GT Strike!

[Luke Wyrsta]

Thought this would be a useful discussion to help newcomers learn some tips about how to handle a big GT strikes....

Factors such as:

• Those first few seconds as a big fish shadows your surface lure - retrieval speeds and strategy
• Striking - driving home those barbless hooks - when and why?
• Strike Drag - what do you set it at and adjustments during the first critical seconds
• Skipper & the boat - does he know what he is doing? Must you tell the skipper? What should the boat do during those first critical seconds of a strike?
• Rod angles and your own position in regards to fighting the GT

Let's hear your thoughts...

Boom!

[Jon Li]

Guys ,

My way would be as follow :

1. Maintain retrieval speed but more jerk actions to simulate frantics on the lure .
2. Whether it's barbless or barbed , I will strike a couple of times to drive the hook
into fish's jaw .
3. Adjustment of drag is done before I even cast , will add if necessary but never decrease the drag .
4. The skipper should pay attention to the anglers and the lure , usually I shout upon getting a strike to attract his attention , if I need the boat moved then will yell but if I am in full control , no need to move the boat so others can still fish . No need to do anything upon strike though .
5. Straight up to 45 Deg. when the fish are still far and about 60 Deg. to 30 Deg. from horizontal when the fish is close / underneath , I find if I lower the rod tip any lower and the fish decides to sound , I wud not have strong enough back muscle to lift the rod and wud be at the disadvantage , this is the time the captain must help by moving the boat !

Jon .

[Brandon Khoo]

pretty similar to what Jon has written with the following additional comments:

I will try to drive the hooks home - if I can! Sometimes, with a really big strike from a huge fish, you can't do that because it has completely engulfed the lure and all you're doing is holding on for dear life! It's hard enough trying to get the rod to 45 degrees!

My drag is set around the 12 - 15 kg mark. Quite frankly, I prefer a slightly lower setting in the event of a dreaded sideways strike. You can always palm the spool.

I generally like to have a pretty clear understanding of what happens should a fish be hooked with the driver of the boat already before we start casting. Unfortunately, this seems to go out the window after the fish is hooked

Rod position and my own position - ahhh    Realistically, this is not something I have entirely within my control after I hook a fish, especially if it is a decent size. I'm sure people I have fished with in the past have wondered why I am leaning over the rails with my feet up in the air or down on my knees or bouncing all over the boat. I can assure them it was not voluntary..... 

[Wong Kai Zhee]

i am not a big fan of setting the hook, especially for beginners.

reason being striking wildly or prematurely results in slacks that can easily (more so f braided) wind around rod tip w disasterous results. also, the zero stretch of braid, high strike drag, sharp hooks, force which GT strike lure and its run will drive the hooks home.

after the initial excitement, the most demanding part of the fight will be straight up and down. cus the angle is extreme, its easy to hold the rod too high, placing too much stress on the rod tip. then the stalemate also frustrates anglers and some tend to go into the "macho" mode and start yanking away. such acts tires the angler fast and does little to move the fish closer. and should the fish decides to run again, with the rod butt in the gimbel, the angler may be forced to hunch his back, awkard and dangerous. many times, i find it necessary to remove the rod from the gimbal and be ready to shaft it into the water should the fish run below the boat.

[Luke Wyrsta]

i am not a big fan of setting the hook, especially for beginners.

reason being striking wildly or prematurely results in slacks that can easily (more so f braided) wind around rod tip w disasterous results. also, the zero stretch of braid, high strike drag, sharp hooks, force which GT strike lure and its run will drive the hooks home.

Hi Wongkz,

Appreciate your opinion , but i have to say i disagree.

A majority of the time, you will hook-up or loose the fish within the first initial seconds right from the strike. A GT strike will be aggresive and usually quite messy - driving home hooks is very much required since they may be barely hooked or may simply be 'mouthing' the lure with no actual hooks embedded in the fish.

