A powerful rod
When fishing for amberjack, you can expect to hit fish weighing more than 20 kg without any problem. It is therefore necessary to equip yourself with a rod in adequacy with the power of these fish. The rod spends most of its time in a rod holder and is only used during the fight, so it is not necessary to choose the light option.
A spinning rod of 1m70 to 2m allows you to have enough leverage to drag amberjacks when they try to rub the bottom. Ideally, the power of the rod should be announced for 80 lbs, but you can also manage good fights in 60 lbs too. Few rod models are designed for live-fishing, so it's best to go for jigging rods with a power range between 100 and 300g.
The reel and the braid
The reel is the second part of the package that must be chosen correctly. To handle big fights, a reel with a powerful drag that can be quickly adjusted via the drag knob is a must. The drag should be set fairly loose when the fish is at the end of the line, then quickly set to strong for the strike and the rest of the fight.
A good capacity is also useful when fishing away from the boat with braids that are very thick. A size 6,500, equivalent to an 18,000, has enough capacity. These reel sizes are built to handle big fights, but beware, the cheaper reels are often too fragile and break easily. As far as braid is concerned, I recommend using 80 lb. braid, if possible multicolored and in 8 or 12 strands.
A long and discreet leader
The amberjack remains a wary fish, triggering a hit requires discretion. The leader must be very long, more than 10 meters and up to 20 meters most of the time since the waters of the Mediterranean are very clear.
Nylon is much more flexible than fluorocarbon, which would restrict the swim of the fish. The difference in transparency between a nylon and a fluorocarbon is too small to justify the choice.
On most fish, a 70-80 lb leader is quite strong, but you can go up to 100 lb if the fish are looking for the bottom and breaking too often. Be careful to make your knots of connections and knots on the hook, without hesitating to tighten them very hard with gloves.
