Rainbow Runner
A colorful pelagic jack sometimes found around bait, floating habitat, and productive open water.
- Fish Class
- Pelagic
- Jack family
- Planning Window
- Warm water
- Current sign matters
- Swimming
- Fast pelagic
- No reliable local speed
- Availability
- Variable
- Follow current reports
Overview
Rainbow runner (Elagatis bipinnulata) have blue, green, yellow, and silver longitudinal coloration. They are streamlined jacks that may be encountered on light tackle.
Around Los Cabos they may be encountered near the surface, bait, floating habitat, and water edges. Warm-season planning is reasonable, but local abundance and a specific encounter cannot be forecast from the calendar alone.
Physical Characteristics
Rainbow Runner have a streamlined, fusiform body with a forked tail. Their most striking feature is the pair of brilliant iridescent stripes running from snout to tail, typically electric blue and yellow-green.
They're the only member of the genus Elagatis. Despite the name "Runner," they're actually a member of the jack family (Carangidae), closely related to amberjack.
Best Seasons
Summer into fall is a broad planning range. Rainbow runner may associate with warm water and floating habitat, so recent reports are more useful than a fixed temperature or named bank.
Hot Spots
Floating habitat
Weed lines or debris may hold bait, but avoid entanglement and never assume every object is productive.
Water edges
Temperature or color changes can help narrow a search when confirmed with current observations.
Bait sign
Birds and surface activity help crews locate bait and productive open water.
Named banks
Treat them as broad working areas and use current navigation charts.
Best Techniques
Light-tackle trolling
Adjust lure, speed, leader, and tackle to the boat, sea state, target size, and bycatch.
Fly fishing
Match rod, line, leader, and fly to conditions and practice casting before the trip.
Table Fare
If retaining a legal fish, cool it promptly and keep only what will be used. Cleaning, restaurant preparation, and transport are operator-specific and should be confirmed in advance.
Conservation
Planning a pelagic trip?
Use recent reports and surface activity to choose the target.