Dilzon’s Guide to
Winning at Black Jack
April 27
Big news this week was the Tarpon
in the cuts, thanks to Louis Caliz
who landed a 150 pounder early in
the week, and by Friday, had also
boated a 60 and an 80 pounder as well.
Good work Louis. Almost exciting as
Louis’ Tarpon was the manatee that
my sideman “Carne Dulce”, Todd
and Michelle Oxner and I saw, just
north of Costa Maya Resort. I haven’t
seen a manatee in a few years and
seeing one is a very potent sign for
the natural health of Ambergris Caye.
Outside the reef was a washout
with the strong blustery trade wind
closing fishing. Inside the reef continued
the Grunt bonanza with occasional
Porgy and Mutton Snapper
caught. I did see 12-year-old
Shandany Bradley nail a bucketful of
six-inch barracuda from the Island
Ferry dock using cut bait and his
neighbors borrowed Bait Runner.
Other than these few standout anglers
I’d have to say last week was like going
gibnut hunting in a taco stand -
the conditions just weren’t right.
Strong easterly trades kept the offshore
action down. That’s the bad
news, the good news is: the seas are
flattening out, and I am going to add
to my fish well a hand of Black Jack
this week. Just you watch and see.
So here I go again talking about
fish that only I seem to be able to
catch. This will all change tomorrow
because I am about to tell you my
secrets of winning at Black Jack.
Nothing that comes from the ocean tastes more like prime tenderloin than
Black Jack. |
Why fish Black Jack? Because there
is absolutely, positively nothing that
comes from the ocean that tastes
more like prime tenderloin than Black
Jack. No “taste just like chicken”
about it. Gastronomically speaking,
this animal seems more closely related
to the Angus than Horeseyed,
Bar or Amber. The flesh of a black
jack resembles that of blue fin tuna
with the taste and consistency of the
best cut of beef you’ve ever tasted. I
cook this fish like I cook a good cut
of steak. It looks like a steak, it tastes
like steak, must be…..wrong…..it’s
fish…..its Black Jack.
Catching a BlackJack is well worth
the fight! |
Black Jack is caught in depths between
400 feet and 2000 feet. They are
caught sporadically all over the Caribbean
basin and Western Atlantic.
There are no commercial fisheries targeting
this species. When I am serious
about catching Black Jack first I get on
a spot and immediately go to work fishing
out all the incidentals such as the
yellow eyed red snapper (see article
two weeks ago). Once I’ve removed
this species from the area I start baiting
with big sardines. I’ve found about
five inches is the best size for Black
Jack. Put me in 400 feet of water after
I’ve cleaned out all the other deep
water fish, give me a couple of hard
core fisherman like Todd, Michelle,
Sterling and my good friend and fishing
partner “Carne Dulce” and you can
bet your life we are going to win at black
jack.
Black Jack is a very unusual looking
Jack. The best way I can describe him
is as a cross between a bar jack and a
hog snapper. His mouth and nostrils sit
way out in front and low on his face.
His skin looks normal but is as thick as
manatee hide.
Black Jack fights hard from the bottom
to the surface and if the bottom happens at 2000 feet you’ve got a hell of a
fight on your hands. Like an amberjack,
the black jack fight starts with one gear
stripping, reel smoking, gut busting run
and then right when you think you’ve
worn him out he orientates him self sideways
to the strain of the angler and does
that all the way to the boat. You pull, he
pulls. It’s a hard fight to win but one
worth fighting. These fish are true
smash mouth, belly busters when it
comes to fight. In fact I’d put a Black
Jack, pound for pound against the meanest
of Blue Marlin in any ocean any day
of the week.
Do you feel lucky?…play black jack…its
a gamble to target this fish because they
are hard found and hard caught…but on
the grill, are well worth the gamble.
 Captain Dilzon Murcia is the project
manager for Island Ferry and owner operator
of Dilzon Charters, a sport fishing
charter business. To catch the fish
featured this week, and other large fish,
call Dilzon at 620-6118 or drop by the
Island Ferry office and schedule your
next fishing adventure. Click for Belize Fishing Reports main page
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