GT Range and habitats

[Greg Burt]

[Cam Foley]

nice question greg as you no i cant help you.

[Luke Wyrsta]

How far down the east coast of Australia are we likely to encounter GTs and are they seasonal ?, I know they are found on the Gold Coast and around Moreton Bay. 
 What type of area do they like to haunt ?, most pics you see it looks like sand flats, reef edges and around channel beacons.
 Do Gts prefer moving, still water or eddies ?
 We have tagged some nice Trevally around the Barwon Banks while chasing Spaniards which are a Summer/Autumn Fish, in the Winter/Spring it is more your Long tail and Yellow fin Tuna's.
 What are your thoughts

Giant Trevally generally extend from the mid-north coast of NSW, north right around to Shark Bay in WA. They can be found further south on both coasts as far as Perth and Sydney but that is vey rare.

Like with most fishing, i still feel that i have so much to learn with GTs. Although they can be found just about anywhere in tropical waters, they are more often known (especially bigger speciamns) to haunt reefy/rocky drop-offs (reef fringes) and points. They strive in turbulent, swelling water close to reefs where waves break onto the reef. A fair bit of current really makes these places fire from my experience but this is not gospel.

As for season, this can vary from location - for example i have had more success chasing GTs during the middle of the year in WA whereas it is almost opposite in QLD. I have found that particularly on the eastern seaboard, GTs are at their prime during the warmer months (November to March).

[Greg Burt]

Saw some footage of Komodo and noticed how fast the currant was running, turbulance and even little whirl pools, and they where catching GTs.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Saw some footage of Komodo and noticed how fast the currant was running, turbulance and even little whirl pools, and they where catching GTs.

Yes, Komodo is quite testing on a GT angler. Huge fish, rocky outcrops and ultra strong currents/tides make for an amazing popping destination - powerful rods and a good captain is required for this area.

[Brandon Khoo]

Shoalwater shares the same characteristics as Komodo in this regard. Really strong currents, rocky outcrops, fishing against cliffs and some mega-sized fish. I now understand why some of the guys have been arguing for years about how strong the fish in Komodo are.

[Jon Li]

Brandon ,

In 2002 we started with PE6 in Komodo and the results were predictable and the ever increasing line rating increases each year to PE12 in 2004 before finding out the existing rods were not much good when used to cast with PE12 line , after that PE10 is the norm in Komodo till nowaday . Mind you I am talking about Varivas Avani GT rating here so PE6 = 80 lbs , PE7 = 90 lbs , PE8 = 100 lbs and PE10 = 130 lbs .

A few anglers have been humbled by GT in Komodo including your's trully and have seen rods n reels broken , including one of my own , no wonder Mogi-san call Komodo as The Place Where Experts Go in his website
( In Japanese ) .

GTs that live in the strong current tend to be thicker built and stronger as well as cleverer in using the strong current to their advantage , rods that have not much backbone will still catch fish in Komodo but generally it takes a lot longer to boat and most likely a successfull CnR is not possible .

WV80XH was created specifically for Komodo , it was tested during 2003 and released right after , most outside Japan did not get to see it till the beginning of 2004 .

Jon .

 

[Brandon Khoo]

I think there is a fair chance I'll be going up to PE10 next year and the WV. Better spend the next year in the gym!!  I (and the rest of the anglers) were really humbled last week by the bigger fish and need to rethink how they can extracted. I think one way is to pick the areas you fish so that you're not putting yourself into a position whereby everything is stacked in the fish's favour. We did fish some spots where the angler had a much better chance against a big fish but there were many where it was just death to take them on.

[Jon Li]

Hi Brandon ,

This is my opinion and shared by many including Mr. Konishi , when fishing onboard a heavy boat , one can exert pressure by leaning back without worrying about sudden movement of the boat that will topple you , such is the case when WV was during final testing of WV , Mr. Konishi was fishing onboard a Bertram 42
C which is a 20+ ton boat .

On a lighter boat , such pressure can't not be applied and by reversing the boat , the momentum of a heavy boat with slow deliberate movement is different than that of a skiff , hence in many case the angler will lose balance and the big GT takes control of the fight .

That is why Mr. Konishi never use heavy tackles on Nomad's skiffs but more likely will use TBL series , such rods are more forgiving than SP n WV series and can compensate the sudden movements of the boat and or the fish without putting hurt on the anglers .

There is no right or wrong in this case , just have to be clever about choosing the tackles to suit the situations ( boat , current , fishing ground , type of fish , own prowess , etc. )  . I happen to fish Komodo extensively and have tried to fish it in various boat from a Bertram 42C to a 9' RIB dinghy , now I settled for a Black Watch 30SF as the middle ground .

Jon .

[Brandon Khoo]

I can certainly see many scenarios where the big boat would have its advantages and one obviously is the stability of the fighting platform. I do like the little boats though as they can get through very shallow areas and are very manoeuvrable whern fighting a fish. I have lost some good fish in the past which cut me off on the bottom of the boat and I find this happens less with the little boat.

I know what I will have to do next year - they are going to have to tie me to the railings of the boat!!