Meet the Crevalle Jack

Crevalle Jacks are pugnacious-looking fish which live up to those looks. A dark spot on the gill cover and steeply convex forehead separate this species from other jackfish. The crevalle jack's color ranges from brassy green to blue or bluish-black dorsally, becoming silvery white or golden ventrally. A dark spot is present on the pectoral fin.  Juveniles have around five dark vertical bands on their sides, with these fading at adulthood. Strong bony scutes on the tail are common to all jacks. 

The average size is 2-5 pounds, but larger sizes are common and 25 pounds is not unusual. The Texas record is 52.25 inches, 50.25 pounds; 1976.

Not known to be a tasty fish, they are mostly fished for sport. 

The Crevalle jack inhabits the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, ranging extensively along both the eastern American coastline and the western African and European coastlines. In the western Atlantic, the southernmost record comes from Uruguay, with the species ranging north along the Central American coastline, and throughout the Caribbean.  From the Gulf of Mexico, its distribution extends north along the U.S. coast and as far north as Nova Scotia in Canada, also taking in several northwest Atlantic islands. 

You might remember seeing this fish in Pacific waters but that is a distinctly different Jack fish.