Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) > Tackle & Techniques

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Matt Hempfling:
Hello everybody,
I'm new to the site and I think it looks great.  I am from New York, where I primarily fish from the surf for Striped Bass.  I'm going to Hawaii (Molokai) to fish for GT's with a guide.  I'll be bringing my own gear so i'm trying to learn quickly what i'm going to need.  I have a 2 piece Lamiglas rod (9ft) that is very strong and light.  It is rated up to 3 1/2 ounces.  I have a Van Staal 250 that is spooled up with 50lb power pro.  My friend is making me some custom plugs special for my trip and I see that split rings are a main concern so I will be using Wolverine split rings.  Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Brandon Khoo:
Hi Matt and welcome to the site. I have little knowledge of the gear you're using as it isn't popular in this part of the world. You may find the Van Staal hard work for popping though as it doesn't have a high gear ratio so you will have to work a little harder.

If the GTs are of a reasonable size (20kg plus) and the area you're fishing is reefy, you may find that you will struggle with 50lb line. Split rings are only one aspect of your terminals but an important one. The other thing is to make sure your hooks are up to it. You won't go too far wrong checking out some of the information which Luke provides on this site.

Alos, remember to crush down your barbs to give the GTs a good chance of getting rid of the lure if they break you off.

Cam Foley:
Keen to know about the Van Staal, the 250 has a ratio of only 4.25:1 with no bail arm.Looking at the catolouge it says it will hold 490yds of 50lb ,im sure you could get 300 meters of 80lb on it.Really interested in the Van Staal reels.

Brandon Khoo:
Cam - why?!  ??? :(
Don't you have enough reels already? If you get one of these for popping, you'll get fit very quickly   ;D

Luke Wyrsta:

--- Quote from: Matt Hempfling on June 28, 2007, 01:48:05 PM ---Hello everybody,
I'm new to the site and I think it looks great.  I am from New York, where I primarily fish from the surf for Striped Bass.  I'm going to Hawaii (Molokai) to fish for GT's with a guide.  I'll be bringing my own gear so i'm trying to learn quickly what i'm going to need.  I have a 2 piece Lamiglas rod (9ft) that is very strong and light.  It is rated up to 3 1/2 ounces.  I have a Van Staal 250 that is spooled up with 50lb power pro.  My friend is making me some custom plugs special for my trip and I see that split rings are a main concern so I will be using Wolverine split rings.  Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

--- End quote ---

Welcome to the site Matt and thanks for the comments about the site.

Lamiglass have been known to make some very good factory rods.

Although not ideal, it's usable. Casting 3.5 ounces is around 100 grams which is actually quite light when referring to heavy popping for GTs. You are using 50lb so you have probably matched what you have quite well in retrospect, and we also have to remember that there always isn't a big fish around the corner.

Regardless of what tackle you are using - when targetting GTs, you can't take shortcuts with any of your equipment. Since you are using what we here would call a relatively 'light' outfit for GTs you don't have to beef up too much (150lb for terminals and say 100lb for shock leader).

As Brandon mentioned, crush your barbs. GT popping is seen very much as catch and release angling - not crushing your barbs or keeping your GTs may not settle well with some members (including myself ;)). But in the end, i hope you will also see what we all have made a life obsession ;D

Check out the main site for more technical and technique related info along with the forum itself. Feel free to ask any questions you have.

I will hopefully be trying to do some popping at Niihau (the forbidden island) in August.

Are you going to fish Molokai with Clay Ching?

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