Hey Scott, for what it's worth, and without wanting to upset the masses, I remember a little session popping for GT's on the back of the Odyssey at Bugatti (after a hard day popping from the dories of course), when one of the guys jagged a fusi on the popper quite by accident. Sure enough the fusi was subsequently pinned onto a live bait hook and sent back off the back of the boat directly into the middle of probably 6-10 circling GT's.
Y'know what....the GT's would not touch it! We went on to take a further 2-3 GTs on the poppers whilst the fusi swam quite happily unmolested around the back of the boat in full view of the circling GT's. It wasn't until the guy holding the rod finally got bored of everyone else catching the fish that he wound the little fusi in to swap over to a popper rod. Out of pure sympathy and part interest I offered to dispatch the fusi for him whilst he re rigged.
I clocked him over the head (the fusi that is) partially butterflied both sides so the fillets were flapping in the current and sent him back over the duck board for another swim.....would you believe it was snapped up by a 25kg GT before I could even open the bail arm to lower it deeper into the water. My curiosity satisfied, I retreated to the bar for another cold one.
I'm not sure exactly what it was that set them off, whether it was the blood coming of the bait or the seductive wiggle of the fillets in the water....one things for sure though, the poppers were much more successful (and fun) than dunking the live fusi - and a lot less stressful, I would imagine, for the fusi!
