“Gary, Have you ever tried to explain that amberjacks are extremely rare in Baja? And that all the fish being identified as amberjacks recently are really Almaco jacks?” texted Steve Crooke, Scientific Adviser for the Sportfishing Association of California (SAC) providing biological assistance for both State and Federally managed fisheries and who worked for the California Department of Fish and Game for 38 years.
Almaco jacks are much more robust, shorter, and stockier in their bodies, plus they feature a dark bar that extends through the eye to the base of the dorsal. The few amberjack Crooke has seen, traveled down the Mexican coast and to the south. He did count a few gill rakers to be sure.
Regardless of what you call them Amber or Almaco, they are biting now!