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

GTFightClub Hawaiian Shoreline Specific GT Rods

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Nathan Tsao:
Aloha GT Popping, and a big thanks to Brandon Khoo for allowing me to write this!

Here in Hawaii we eat, sleep, breath, and bleed shoreline GT fishing. For ages our shoreline fishing was dominated by "Slide Bait" style fishing, but in the last couple years GT Popping has become a red hot method for fishing from our rugged shorelines. With a new generation crop of motivated,  dedicated, and informed anglers, we are seeing a massive push towards conservation based GT fishing that Hawaii has not seen since ancient times.
It has been a core mission of GTFightClub to promote the sport, and ethics, of GT popping throughout Hawaii by sharing our combined experiences of this incredible fishery. 

With GTFC as a platform to work off of, I have been able to follow through with the long time dream of developing a line of high quality fishing rods designed for niche purpose. Finding a good shoreline specific GT rod has always been difficult for us because of their rarity. Almost 100% of the time, high end rods needed to be shipped to Hawaii from Japan, AUS, or the US mainland. Most of these needed to be ordered without having any personal experience with the rods, which left us sort of blind and guessing as to what we were buying. With so many local anglers looking for high end gear and having difficulty finding it; I decided that the demand was finally there to move forward on the project of developing the GTFightClub Hawaii Shoreline Specific Rod Series!

To do this we went to custom rod blank builders CTS of New Zealand with our ideas of what we wanted in the ultimate shoreline rod specific to our needs here in Hawaii. It was a complete pleasure working with their friendly staff, and they were more than accommodating during our visit to their factory to work on design specs. I have been building rods for 16 years, and visiting the CTS factory to see the process and touch the raw materials was hugely educating and exciting!!! Upon working with CTS we have achieved our goal of combining our years of on the water experience into rods perfectly suited for our unique environment.


We have since released 3 different models of our GTFC line of rods; each with its own ratings and qualities to match the varied island terrains that we fish.
Each blank is composed of three different types of 100% Japanese Carbon Fiber layered for specific purpose. The inner most layer begins with a Helical Carbon Fiber Core which is the skeleton that retains the hoop strength for the finished rod. Critical for those deep bends while lifting large GTs out of deep water.
The second layer(s) are comprised of Uni-Directional Carbon Fibers which make up the powerhouse of the rod. This is a scrim-less material for retaining maximum strength and minimizing weight. 
The third layer is a finish of Woven Carbon which acts as an impact and ding resistance shield to the inner layers, and also adds some extra hoop retention to the rod. Its function is more for blank durability against sharp lava rocks than anything else. Durability against rock damage was a paramount concern of mine that led to us using this outer layer of carbon fabric.

To finish off the blanks I have added my favorite feature which is a very thin layer of Uni-Directional S-Glass to the top 16" of the blank. This tip section "Bumper" is another layer of protection for those situations when you're popping hard and the lure skips out of the water causing the rodtip to fly backwards and smack into the lava rocks. Many rods get broken in Hawaii for this very reason, and i feel that this feature aids greatly in solving that problem. All the finished rods are then built myself in Kailua-Kona Hawaii.

Our most popular selling model (and my personal favorite) is our PE10 "Desert Eagle" rod.
Specs:
10' 2pc
60/40 split
Line PE8 - PE10
Efficient Lure Range: 140g-180g (without hooks)
Max Lure Range: 200g
Hybrid Guide Train: Fuji MNSG Reduction Guides; Fuji Titanium TiLCSG Lowrider running guides
Best fit reel: Stella 14K-18K
Rod Notes: This is more of a popper rod than anything. It has a ridiculously fast tip recovery which is further enhanced by the wide frame lowrider running guides. Lots of drive through the middle and lower sections to bring fish up from very deep water. Best lure example matches are HammerHead E-Cups, G-Cups, and Heru Bobara 150XXX. It's more powerful from tip to butt than both the MC Works 106XX and RippleFisher Runner Exceed, but heavier than both by design. Its flex pattern is most similar to the Patriot Design Rockfist, yet significantly lighter with equal power. Biggest fish landed on the Desert Eagle so far was a nice 30kilo GT landed in under 3 minutes from the shoreline.
There is an 11? version coming soon to be built as an overhead rod also.
 

