Luke Galea provides
some of his hard-earned tips to consistently catching two of the most aggressive speedsters of north Queensland’s estuaries.

Surface fishing with poppers and stickbaits for juvenile giant trevally (mini giants) and big queenfish is explosive and in my opinion it would have to be the most exciting form of fishing… bar none.
Dedication, persistence and an observant set of eyes will often result in a session that is not soon forgotten. In my honest opinion, I think the pulse races and the knees tremble far more with surface fishing than any other form, and for this reason, I’m truly addicted.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
There are three things to look for when targeting queenfish and juvenile giant trevally (GTs) in any estuarine system. I must re-iterate the importance that all three elements are present at a location. If a location is missing just one, then it’s very unlikely to produce the goods. For the most part though, they are very interrelated and often co-exist within the presence of each other.
These three key ingredients are:
1. Presence of bait
2. Structure; and
3. Flow/Pressure Points
Bait is a no-brainer, obviously. Where you find bait you will find fish… anyone could have told you that, right? But what is more to the point is locating dense populations of schooling bait that continually reside at your chosen fishing location. You may have a good session at your spot if bait is present at the time you are there, but more often, this will be a case of good luck rather than good measure. Good measure would be taking the safe bet and fishing a spot where bait continually and consistently resides. It’s all about cracking that code and being exactly where the fish are at that integral moment. You’ve got to think like a fish.

Structure such as rocky outcrops and bridge pylons are excellent choices when specifically targeting these fish. One reason is that they hold permanent bait schools, but further to that, they create eddying backflows and pulsating flow surges with each tidal cycle.
Another massive advantage of fishing around large rocky outcrops and bridge pylons is the fact that these structures absorb heat throughout the day. In turn this heat transfers to the water column and the temperature is often 1 to 2 degrees warmer (within the immediate vicinity) than the water in other parts of the river. It is here that bait and predatory fish will congregate so it makes good sense to target your efforts around structure such as this.
These two pelagic speedster varieties love fast water movement and seem to be far more active on the larger tides around the full moon each month. In fact, when the tides are neap in the middle of the month, it’s almost not even worth trying for them. Here in Mackay we experience quite large tides and can often see over six metre of variations between high and low. This large degree of water movement is definitely advantageous when chasing these fish. The old saying, “No run, no fun” definitely rings true in this case.
The main location in Mackay where I target these species contains all three of these essential characteristics. What is even more special about this spot is the fact there is a rocky outcrop present midstream and within casting distance from the rock base where the angler is positioned for the cast. This rocky outcrop rises out of deeper water to break the surface. It is here where fast flowing water propels each side of the leading rocky point as the tide recedes. This is known as a pressure point and is the ideal structure to look for when targeting GTs. Pressure points around coral bommies out at the reef are also gold mines for car-doors with fins.

Another nice queenfish for the author.

TIME OF DAY
By far, the best time of day for chasing estuary pelagics on surface is dawn or dusk. Although you will still catch these fish at various times throughout the day, the early morning and later afternoon crepuscular phase are times where we personally find these fish to be more aggressive. This is enhanced dramatically when the crepuscular phase coincides with a tide change and full moon.
We often find that the absolute bottom of the tide is a relatively quiet period, but then as soon as the tide starts to rush in, so too do the fish. As a general rule of thumb, the summer months do happen to produce fish more consistently.
GEAR
Reels
Medium spin gear is definitely the way to go here and is typically favoured over baitcast equipment because accuracy is not paramount. Instead, distance is the critical component, which is one reason why spin gear is favoured. This, as well as the fact that spin gear boasts greater spool capacities, drag pressures and faster retrieval rate. It is nothing for a decent metre-long queenfish or five kilo GT to strip 70 m of line off your spool in a single blistering run, and it is imperative to have a fast enough retrieve so that you can gain as much line on them as you can with every crank of the handle. A 4000 sized spin reel is perfect for this type of work.
I use a combination of Shimano Rarenium 4000 Ci4’s and Shimano Stradic 4000 CI4’s and absolutely love them. Despite the fact the Rarenium does not have an overly high speed retrieve (4.8:1), there are definitely other reasons why I favour this reel. One of which is because it has a massive 10 kg of drag pressure, but the main one being the fact that it is one of Shimano’s CI4 range, which makes it incredibly light. Flicking large poppers and stickbaits can be taxing on the angler (particularly the wrist) so a 4000 sized reel that is as light as most 3000 sized reels is definitely advantageous.
Rods

