Which GT Icecream

[Mahmoud Salem]

Good day

I've seen people praising the GT icecream lure, so I guess it's worth adding to my collection
I do appreciate your advise about which model/size/color are to try first?

Thanks in advance
Mahmoud

[Gerhard Delport]

White 3-4oz depending on the outfit you want to use it with.

[Mahmoud Salem]

I'm using pe8, Smith Tokara
Isn't bigger better?

[Gerhard Delport]

I'm using pe8, Smith Tokara
Isn't bigger better?

The its a skipbait and the bigger plugs can take a lot of enegry to try and keep on the surface...

Biggest I would go is 5oz

[Mahmoud Salem]

I'm lose between the models, theres the Skinny,Cone,needle,flat face?
which one is the most succesfull?

On the other hand I believe 5oz is the biggest they make

[Anton Haakman]

What species will you be targeting? The skinny and needle are best for very fast moving fish ie tuna and macks. The broader the plug the more water it pushes and the slower that you wind it. Very good for GT. They throw like a missile so come into there own when distance is a major factor. They can also be fished in all conditions. Best thing is that they are very affordable. A very commonly used lure in the Republic for land based anglers that fish off of cliffs as they can take a beating. Many big yfin are landed each year of Cape Town by the boat anglers.

[Mahmoud Salem]

So you are suggesting something like the Cone for GTs and the Skinny or needle for tuna?
I was mainly thinking of trevalies,GTs and Bohar snappers, I never thought they will be as good for blue fin tuna

[Anton Haakman]

For Gt, Trevally, Queenfish and Bohar I would use the plugs that push more water and as a result you wind slower. That would mean that the front of the lure is broad- 20- 30mm across. These will come in a variety of weights and lengths to suit the outfit you are casting with and the size of fish being targeted.

For the bigger yfin that we get off of Cape Town I use a plug that is 18mm wide x 15mm thick and 140mm long. This imitates their prey of garfish or pilchard. I like dark green, blue or pink colours.

For the smaller yfin 10-30kg that shoal up more a smaller narrower plug works well. 15x14x120 in the same colours. This can be wound very fast and is ideal to throw into boiling fish.

Most plugs vary in weight from 40 - 100g with some at 120g. Remember these things cast like bullets so you do not need to go heavy. Lighter lures attract more bites as their action is a bit more natural. They tend to skip with less effort. The best word to describe the action you are looking for is slither. You should not feel the reel working hard to keep the plug moving.

I will try an post a pic of some of the plugs that I would take.

Kind regards
Anton

[DW Huysamer]

Hi Anton,

Which rod and reels do you use for tuna popping in the Cape?  My goal is to get some yft on popping gear this season.  Going to use a Saltywater Race Point 150 and Stella SW with a 16000 spool with 80lb braid.  Just hope thats enough should I hook into a bigger fish...

[Anton Haakman]

I have a few set ups that are on the boat that vary from light to medium heavy. They start with an 8ft CTS PE 3 rod and Stella 5000 with 30 lbs - my ytail setup that can handle fish to 30 or so kg. Next is a Black Devil 100 with either 8000 Stella or 8000 Biomaster with 50lbs. I use both of these for normal Teflon plugs and when looking for busting tuna shoals where casting distance may be critical. My last outfit is 8'6 Blackhole Nano with either 16000 Stella or 10000 Stella FA and 60lbs JB hollow or 80lbs. I use this outfit for 120 - 150g poppers when we are in the deep fishing bait. I fish the popper over the chum line hoping it will coax a fish up. With the bigger fish in deep water capacity becomes and issue hence the 60lbs JB hollow. It breaks close to 100lbs but is fairly thin. I then splice a 130lbs braid leader of 9m into the 60lbs joined by FG to 1mm floro leader. The 130 lbs helps when the fish is under the boat in case the line touches something or if his tail at some point hits the line.

Regards
Anton