Lighter action "Evolution" Model Specs:
10' 2pc
60/40 Split
Line PE5-PE6
Efficient Lure Range: 80-120g (without hooks)
Max Lure Range: 150g stickbaits
Hybrid Guide Train: Fuji MNSG reduction guides, Fuji Titanium TiKWSG running guides
Best Reel Fit: Stella 10K
Rod Notes: Very crisp and responsive feeling rod. This is the perfect rod for situations where all day search casting for maximum distance is needed. It performs best with 100g lures both poppers and stickbaits. The K-series running guides provide line control for using lighter lines in windy conditions. This rod is most comparable to the Zenaq 100HHH in its lure range, but with more power through the middle and butt. Best lure matching examples are Shimano Head Dips, and Heru Tuna 100.   


Crazy Heavy "Armageddon" model Specs:
11' 2pc
60/40 Split
Line PE10+
Lure Range 180-250g+ Poppers
Hybrid Guide Train: Fuji MNSG reduction, Fuji TiLCSG running guides
Best Fit Reel: Stella 18K-20K, or Saltiga Expedition 8000
Rod Notes: You dont want this rod unless you absolutely NEED this rod. It exists for one purpose only, and that is to blast the biggest chuggers through the biggest nastiest ocean conditions out there. There is nothing else like it on the market designed for shoreline GT Popping, it stands in a class by itself. Best lure match examples are Hammerhead G-Cups, I-Cups, and whatever else you may be crazy enough to throw off a cliff.

Another big thanks to both Charles Cintron and Ladd Yoshimura because without these guys the rods would have never been made!
Here are some photos of the finished rods. Thanks for looking

Aloha,
Nate and GTFightClub
 

Trevor Skinner:
Nathan,

Well done. These look like real winners.

The right tools for a difficult job.

Regards,


Trev

Clem Henry:
Great feedback Nathan,

The Evolution looks great for Kingies off the rocks..

For those who may not be familiar with CTS, I have 11 custom rods built on their blanks - covering most of their saltwater range, popping/sticks - soft bait - drop shot - light casting and surfcasting.

Great blanks that perform very well; large range of options...at least worth a look if considering a new rod/blank.

Clem

Craig Maree:
Hi Nathan

Thanks for the informative info on GT Shore Popping Rods.

I love reading your battles with shore based GT's, with much respect as I know how serious  GT's pull from the shore.

You can't beat popping for GT's from the shore and I have had the privilege of shore popping for them in Mozambique and the Seychelles, with some sessions in the Seychelles being the most insane fishing of my life, with me and a mate landing very good size fishing and been cleaned up regularly.

My addiction to GT Popping actually starting with targeting them from the shore in Mozambique many years ago before braid and Stella's, where we used overhead reals with mono and heavy 10ft Composite Development CD Rods from New Zealand, Graphcast 5.

The key to shore popping in our area is casting distance, as we have to get beyond the shore waves. 

I have been out testing distance between overhead reels and spinning reels and get better distance with overheads.

I am looking at getting a new overhead reel and looking at the Shimano Cranx with a level-wind.

What overhead reels are you guys using and what difference in distance are you getting between overheads and spinning?

Thanks

Craig

Nathan Tsao:
Aloha Craig,

Shoreline GT's are the ULTIMATE, haha!!!
I also very much prefer to use overhead reels for both casting distance and also for throwing extra long heavy leaders. Right now my favorite overhead is the Daiwa Saltiga Hyperspeed 40LD. I like this reel for lures 150g-180g with PE8 Blackwater Hollowcore. It has all the drag you need to lock down on bigger fish. This reel goes on my 11'6" PD Rockfist, and with this setup i will consistently hit 100m casts and with a little tailwind i can easily hit over 120m casts. This is with about 10-12m of 125lb Ande mono with a 2m section of 200lb Ande tied outside the tip.
 
The Hyperspeed 30LD is also a sweet reel and the casting performance exceeds the 40 in terms of useable lure weights. The spool weight of the 40 is pretty heavy so it needs good sized lure to get that spool spinning properly. In contrast, the spool of the 30LD is much lighter which allows you to get the spool up and spinning with much lighter lures in the 60g-75g range. I use the 30 with 80lb JB Hollow and usually 100g lures. Becasue its so much smaller; the 30 has less drag capability and has less cranking power than the 40. Its a great reel for distance, but maybe not so much for larger (30kilo) sized GTs.

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