Hey guys, i'm looking to catch my first amberjack soon...is there any certain style of rig or bait choice for targeting these fish? I'd like to pull one off the rigs we stop by, but the snapper are biting everything we drop and they're out of season that far out...so how do I get a reef donkey?

300ft of water+LARGE live bait+big circle hook+ heavy gear(6/0 will work but 50W is preferable)drop bait to 150ft and hold on tight!!!! Really, that is all there is to it. Baits can be anything from magnum sized piggy pearch to blue runners, big mullet works as well. Just be ready for the OH S)))t moment that happens when you hook up! I tangled with one a couple of weekends back that lifted my heels off the deck.(I am 6'4 and 275#)

Don't forget to use 100+ lb leaders with swivels and snaps in the 200-300 lb. range. Large (7oz) Snapper Slappers tipped with a sardine, cigar minnow, ballyhoo, squid, etc. work well too.

Expect to get broke off often. One technique is to drop down one rig with motor(s) running. Once hooked up drop the boat in drive and horse the AJ off the structure. Then pick up the rod and begin the fight.

Crank that drag down to almost 50% of your line's test - best have a Penn Senator 6/0 or better (like the 50W that bigscrnman referred to). Pair it with a really heavy duty rod with a roller tip. My Shimano TLD-50 2-speed is loaded with 130# spectra topped with 100# mono & I put about 45 lbs of drag on it for AJ fishing. You've gotta keep them from diving back into the oil rig or wreck that you're fishing!!

Bait ... big live blue runners!

another vote for Blue Runners. use a perch to catch a blue runner. then use that blue runner to nab you an amberjack! the blues are at the surface of just about every oil rig. easy to catch one.

Penn 113HN Baja Special, if you can find one. Grease the drags and hammer down the wheel. Spool up with 130 lb braid. Put it on a xxh 500g jigging rod(spiral wrapped if you can get one custom made) and winch anything you want off the rig.

Agree with above advice on live bait. AJs like big croakers, beeliners and sand perch as well as runners. You need big baits and don't drop all the way to the bottom. Try mid depth. Butterfly jigs and large grubtail jigs work too. Try glow in the dark jigs if fishing really deep water.

agree with above, but I use 200# mono on my live bait leaders. I use 100-125# leader for a jig.

Big live baits!
I used 4# bluerunners to pick up a 105 and 95 back to back.
My leader was a 200# with an Owner hook and two pounds of weight.