Big amberjacks like this one Dennis Schmidt boated can give you a battle even before you reach your main destinations in the Gulf! Photo by Polly Dean

When you're on the Gulf of Mexico -- en route to your favorite offshore reef for some deep-water table fare such as snapper, triggerfish and grouper -- why not increase your angling fun by dropping a line for some other saltwater dwellers? Adding fun by targeting hefty amberjack really livens up a day on the water.

Mid-April brings the opening of red snapper season in the Gulf. As a result, local fishermen aboard their own boats vie with other anglers fishing from chartered craft to catch a limit of snapper. On April visits to the northern Gulf in search of a limit of red snapper, I have benefited more than once from the skills of charter captains who provided a day of "doubling up" on the water.

An example of a highly successful day of this bonus angling was aboard the 55-foot Lively One II, chartered by our group of approximately 20 anglers. We arrived at the pier with coolers, lunches and expectations in tow. We were scheduled to depart at what I thought was an uncivilized early hour before the sun had even thought of showing itself. But before long, those of us not inside napping realized it was well worth the early wake-up to watch the sun splash its changing palette of yellows, oranges and turquoises across the sky and waters of the Gulf.

After being under way for a while, the engine ground to a halt. Our mate rigged up several lightweight rods with Sabiki rigs -- a Japanese term for bait rig. This setup consists of a main line with a series of short dropper lines with small, very sharp hooks extending off of it. A weight is attached at the bottom of the rig. The hooks are outfitted with a flashy red material or fish skin.

By jigging the Sabiki amid a school of baitfish, we began our fun catching menhaden two, three or five at a time! Thus we quickly filled the livewells with the shiny, slippery bait.

During the process, Capt. Lively cautioned us about having sunscreen on our hands. Getting it on the baitfish or in the baitwell water will quickly kill the bait.

As we resumed our run to the artificial reef where we hoped to catch plenty of snapper, the captain again slowed the boat. But this time the mate brought out large boat rods on which we placed live menhaden.

Peering down into the crystal water, we saw a number of large shimmering fish swimming just behind and below our boat. Capt. Lively had spotted this school from the bridge, prompting the pause in our run to the reef.

Soon a couple of live baits were on their way down to the fish.