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Earl Hamilton

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
January 15, 2011, 12:26:08 PM
Andre, I still have to do the Seychelles, as I have to get one of these monster GT's on the long rod...I've done it on the popper. Had a taste with a few buses on the fly at the Diamond Islets and one here in the Phils. Just got to land one ;D

Aaron Concord

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
January 16, 2011, 08:15:02 PM
Andre,
It sounds like an amazing fishery.........40+ kg GT's on the flats!  My mind boggles!
The bunch of GT's I have taken on fly peak at around 8kg, probably since I was stupid enough to try and brute them out of some of the Great Barrier Reefs gnarliest bombies......I need to try a more fly-freindly locale so I don't bust the flyline when taking a double wrap!
You have to love the madness of them eh??  Eating and spitting the fly only to turn and re-eat.......tell that to a PETA lover and they would NEVER believe you!
Actually, they would probably never believe the marine world could get so nasty! 

Earl,
It would seem that in Australia at least, you either saw a Mal Florence movie, had a mate or yourself do a Nomad trip to start you off, or, you found this site!
Which ever way the GT experience was shown to you, I still haven't found a person that hasn't been changed by the initial meeting forever more!
If anything, GT's show people another way to catch alpha predators: off the top on surface lures.
Even if (dare I say) you ever get sick of GT's, the associated tackle and techniques open up a myriad of other dead set targets and a 1000 other potentials!
Aaron.

Earl Hamilton

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
January 17, 2011, 02:49:13 AM
Aaron,
It was a bit of all three. Mal Florence started the fire, my mate threw on more fuel, and Nomad bought the fire to a point  of some control where I lived the dream. I have had a couple of unsuccessful encounters with the great GT's on a very few accasios in the Phils prior to the Nomad trips-I'll be doing my third 2 week stint with them this year, and I'm sure it wont end there !

luke peters

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 23, 2011, 04:57:18 PM
I read about it in a magazine and then got the Nomad Promo video and must have watched 3 times in a row. From there i contacted Brandon Khoo who pointed me in the right direction and the addiction started. As well as the impulse buying. It can be a very expensive past time if  you let it

Its not just the fishing though it's the people you meet and the places you go that make it irresistible for me.

Jay Burgess

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 23, 2011, 04:59:25 PM
Its not just the fishing though it's the people you meet and the places you go that make it irresistible for me.

Amen  8)

Kurt Carlson

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 26, 2011, 04:54:44 AM
Cool Thread Guys,  sounds like something from an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting.....Hi my name is Kurt and I am a GT addict  ;D

In the late 80's, I was fortunate enough to work with a guy on Maui named Kimmy Bryce.  He was previously the skipper of a game boat called No Ka Oi IV.  He used take some of the Hawaiian popping pioneers, Peter Dunn-Rankin, Mke Sakamoto and others out to an island called Kahoolawe.  The fishing was good there because it was a military island that was only open for fishing one weekend a month.

Once I got my first boat, we started talking about the island.  We spend long nights talking about techniques for poppers and other lures.  He had some great lines,  "if you are not picking opihis with the lure you are close enough to the rocks."  I used to get just murdered landing very few fish on the 20lb mono, but I was "hooked."  Some years later, the military gave the island back to the Hawaiians and it was closed to fishing.  There went my popping spot.

When I moved to Tonga about 6 years ago, I started popping again with my ancient Penn 850, 10' Uglystik, 65lb braid and an old box of Pili Poppers.   I was still getting wasted.  I had no idea that the equipment technology had gone so far over the years until Fukui came to Tonga for a fish.  I took him land-based fishing and he left his gear in my van overnight.  My son and I were in awe.  We had never seen such "pretty" gear.  His tacklebox was the size of a suitcase I would use if leaving home for over a month.  It did not take long after he left for me to order my first proper GT outfit.

To make a long story short, the late Kimmy Bryce started the fire and  Kenzaburou Fukui and discovering the great people on this site have rekindled the fire.

John Tuttle

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 27, 2011, 05:35:37 AM
I resisted for absolutely ages :).

My heavy marine fishing used to consist largely of jigging with an odd trolling break. My reasoning was that with the bizarrely expensive and highly specialised equipment required, popping somehow seemed elitist.  It was really my good friend and supremely skilled fishing guide Agus who got me over that. His constant recall of tales of fishing with Konishi, Matsutani and other luminaries proved too much to resist. The rest is history.....

This has caused me to recall how many GTs I used to catch trolling a diving lure.  Now, when poppers and sticks are not working why don't we try casting an XRap Magnum30?  Perhaps some of you do, but I don't and it seems kinda obvious!  Note to self :).

Cast a Souls Brabus = Win.

Aaron Concord

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 27, 2011, 12:27:07 PM
Quote
Cool Thread Guys,  sounds like something from an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting.....Hi my name is Kurt and I am a GT addict 

Kurt, this made me laugh a lot!

My purpose in asking the question 'why pop' has shown, in the responses, that we are all addicts!!!!!!!

It has been an interesting and intriguing read so far.............I hope the pot stirs for quite some time to come.

Aaron.

mat vinton

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 27, 2011, 02:54:38 PM
you you prick. >:(

 you know where and when!!!

Lock the drag? on this dogfight thing, he's pissing in my pocket surely.

Bank account never been the same since.


But i love ya for it. ;D

Ben Furness

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 27, 2011, 03:43:08 PM
I got into it quite by accident, although I have popped for much smaller fish and love it. I found this site Googling for some used heavy gear a while back. 30 minutes browsing the site and that was it, I organised my first GT trip within about 1 month of finding this information treasure trove. Best accident I ever had.

Aaron Concord

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Re: What got you started?? Why pop??
June 29, 2011, 08:36:21 PM
Quote
you you prick.

 you know where and when!!!

Lock the drag? on this dogfight thing, he's pissing in my pocket surely.

Bank account never been the same since.


But i love ya for it.

Matty, that is GOLD!!!!!!!
Yep.....I was there and so was Brock Arifovic.
I have never seen such a big lad (you) get pizzled so badly..........I thought you big guys could muscle these fish in  ;D
BTW, it was probably still the biggest GT you have ever been connected to.
Normally, we aim for a bucket of 15-20's, progress to 25-35's then up from here.
Hooking a frigging 50kg class GT on your first outing, well, lets just say the fish taught you a lesson on learning the ropes.
I will always be glad that I was onboard to see that...........it was a good fish!

Cheers,

Aaron, the evil man who steered you down to the 'dark side'!!