be a pain in the butt. Similarly, a musky or big catfish can be a time-suck, and a fear-inducer when it grabs your $25 jerkbait or $100 swimbait. I get it, that’s a hassle. But when we’re out fun fishing and don’t fear losing expensive baits, why do we exercise the gas face at the first clue that we’ve hooked into a less-desirable species? When the snakeheads first came into the Potomac, I despised them and tried to avoid them, but now even when I’m not targeting them if I get one in my sights I frequently make a concerted effort to catch them.

So while I don’t think my next trip to Central America will be focused on jacks (they need a better PR firm, it appears), I’m going to try to avoid reflexively dismissing them. I’m going to try to enjoy the fight because frankly, they’re a lot stronger and meaner than many more heralded species.