Q: What is this fish we caught over a wreck in 105 feet of water while fishing for amberjack southeast of Oregon Inlet, North Carolina? The fish hit a fly. For years, we caught them as close as 8 miles off the beach and always assumed they were big blue runners, but they might be black jacks. They turn very dark when stressed.

Brian Horsley
Nags Head, North Carolina

A: Just as you suggested, your catch was a big blue runner, Caranx crysos. Although juvenile blue runners are lighter colored, they darken as they mature and may turn nearly black as large adults. Blue runners commonly occur in schools and, as you undoubtedly learned, fight very hard for their size. The all-tackle world record weighed 11 pounds, 2 ounces. Blue runners often congregate near bottom structure such as reefs; the young often hang around drifting mats of sargassum. This species ranges throughout the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Brazil, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. They also live in the eastern Atlantic and occur in the tropical eastern Pacific. Although sometimes regarded as a food fish, a blue runner tastes too strong to suit many individuals. Additionally, there have been reports of ciguatera poisoning from consuming large individuals. — Ray Waldner