GT's going shy?

[Jay Burgess]

We went out to a spot this morning where we've caught small GT's before and lost a few unknowns quite a bit bigger. When we first got there the conditions seemed ideal. The tides were big and consequently there was a lot of current ripping past our small island.

First cast yielded a follow from a couple of small GT's. Second cast turned up a strike but no hookup. Third cast I must have landed the popper right on top of a GT's head as I got a hookup before I even had a chance to retrieve. Fourth cast another strike but no hookup.

Then, it all went quiet. For the next couple of hours we belted out numerous cast's for not even a sniff, tried different colours, sizes, shapes but nothing. At first I thought it could have been the tides but it was still a good hour before the high and the bite just seemed to shut down so fast!

[lonhro]

Jay
Finally something i have seen my self. When in may i went out to the swains reefs for a fish, we saw heaps and heaps of GT's and i tryed everything and nothing they wouldn't even check out or swim past out live baits and as for poppers Not a hope of even getting a strike or a follow and this lasted the whole week. Some of my  experience i put down to bad weather and wrong style or technique but when they leave the live baits i start to wonder. by the end of it i put it on to that the must have been something else in the water spooking the fishing in the area i.e shark following the dorry or the fish shut off for a little while to rest up from the morning feed.

[Jay Burgess]

I feel your pain Randy... however my circumstances were a little different in the fact that we actually did get strikes and hookups but it then shut down so quickly. I did notice a large bronzie around which had a go at my popper but I wouldn't expect that he would have hung round for the entire session and shying off the GT's for the whole time.

[Brandon Khoo]

guys, this is not uncommon and all and does not just apply to GTs but pretty much all species of fish. I've seen in from everything from wahoo to bream. Something triggers the feeding instinct and something turns it off. It's really exasperating when you're fishing at a time when it is off!!

[Luke Wyrsta]

I agree with Brandon's comments.

Also, if you don't have any success - move to another spot! I find that i am usually drifting or crusing very very slow so we are always covering ground. If it is a really good spot try and hold your position for a little while as you work the whole area but i wouldn't be wasting too much time - move on a cover more ground.

It can also pay to try out different surface lures - in this scenario, since the bloopers/chugger weren't getting any hits, try a fast retrieved pencil or a twitching subsurface stickbait Has turned on the goods many times for me.

[Greg Burt]

This is where something like a log is helpfull, your own or a commercial type, ie, season x moon phase x tide changes x water clarity/temp etc = action.
 
 

[Brandon Khoo]

I have had a session previously on wahoo where we trolled every type of lure we had, cast every popper, minnow stickbait and even tried bait etc to not avail. There were wahoo everywhere as you could see them just milling around doing nothing and then for some reason, something turned them on. We saw one fish change colour (on the bands on the side of the fish) and within seconds, this happened with every fish we could see. From that point on, you wouldn't have put your hand in the water.

I've also had this happen wth tailor where there was a school of thousands that wouldn't touch a damn thing and then one of them gets turned on by a popper and its on.