When choosing a rod for this type of fishing, there are once again three things I look for. Firstly, the rod needs to be over seven foot long to maximise casting distance. Secondly, I like to use a rod rated at around 5 to 8 kg or 5 to 10 kilograms. Lastly, and probably the most important feature, is that the rod needs to have a fast taper. A fast taper ensures a soft tip and a soft tip is critical to getting the best action out of a meandering stickbait. My Samurai Reaction 402 Bluewater (10 to 20 lb) satisfies these three fundamental requirements to a tee.
Braid & Leader
When it comes to braid and leader strength, I opt to run 20 lb Unitika braid and leaders of around 40 pound. While 40 lb leader is relatively heavy for the size of the fish encountered at my local spot, it is more the presence of the barnacle-encrusted rocks which is the reasoning for ‘upping the anti’ when it comes to leaders. There have often been times where I have thrown my stickbait/popper out past the rocky pressure point, and been wiped out by a GT as it has taken me around the opposing side of the rocks. Heavy leaders are the only way to go if you are to be in with half a chance of landing one of these fish.
When it comes to choosing a leader for surface fishing, this is the one and only style of fishing where I choose not to use a fluorocarbon leader. I love using fluorocarbon leader for diving hardbodies and soft plastics due to the fact it contains the same mirroring qualities as water and is almost completely invisible in water. The only reason why I use conventional mono leader for surface fishing is the fact that fluorocarbon is heavier and actually sinks in water. This sinking action does not play in the anglers favour when using a surface lure, as the weight of the line has the ability to drag the nose of the lure down under the water. I choose to run 40 lb Unitika Silver Thread Shock leader.
Poppers & Stickbaits
Poppers and stickbaits around 100 mm in length seem to be the optimum size for estuarine queenies and mini giants, yet given their extremely aggressive nature, I am sure they would take lures up to 150 millimetres. If you want to cast lures around 150 mm long though, then a 10 to 15 kg rated stick would definitely be advised.
With the exception of shallow water whiting popping, I would usually tie on a popper when I am fishing a deeper ledge or channel. The reason for this is the loud noise associated with bulk water displacement. It is this noise that contributes to waking the fish up or annoying them into a strike from the depths.
Alternatively, a stickbait that meanders from side-to-side (walks the dog) possesses an action that is just too hard for a predatory fish to resist. The action required to impart the walk the dog action is also not as physically demanding or exhausting as chugging a large popper.
Both poppers and stickbaits are designed to imitate a wounded baitfish and they do this to a tee. There are even sub-surface stickbaits (such as the 95 mm Atomic Semi-Hardz) which walks the dog just beneath the surface. These are also excellent, however the strike is not as visual as a surface strike, so you often miss the massive eruption of white-water.
My absolute weapon of choice at this location is the Megabass Giant Dog-X SW. It is a stickbait that walks the dog from side-to-side, however, it does a lot more than many other walk the dog style lures on the market. Its profile has actually been built to ‘roll-walk’. Roll-walking does two things. It displaces more water and exposes the sides of the lure to the fish beneath. Most stickbaits simply meander left and right, pushing less water and only making the belly of the lure visible to the fish below. This is why roll-walking is critical. I have definitely out-fished my mates on many occasions when they were using other stickbaits. The action of this lure is also controlled by a tungsten balancer.

Altus hooked up on his first cast of the afternoon. When the bite is hot… it is really hot!

TECHNIQUES
My mate Altus has recently enlightened me to a method which is absolutely awesome and I encourage people to try it out. The problem is that someone has to take one for the team, but swapping over and changing it up works best (and is the fairest).
This method involves getting one person to throw out a popper and start working it as per usual and then getting the other person to throw a trailing stickbait out just behind the popper. The fish will often come up and take a look at the popper making the racket, but will on most occasions smash the trailing stickbait. Altus and I utilise this method consistently and the results are simply breathtaking.
Being pelagic speedsters, a relatively fast retrieve works best. On a recent session, Altus had hooked up to a small queenie. As soon as I realised he had hooked up, I began to wind my lure in at a faster rate in a bid to get it out of the way so that he could fight his fish, unimpeded. As soon as I increased the speed of my retrieve, other queenies went berserk over my lure, swiping at it five times before hooking up. This resulted in a double hook-up and a moment we will both remember for quite some time. Employing this same high-speed retrieve for the rest of the afternoon, led to a better than usual session.
FINALLY
My mates and I have had countless, successful sessions down at the local estuary where it was like the sun, moon and earth aligned for a few hours of piscatorial mayhem. This article was penned after a solid year of these sessions, working out what worked and what didn’t work, deciphering the best time of the day, best tides and the best gear to use to gain the results. If you take on this advice and apply it to your local area, I am sure you will come up trumps. Surface fishing with poppers and stickbaits for estuarine queenfish and giant trevally is absolutely awesome, but beware, it is extremely addictive!

Luke Galea is a keen fisho who spends every spare moment he has wetting a line somewhere. Luke is based in Mackay and fishes salt and fresh water but prefers kayaking freshwater waterholes using poppers and stickbaits for sooty grunter and saratoga. Luke writes for a number of fishing magazines and is sponsored by Frogleys Offshore and Shimano.