Depth for popping?

[Vinh Nguyen]

I'm curious to see if there is a certain depth you look for when popping for GT's? Or do you just look for structure, current, and deep drop offs? Curious to know, please discuss. Thanks

[Travis Heaps]

if i had the option i'd fish schooled bait first time every time. Next would be visible structure (points, surfacing bommies with current etc).  I've not done it but if you wanted to pop a wreck, bank or submerged feature i would start to lose confidence at plus 30m i think, thats a long way to call a fish up, even with a big blooper.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Hi Vinh

Depends on the underwater terrain and features. Reef systems that have radical drops may hold fish deep but in close to this structure so it can be possible to pop in water as deep as 80 metres, however it is most likely you are actually casting to areas under 60m or to fish that would be higher in the water column patrolling the major points and structure. There are not too many places where this happens - but when it does the fishing is usually MONSTER class.

[Luke Wyrsta]

A rule of thumb is to look for major points, crevasses and pinnacles/bommies that are exposed to some kind of water movement ie current, waves, surge etc. Fish may be patrolling these areas or holding in back eddies. Work the whole area in general but approach with caution and concentrate on the leading edge where this water movement is hitting.

As Travis mentioned, working bait schools are also likely to hold fish. In the places I fish, such occurance usually holds school sized/rat GTs but this may not be the case in other locations or special conditions.

[Aaron Concord]

The guys from FCL LABO use their 200 Ebipop in 70m regularly.

I'd say it's around bait schools with the fish patrolling higher in the water column, rounding up bait like a sailfish or marlin does.

It's worth trying....I don't know anyone who fishes Broome, Cape Bowling Green, the 18 mile off Mooloolaba or the Trench of Cape Moreton doing this. Most are dragging skirts or minnows for pelagics locally.

Anyone had a crack at this?? Pinpointing scad/slimey mackerel schools??

Aaron.

[Ben Rutkin]

We regularly throw poppers into schools of slimy macks and have never had a strike.  We havent thrown an ebipop but havent had any luck to date with any poppers we have thrown.

[Brandon Khoo]

you just got to get lucky casting at baitfish. GTs are voracious predators and will probably eat anything small and unfortunate enough to cross their path.

At Jewell Reef last year, we were fishing the traditional reef areas we focus on and we could see shcools of oceanic queenfish from time to time out in the open water. I asked Damon whether it was worth having a cast and he didn't think so. Anyway, when we were moving spots, there was a school of them about 80m away so Damon asked me to throw a popper at the school. Result was instant hookup on a GT. After that, we chased the queenies anytime we saw them but there were not always GTs under them.

[Aaron Concord]

I agree that with faster moving Queenies, scad and the like you do need to be lucky to get a shot.

I wouldn't mind to still try casting over bait that has been rounded up.
There are suspicious bust-offs and leaders getting worn through when billfishing around slow moving yellowtail scad/slimey schools. They lean towards GT's rather than kingies or amberjacks.

I'm thinking of it as an option for times when the boat traffic in South East Queensland is too high to target the pinnacles and reefs where the G's typically school up.

I am a reef/bombie + fusilier/macktuna kinda guy first and foremost!

[Chuen Fan]

A bit off topic but still related, when casting at bait schools would you cast right in the middle and work your poppers/stickbaits through or over the school and work it through? Or is it better to cast to the side of the school so as not to spook the bait to head downwards??

[Andy Rowe]

A bit off topic but still related, when casting at bait schools would you cast right in the middle and work your poppers/stickbaits through or over the school and work it through? Or is it better to cast to the side of the school so as not to spook the bait to head downwards??

Definitely the latter of your suggestions for reasons you already indicate. This topic has already been discussed somewhere in the forum and I agree a lure landed 10 m to the edge of the bait helps keep the bait together but will also be more conspicuous to the GT working below the bait.