Gulf Coast - Venice AJ's

Is live bait the only way to catch Aj's or will frozen pogies work too as they do for snapper?

Vertical jigs either 200gm or 250gm. Anteaterjigs.com best prices on jigs anywhere. $5 a piece for 200gm with 2 assist hooks. Make sure to use 100# leader going to your braid so they will be less likely to cut off if they hit the rig.

Redfishray,

Did you use to be on the Carolina Skiff forum?

Vertical jigs work like a charm on AJs

this one fell victim to the 5.3oz green vertical jigs I have in stock but then it fell victim to a shark,, the sharks were hungry that day im sad to say
travala rod with a shimano saragosa killer set up!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/Wellcraft/Customer%20Fish%20Catches%20on%20victory%20lures/photo-3.jpg

Cool pic Wellcraft!

Cool pic Wellcraft!

Thanks man!

The sharks were so hungry I ended up leaving the deep water in favor of some patch reef fishing in 20ft.

Is live bait the only way to catch Aj's or will frozen pogies work too as they do for snapper?

You can catch snapper, AJ, grouper, tuna and many other species of fish on vertical jigs. Sometimes even 2 fish on one jig. See attached pics below of a few fish caught with Anteater Jigs. I see that you are located in New Orleans. If you are fishing the rigs you will need at least a 200g jig. The general rule of thumb is 100g of weight for every 100ft of depth. Here in LA you will need to be in approx 250 feet or deeper to land some nice sized AJ's. The jig that is mostly used by myself and the locals are the 250g jigs. See attached pics. My competitors jigs are too small to fish with at the rigs and are also more expensive. You can PM or e-mail([email protected]) me with any other questions. Feel free to check out my website, www.AnteaterJigs.com (www.AnteaterJigs.com) to see all my products. I can also meet up with you around the New Orleans area if you would like to save on shipping. Good luck next time out on the water


http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g363/anteater251/Catches%20with%20Anteater%20Jigs/anteaterjigs-gaffingamberjack.jpg

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g363/anteater251/Untitled.jpg

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g363/anteater251/Catches%20with%20Anteater%20Jigs/butterfly_jig_set_a2of8.jpg

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g363/anteater251/Catches%20with%20Anteater%20Jigs/RedSnapperonAnteaterJig.jpg

Vertical jigs work like a charm on AJs

this one fell victim to the 5.3oz green vertical jigs I have in stock but then it fell victim to a shark,, the sharks were hungry that day im sad to say
traval rod with a shimano saragosa killer set up!


I just wanted to let you know that is not a Traval rod but a Shimano Trevala rod. :jk:

Yeah that happens when typingn from a phone ;)


To the OP I have fished these 5.3oz jigs in 250ft off of the keys and caught plenty of AJs on them
Feel free to email me [email protected]

Is live bait the only way to catch Aj's or will frozen pogies work too as they do for snapper?

Most vertical jigs will get it done but there is plenty and I do mean plenty of big hardtails around right now. Bring some big sabikis with you! Something with a 20 or 30 pound line. You can catch them with smaller sabikis but they will break off and straighten hooks! Most rigs in 250-600 ft of water will hold both AJS and Bait in Venice! Fish the up current side for best results! You wont have to get right on the rig, start out a little farther, this will help with break offs! We dont really play fair with them, we drop 300 pound leaders on 200 pound braid which allows me to lock the drag but our jigging reels are set up with 100-130 pound braid and we use 100 pound mono for a leader with jigs! A real big circle hook is nice with the big hardtail! Hope this helps!


Capt Josh Howard


ps some days they will eat dead pogies, some days they wont! Dont drop super deep, this should help with the snapper!

Josh,

Those are some great pics!

I have a small 18 foot Caracal catamaran, how close in to Venice can I get on some AJ's? They don't have to be big ones, just want to catch some.

Capt Josh thats some great info and those are some big ol AJs brother!

Slidellkid, what motor are you running on your boat. I just repowered my Caracal so I could fish near offshore. I also set up a quick connect to a 12 gallon removable auxillary tank. I fish with a friend who has a bigger boat most of the time. The 7 mile rigs and BP109 are fairly easy runs --if the wind cooperates. You can catch AJs and tuna(at certain times of the year) around these rigs.

Stungray,

The Caracal I purchased is used and came with a 115 suzuki. I wish it had a little more power but it came with the 115. I wanted a boat I could fish inshore with and light offshore. I'd like to head out of Venice sometime but it will probably be next year before I am ready. Maybe we can make a Caracal flotilla!

Dan

Slidellkid, I just repowered my Caracal with a 150 Yamaha. Now cruise speed is 29-30 at 4000-4100 and getting better fuel economy than the 140 Suzuki that came with it. Stay in touch and maybe we can make a trip to West Delta for some Cobia and Mangrove snappers. October is usually a good month for offshore--the blue water comes in closer and the mullet run brings in the tuna.