I have never had any issues as long as you wind (keeping the tension eliminating slack) and strike at the same time (5 big and powerful strikes IMO - count them) - this has dramatically increased my strike retention rates

[Wong Kai Zhee]

the issue of settin the hook or not is quite a hotly debated topic over the years. even the sharpness of hooks. seems that some people believe that too sharp a circle hook will result in gut hookin and a "not razor" sharp j hook will slide in the fish's mouth and find some softer spot to sink itself.

the key word u mentioned is "wind and strike". i believe this is a case of being slower is better than faster, its crucial to act only when the fish has firmly clamped down on the lure. cus i had seen many cases of premature strikes when the fish shadow or attempt to strike a lure (esp a surface lure). 

therefore i still feel that tension is more important than the actual striking. weather poppin or jiggin, its important to wind till the rod loads, then strike. i also strike, but not 5 times, maybe twice.

[Sachin Chaudhry]

I tend to slow the retrieve down an bit because usually by the time you see the fish it has already decided to have go at it.
On the first missed strike I will drop the rod tip down and point it at the fish stopping the retrieve completely and simply twitching. This almost always induces a strike. If the fish misses the lure and you keep winding it has to continue chasing the lure closer to the boat. A lot of fish get spooked with 10 or 20 feet of the boat and will turn away.
To set the hook I simply bring the rod up sharply once and that tends to be enough.
By stopping the retrieve and twitching I am usually able to get a solid hook up.
Communication with the skipper is vital but we do everything slowly and deliberately so as to get settled into the fight. Moving the boat in a hurry away from a big fish simply makes it easier for the fish to peel line off the reel. Once the fish is close to to the boat I back my drag off a little so that sudden movements may not cause the lure to come out or a knot to give.
Seems to work well enough

[Luke Wyrsta]

therefore i still feel that tension is more important than the actual striking.

Well that is something that we will both have to disagree on then - they are both as important.

weather poppin or jiggin, its important to wind till the rod loads, then strike.

[Luke Wyrsta]

I tend to slow the retrieve down an bit because usually by the time you see the fish it has already decided to have go at it.
"On the first missed strike I will drop the rod tip down and point it at the fish stopping the retrieve completely and simply twitching. ""This almost always induces a strike. If the fish misses the lure and you keep winding it has to continue chasing the lure closer to the boat. A lot of fish get spooked with 10 or 20 feet of the boat and will turn away.""To set the hook I simply bring the rod up sharply once and that tends to be enough.
By stopping the retrieve and twitching I am usually able to get a solid hook up.
Communication with the skipper is vital but we do everything slowly and deliberately so as to get settled into the fight. Moving the boat in a hurry away from a big fish simply makes it easier for the fish to peel line off the reel. Once the fish is close to to the boat I back my drag off a little so that sudden movements may not cause the lure to come out or a knot to give.
Seems to work well enough"

[Brandon Khoo]

I actually believe that there is room here for what you're all espousing, especially in terms of setting the hook.

I've found that there is a difference in my hookups depending on whether I am using a stickbait, a chugger or a pencil popper. in the case of a stickbait of chugger, I find a high number of hookups with the treble or single in the middle of the lure. With the pencil popper, I find a higher percentage of hookups on the rear hook or treble.

I'm like Luke in that I try really hard to set the hook into the fish. That is because I primarily use stickbaits and chuggers and with these, I firmly believe the fish often clamps down on the head of the lure and charges off without actually being hooked. I've seen this on numerous occasions and the reason they charge off is not because they are trying to escape from you or the boat at that point but because they are trying to get away from the other trevally who will be trying to snatch the lure from their mouths.

If you don't set the hook, they will release it as soon as they realise it isn't really edible. I believe that often when we think the fish has been dropped that is it actually never hooked in the first place.

With a pencil popper on the other hand, I find they tend to hook themselves on the rear treble or hook more often than not. You can set the hook but generally, I find they are already reasonably well hooked from this position. As Sachin wrote, he simply lifts the rod firmly and is on.

In terms of what to do when the fish is already chasing the lure, I think it really depends and realistically, go with what you think works for you. I've seen guys who increase the retrieve speed to guys who almost stop the lure and they all catch fish. I had one at Shoalwater where I had the popper at the boat already when the fish came around. I lifted it out of the water and then I literally lowered the rod tip to put the lure back in the water. The fish hit the lure that was dead still right next to the boat. I've alwasy been a strong proponent to keep the lure moving but I've got a friend who does what Sachin does - almost down to a dead stop and just twitch the lure. He argues that I don't catch any more fish than he does but I would argue he doesn't catch any more fish than I do with his method!!