They’re renowned for being some of the most brutal fighters in the ocean and for good reason too. GTs demand respect and as a result your tackle needs to be up to the task. PETER MORRIS explains.
In the many years that contributed to my ongoing surface luring obsession for giant trevally, I spent countless hours researching online and re-reading magazine articles many times over. With a dream kept alive and enthusiasm continually fuelled via stories about successful trips, what noticeably lacked was information on how to more specifically plan and confidently prepare yourself for this demanding form of our sport.
While some are fortunate enough to have GTs on their doorsteps, the majority of us will require a certain amount of travel to get amongst the action. Your planning and preparation needs very serious consideration and can be the difference between satisfying success or disappointing failure.
THE CONUNDRUM OF GEAR SELECTION
Gear selection is where the ball starts rolling and things become both all the more serious and that little bit complicated. The bad news is that when it comes to this more extreme form of an-gling, nothing of quality is cheap. The fish you are targeting are both incredibly powerful and outrageously demanding on all gear that is used. The word ‘compromise’ does not exist here and sadly when this word is brought into the equation the only result is a bad one.
RODS
The sensible approach to this question is to ask yourself how much actual ‘use’ you can see yourself getting out of the gear and this can be answered by determining how much GT or surface lure casting you plan on doing in the future. Many years back, while first getting into GT fishing, the first rod I owned was a Shimano GT Special. It quickly proved to be a very capable rod and carried the rather modest price tag of around $500. While this rod was an ideal choice at the time, I soon realised it was rather heavy and far better choices existed. Taking into account that I planned to be doing far more of this type of heavy lure casting, justifying the expense became far easier.
So where to start the research was the next question and what I can honestly write here is that we are all incredibly fortunate to have websites such as gtpopping.com at our finger tips. This site has proven invaluable to me over the years and it brings together top water anglers from across the globe. Newcomers will quickly discover an enormous amount of information and shared knowledge that in most instances is very easy to digest.
What quickly becomes apparent is that the Japanese rod manufacturers dominate the field and names that you will quickly become familiar with. They include Carpenter, Ripple Fisher, Fisher-man, Hots, MC Works and Temple Reef. They all boast rods built with a specific purpose and ac-tion which is achieved by using the highest quality blanks available.
Rods are also designed with the angler in mind and ‘ease of use’ for long periods of casting is an-other factor taken into account. To confuse the issue that little bit further though, it will also be-come apparent that there are rods designed for popping and rods more specifically designed for stickbait work. The main difference here is that stickbait rods will commonly feature a ‘softer’ tip section to allow the angler to generate the desired ‘swim’ from their chosen weapon. A stiffer tipped rod that is suitable for poppers will only impede the action of a stickbait. Naturally there are certain rods you could label as more ‘all-rounders’ which will do a bit of both. These are naturally harder to find though.
The actual weight of your chosen lure will also become more of an important factor here. If spending upwards of a thousand dollars on a rod is not your thing or you don’t believe you will get sensible usage from it, there are some cheaper options available.
The more well-known names of Shimano, Wilson and Penn all carry rods to cater for the GT an-gler. The noticeable differences will always be weight and cast-ability and this is again where personal preference creeps in.
REELS
The point to reinforce here is that you will be targeting fish that have phenomenal pulling power and a refusal to show any mercy for inferior gear. The long time leaders in reel technology have been Shimano and Daiwa with both offering reels capable of the job at hand. The Shimano Stella and Daiwa Saltiga have long been the leaders in the field with both accounting for a countless number of amazing captures worldwide.
Reel selection is not an area where you should even attempt to aim low. Buy the best reel you can afford while be conscious of the fact that a trip away can be costly. Having a reel that lets you down on the first day would be a very tragic scenario.
Other reels that have made a mark in the heavy tackle realm are the Penn Torque and Shimano Saragosa, both of which make for good options for those on a tighter budget.
LURES
Lure selection is an area many newcomers can and do go wrong in. Popper and stickbait selection is not as simple as finding a lure that looks good. It isn’t about finding cheap knock offs of reputable knock offs either. There’s a big difference in quality when it comes to lure internals.
Quality lures use internal wiring all the way through, are made from quality timber and finished to
a much higher standard. The finishes on a lure are more important than most realise as cheaper ones don’t last long, especially after heavy battles with big brutes. This can cause the lures to become waterlogged. In saying this though, there are of course the overpriced lures which suffer the same fate, so lure selection is not overly easy.
As a starting point, the ‘Heru’ lures are, in my opinion, excellent value for money and proven fish catchers. Heru are branded under various names worldwide, some of which include Blackjack, Nomad and Heru itself. All are the same and all work incredibly well with the Skipjacks and Cuberas being popular choices within the range.
Other well-known and proven performers include FCL poppers and stickbaits, ASWB stickbaits, West Coast Poppers, Hammerheads, Adheks, Craftbaits and the legendary Carpenter lures. All vary rather considerably in price so do your research and buy what you can afford.
