Since we had less than a month of amberjack season in federal waters in 2018, has there been any indication of whether they will open it again at some point this year? There's nothing on NOAA's fisheries website, so I'm wondering if anyone has heard rumors about possible re-opening and a normal season based on a quota as in previous years.

I heard August 1 but put that down as a rumor. Most likely either speculation or hope.

I hope the rumor is true, but I'm not counting on it either.

It's a real shame, the main draw for me on the 24 and 30 hr trips out of Port A during the winter has always been the amberjack, with blackfin tuna as the bonus. Without the amberjack in the picture, I'm not all that motivated to spend the money and time just on blackfin.

Gulf federal: Closed Jan. 27. Pending annual open season for the entire month of May, and from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31.
http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishery_bulletins/2018/021/index.html

As seems to be the case about half the time, the NOAA link is dead. However, a couple of other sites mention it being open for the month of May. I'll have to try to get out next month if I can, since I missed out on a chance to catch amberjack this winter.

Well, the May 1 - 31 is in for sure but I imagine the fall season dates will depend on what happens with Red Snapper. By that I mean .... if the Texas EDF proposal is accepted and then if it is accepted what will the dates be? Alabama's proposal was accepted and they elected to go with fishing every Friday, Saturday & Sunday from June 1 into September.

I'm not sure I support weekend fishing for us here in Texas.

Well, I'm booked on the Capt John overnight trip on May 3rd. So far, the gulf council regs show AJ open for May 1-31, so hopefully I can get a pair of nice keepers for the grill.

How far out do you have to go to get into AJs? I've got a day scheduled to go offshore (from Port A) at the beginning of May, but I haven't booked the trip yet. 8 hour? 12 hour?

From Port A, a 12 hour trip can easily put you into AJ's, and even 8 hours trips might do so.

Oh, cool. That's good to hear. I'll probably give that a whirl, then.

I have a Sealine 40 with 50lb braid/50lb topshot on an ~40lb stick -- is that heavy enough, or am I better off with boat gear?

Uh, you'll surely get other opinions, but I've grown fond of heavier tackle for AJ fishing - 80# braid or stronger, with a reel that's capable of 30+ lbs of drag.

The amberjack tend to be on the deeper wrecks and reefs, so you'll probably do better on the 12 hr trips. You may also want to ask if any of the boats are specifically targeting them - on the 24 hr blackfin tuna trips in the winter, Deep Sea HQ would always make stops on the way for amberjack and have live piggy perch on board for bait. I'm wondering if they'll have the same in May for the 12 hr trips.

Speaking for James here ...... yes they will

Excellent. I'll be joining them for some of the 12 hr trips this May if that's the case.

Hmm. Looks like the DSHQ 12 hours are Wednesdays only, which doesn't work for me.