Global GT Hotspots

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Hi All.
Want to start a discussion on this topic. Everyone has a favourite spot for their popping but would some of the more travelled members on this forum care to share their favourite locations. I for one would love to hear from anyone that has fished Midway.

[Brandon Khoo]

Hi Sachin - that's really hard. I like all the locations I have caught fish before!
I think if I had to pick one, I'd have to say Shoalwater. It's just such a pure and tough location. Maybe after I've gotten a bit more experience there, it might be the outer edge of the southern lagoon in New Caledonia.

[Luke Wyrsta]

Some pups from Midway.

I've been lucky enough to have session popping in Hawaii with a true great - Pat Victorino. So close but still so far - thanks US government!!! Working on that though 

Kiribati holds a lot of potential - although the last trip wasn't the best in terms of fish, the region could hold untold possibilities of good GT populations. We hope to go to Kanton next year where tales of 100ber's+ swimming with the cargo ships as they pull in sound too good to be true?!?! 

[Aaron Concord]

The area of Shoalwater Bay and surrounding islands is, as Brandon said,TOUGH!!!!!!!! No such thing as letting a fish run around on a long leash there...was awesome to film it!

Break Sea Spit is my favourite in terms of 'frontier feeling' when out there (you really do feel like you could fall off the planet!) and for the sheer size of the GTs that live there...the terrain does you no favours either. It's a challenging fishery.

Close to home, I'm spoiled by a good fishery of large G's within an hour of Brisbane...not many shots at fish compared to some Great Barrier Reef hot spots, though the average size is large!

[Mark Stotesbury]

Bassas da india a sunken volcano between madagascar and mozambique. huge gts lots of toothy critters and some of the biggest brindle bass -grouper around, resident fish over 150kg make short work of 18kg gt's.big dog tooth on the east side drop off.  one day do coral sea though!!!!!
 

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Hi Luke. Looks like Spinfishers and Van Staals on duty there. Guys use them much for GT work there?

[Brandon Khoo]

David from le Poisson Banane and Damon Olsen from Nomad Sportfishing talk of the Chesterfield Islands in awe. This is a tiny island group that is in the Coral Sea between the edge of Australian territory and New Caledonia. Apparently, the islands themselves are tiny but the coral lagoon is the size of New Caledonia. David said he has had some friends who have been out there on commercial vessels and it is everything you expect of some place so remote with no fishing pressure.  Damon has obviously done his research too. The Odyssey could hypothetically get there as well if refuelling could be worked out.......... 

David can't get there in the Antares - its just too far.

[David Noble]

Find the Chesterfield group and any other remote reef system here on this link...
Hours of fun and frustration I'll tell ya.. 
http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/

Sachin I'd be well keen to head over to the Lau group for some awesome fish. That for me would be a great destination.  I spoke to your friend Stephen a few times about going there, first it could be done and now it looks like it's not possible. 
Can you twist his arm for me please??

Cheers Dave

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Hi David. The Lau Group in Fiji does look very promising but due to the level of transport infrastructure around the more remote islands it becomes difficult and expensive to fish there.
Another place in Fiji I want to visit is Udu (pronounced Oondoo) on the island of Vanua Levu which is somewhat more accessible. I hear some serious GTs call that place home. Stephen is doing a lot of construction work these days and as such does not get much time to do fishing these days.

[Adrian Watt]

I can get to the Lau group but the problem is re-fueling. I can send out a few 44 gal drums of diesel on a ferry but by the time I get there....they won't be !  There is a coral attol called Navatu reef 30 miles to the East of Moala island that must be untouched. Moala is about 75 miles East of me so its do-able with an overnight at Moala and some good summer weather. One day I will take a week off and just go....

[Luke Wyrsta]

Hi Luke. Looks like Spinfishers and Van Staals on duty there. Guys use them much for GT work there?

Hi Sachin,

Mostly Yanks used to visit Midway due it being a US territory, so yes mostly those kind of reels. However, I believe there was more fishing for Marlin and other bluewater species done there.

The likes of Fumio Suzuki have been there many moons ago - but alas, we can only hope and lobby for it's reopening to recreational fisherman 

[Luke Wyrsta]

I can get to the Lau group but the problem is re-fueling. I can send out a few 44 gal drums of diesel on a ferry but by the time I get there....they won't be !  There is a coral attol called Navatu reef 30 miles to the East of Moala island that must be untouched. Moala is about 75 miles East of me so its do-able with an overnight at Moala and some good summer weather. One day I will take a week off and just go....

Make sure you let us know Adrian 

[Luke Wyrsta]

David from le Poisson Banane and Damon Olsen from Nomad Sportfishing talk of the Chesterfield Islands in awe. This is a tiny island group that is in the Coral Sea between the edge of Australian territory and New Caledonia. Apparently, the islands themselves are tiny but the coral lagoon is the size of New Caledonia. David said he has had some friends who have been out there on commercial vessels and it is everything you expect of some place so remote with no fishing pressure.  Damon has obviously done his research too. The Odyssey could hypothetically get there as well if refuelling could be worked out.......... 

David can't get there in the Antares - its just too far.

I have been looking at that portion of Google Earth for the last 3 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am hoping to make contact with "Pecheries de Nord" one day to convince them to bring me along 

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Adrian,I am guessing that some of the areas around your way won't be too sloppy. I have done a fair bit of popper casting around Solo (favourite) and Dravuni but am sure that further down towards Cape Washington there are probably some monsters to be had. Now it becomes a matter of costs and schedules. Let us know and perhaps we can make it happen. 25kg plus YFT are welcome to make an appearence as well and I am guessing you would have a few around Kadavu.

[Adrian Watt]

Hi Sachin, Yes, we get big GTs here but I have yet to properly explore all of the Great Astrolabe Barrier reef. The whole section from the bottom end on down to Cape Washington is totally unexplored. Our divers did some explore dives on the Great Sea Reef and came back talking about huge GTs hanging under the dive boat on the surface intervals. Every time I head out to the seamount to fish heavy tackle I go past miles and miles of awsome looking reef. Starting to get annoying. This Jan-Apr I am hoping to do some exploring down there. Interesting you like Solo, there are much better places  but its a good option if the weather is bad. 25kg YFT ? we use them as bait   
David from oceanblue is hoping to make it over some time, perhaps we can co-ordinate and do some serious exploring. Drop him a line, I'm up for it.