Another excellent idea for newcomers planning their first GT type trip is to keep a watchful eye on the various forums and social media pages. Some fantastic bargains can be had as anglers sell off lures that they no longer need
or want.
HOOKS
Hook selection can generate long and drawn out discussions amongst GT anglers as some will swear by single hooks while others still prefer trebles. I use both and at times I combine both by using a treble on the belly and single hung off the trail end. The general consensus is that the ac-tual hook up rate with trebles is better, but a hook up with a single hook is far more secure, re-sulting in far less ‘dropped’ fish. Single hooks are also stronger in most instances and the other benefit here is that singles offer a much larger gape which is always a good thing.
Whether you choose to run singles or trebles is a personal decision but keep in mind that certain lures are actually designed for trebles to be used. A good example here is the Carpenter Gamma stickbaits which should only be run with trebles. On the flipside, certain stickbaits swim better with a treble on the belly and single hook run off the tail. The single hook can act as a ‘mini rud-der’ and help generate a very nice swimming action.
The name of the game can be experimentation with various lures and swimming them or popping them before a trip anywhere can be a good thing.
As a guide, excellent hooks are available from the likes of Owner, Decoy, Shout, Gamakatsu and Fisherman. Trebles exist within each range and popular single hooks remain the Owner SJ-41s in 11/0 and 13/0 and the larger shanked Owner Jobu range.
LINE, LEADER AND TERMINALS
With rod, reel and lure selection coming together, your next decisions are equally as important.
Choosing the right line to spool your reel with is always a hotly contested debate and I am happy to write that spending upwards of $300 on a spool of braid is simply not necessary. Over my time I have used various braids and three that I have always been very happy with include Tuffline, Jerry Brown (solid and hollow) and Penn Fathom. I have stuck with these lines as I have always had complete confidence in all and they are some of the more sensibly priced. Personally I will always use PE 8 (100 lb) and much prefer the 100 lb over anything rated 80 lb as it simply handles shock loads far better. Once again line choice is a personal thing and if you feel the need to spend big money on a spool of Varivas then by all means do what you have confidence in.
Leader choice is another area where many brand names get thrown around and personally I will always opt for a slightly ‘softer’ outer core monofilament which allows for an FG knot to bite in well. The FG knot for braid to leader connection is the choice for the majority of anglers these days and very good demonstrations can be found online via YouTube. It is definitely one knot worth learning and being able to tie very well. Terminals such as split rings and swivels are all vital connections between your lure and a big powerful GT. Quality is a must and the two more readily available brand names producing quality splits and swivels are Owner and Decoy. Split rings with a rating of around size 9 to 11H (heavy) are ideal and will be rated upwards of 250 pound. The Owner crane swivels in size 1/0 or 2/0 are ideal as are the swivels made by NT which are also black crane swivels that are incredibly strong.
ODDS AND ENDS
Other necessities include casting gloves, pliers, a quality gimbal belt and rod tube (if travelling).
Gloves made specifically for popping and jigging are rather expensive and from what I‘ve seen over the years, even the so-called quality gloves only last two to three trips. If you can get away with cheaper bike riding gloves or similar, then by all means give them a go. Just make sure they are of reasonable quality.
Gimbal belts are a necessity for GT angling and while some claim they can do without one, they quickly change their mind after two to three fish for the day. I have gone through many gimbal belts and I find it very frustrating when they simply do not live up to the task. There are rod buckets that don’t hold rods well (rods slip out), there are uncomfortable models and then there are those made with cheap strapping and plastics clips that fail. Make your selection wisely by testing a few out with rods in place.
Rod tubes will often be thought about last minute; however, they are incredibly important. At the end of the day, they protect your expensive new rods from being broken so they need to be of quality and preferably light in weight. For many years now I have travelled with one of the ‘Carmate’ rod tubes and I rate them as one of the best. They comfortably carry many rods, are strong and very light in comparison to many others.
DO IT ONCE, DO IT RIGHT
This is easier said than done. I have made many mistakes with various purchases over the years and in hindsight I could have got bits and pieces right had I not tried to cut corners on items I considered ‘not as important’. I have certainly gone wrong with gimbal belts and various lures in my time and you do begin to realise that ‘you get what you pay for’ really does ring true.
Research well and remember that quality gear is always a must when it comes to battling with GTs.
Born in Sydney, Peter has spent 15 years fishing the coast of NSW targeting everything from whiting to marlin. Now resides in Queensland and has fished many tropical locations throughout the top end, the Coral Sea, Fiji and Vanuatu. Peter enjoys all forms of fishing from heavy GT popping, land based spinning for big pelagics, soft plastic work for snapper and luring the local estuaries for hard running trevally and mangrove jack. Peter began freelancing in 2009 is currently a pro angler with Purefishing Australia and Tonic Eyewear
