horse-eye jack
Caranx latus · Carangidae · predator
Bigeye jack with a yellow tail that hunts in schools over reefs, rock points and river mouths. Strikes poppers and midwater lures hard.
Also called: guaricema, xaréu-branco, garacimbora, guaraximbora, xaréu-xixá, horse-eye jack
- common size
- 40–70 cm
- maximum
- 101 cm
- common weight
- 1–5 kg
- record/max.
- 13.4 kg
- depth
- 0–140 m
- ideal water
- 24–29 °C
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the horse-eye jack
who is the horse-eye jack
The guaricema is a jack of the western Atlantic, from New Jersey and Bermuda to São Paulo, also found at the St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago and on mid-Atlantic islands. Adults swim in schools over distant reefs and the shelf; juveniles stay on sandy beaches and mud bottoms, and enter estuaries and even go up rivers. It eats fish, shrimp and other invertebrates. It looks a lot like the crevalle jack (xaréu), but has a larger eye and no black spot on the pectoral fin. In sport fishing it is caught by casting poppers, stickbaits and midwater lures at rock points, channels and shoals, by jigging, and with live bait. It fights hard and in circles.
fun facts
- It often approaches divers.
- The English name, horse-eye jack (xaréu-olho-de-cavalo), comes from its large eye.
identification
Elongated, deep silvery body with a dark blue to gray back; large eye. Chest fully scaled. Lateral-line scutes darkened. Yellow tail. No black spot on the pectoral fin, and the one on the operculum is small or absent. The crevalle jack (xaréu) has a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin, a clear spot on the operculum and a scaleless middle chest; the blue runner (xerelete) is smaller and has a black spot on the operculum.
where found
In Brazil, from the north to São Paulo, on reefs, shoals, rock points, beaches and estuaries, and at the St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago.
Habitat: Distant reefs and shoals, rock points and channels; juveniles on beaches, mud bottoms, estuaries and the lower stretches of rivers.
coast
states
Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo
when to fish
best season
Found year-round in the Northeast; in the Southeast it is more common with warm water.
best time of day
Daytime, with peaks at dawn and dusk. Hunts by day, with peaks at dawn, late afternoon and at tide changes.
what affects the horse-eye jack
sensitivity The little bars show how much each factor affects this species. Five full: it feels it a lot.
cold and cold fronts
Cold water from a front or upwelling drives the schools away from the coast.
atmospheric pressure
Little direct effect; the sea after a front matters more.
moon
Full-moon and new-moon tides move more water over points and river mouths.
rain
Muddy freshwater pushes the school out of the river mouth.
water level
Not applicable at sea. In an estuary, the ebbing tide concentrates bait in the channels.
noise
An engine near the rock point scares fish; approach by oar or electric motor.
wind
Chop helps the popper; very strong wind makes casting difficult.
tide
The flooding tide and the start of the ebb are the best times at points and channels.
depth
From the shallows of the points down to about 40 m on the shoals.
how to fish
- rod
- 7' to 8', 20 to 50 lb (popping)
- spinning / baitcasting reel
- spinning reel 5000 to 8000
- line
- braided line 30 to 65 lb
- leader
- fluorocarbon or monofilament 50 to 80 lb, 1.5 m
- hook
- reinforced single hooks or spare treble hooks; circle 4/0 to 6/0 on live bait
lures
- popper and stickbait 12 to 18 cm
- jig 40 to 120 g
- midwater lure 10 to 14 cm
natural baits
- live mullet (tainha), sardine or scad
accessories
- alicate
- luvas
tip from an angler
At rock points, work the popper on the flooding tide and don't stop the bait after the first strike: the school competes.
rules for the horse-eye jack
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Not on the national list (Portaria GM/MMA 1.667/2026). We found no specific federal rule for this species.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Hold it by the peduncle and the belly, remove the hook with pliers and revive it facing the current.
in the kitchen
Dark, firm flesh with a strong flavor; best if bled right away. Large reef fish can cause ciguatera.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01738, b = 2.93; FishBase (estimativa bayesiana para o gênero e o formato do corpo, comprimento total)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
- scientific FishBase — Caranx latus (ficha da espécie)Names, distribution, biology, length-weight relationship, country list and references. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- official Portaria GM/MMA nº 1.667, de 27 de abril de 2026 — Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção (peixes e invertebrados aquáticos)Most recent national list. The species is not on it (search by scientific name in the text published in the DOU, checked on October 13, 2026).
- official ICMBio/SALVE — Ficha de Caranx latus (avaliação nacional do risco de extinção)National assessment by ICMBio, published in 2023. DOI verified on Crossref.
- scientific IUCN Red List — Caranx latus (avaliação global: Pouco Preocupante, LC, 09/11/2018)Global assessment. Link given on the FishBase entry (Red List, version 2025-2).
- scientific Carpenter, K. E. (org.) (2002). The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. Roma: FAO.Chapter Carangidae (Smith-Vaniz, W. F.).
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: