GTPopping.com - Giant Trevally, GTPopping, Topwater & GT Fly-Fishing Resource
Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) => Tackle & Techniques => Topic started by: dante green on December 16, 2012, 08:21:35 PM
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What is the record for GT caught by popper from land?
What rod suggestions for land based?
How much harder is it to land a monster class GT from shore vs. from boat?
cheers.
D
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Hi Dante
The IGFA world record was caught from shore. You can see it here: http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecordsList.aspx?lc=AllTackle&cn=Trevally,%20giant
http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=3008.msg25900#msg25900
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/unkoking/m/200606
Fukui San, has I think, 4 IGFA lineclass records (Most probably caught on his boat?). But you can see how he catches a nice sized GT from shore here:
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What are you like at casting? Also the terain that you will be fishing in will be factors in rod selection
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Depending greatly on terrain... Here in Hawaii, your chances of a monster fish from shore is about 1in 50 hookups of monster sized fish. Boat fishing is cheating compared to the rocks, but the rocks are a whole lot more fun because of it :) :)
Good luck with your hunting!
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Peter: Thanks for the info!
Sydney: The area I am fishing at is very deep with massive caves
Nathan: What is the biggest GT on popper recorded there in Hawaii?
cheers.
D
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Wassup Dante,
There have been rumors of a 98lb GT coming off a popper from shore here on Big Island, but i cannot say for sure. A monster class fish in Hawaii is 100lbs or 45kilos. Nothing compared to that dinosaur caught in Tokara, i cant even imagine dealing with a fish like that from shore or boat! Most times the bigger fish just bury themselves in lava caves once you hook them here, no chance. My own best is 32-33kilos, mostly luck though!
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Hi Dante
The IGFA world record was caught from shore. You can see it here: http://wrec.igfa.org/WRecordsList.aspx?lc=AllTackle&cn=Trevally,%20giant
http://www.gtpopping.com/forum/index.php?topic=3008.msg25900#msg25900
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/unkoking/m/200606
ROD : ZENAQ JIGGER TRUST FOKEETO FC83-7 Trevally
REEL : DAIWA SALTIGA-Z 6000GT + STUDIO OceanMark CUSTOM SPOOL ST6500VII
LINE : YGK YOZ-AMI GALIS ULTRAJIGMAN X8 #8 113Lbs
SPACER : SUNLINE DEEP ONE #30 220Lbs
LEADER : Momoi's Hi-Catch NYLON LEADER #94 250Lbs
FIGHTING LEADER : YGK YOZ-AMI SEAHUNTER #80 330Lbs
LURE : Maggy Gara MarlinModel redmackerel
FRONT HOOK : DECOY SALT WATER TRIPLE HOOK BIG 7/0
REAR HOOK : DECOY SALT WATER TRIPLE HOOK G.T.SPECIAL 8/0
Could someone please educate me about the line system used? What is spacer?
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My inquiring mind also wants to know what the heck is a "spacer." But hey who cares, he has the record ::)
Cheers.
D
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Bite leader? Length of assist jigging cord spliced onto the heavy fighting leader that takes the brunt of the rocks and reef and the next lighter leader for casting and control of the fish once at the base of the rocks?
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Ben, I don't think you want to be educated on the system used. As I commented in another thread some time back, there are some incredibly complex systems out there and some have been developed simply as a signature rig for some celebrity angler. They offer no real advantage.
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Ben, I don't think you want to be educated on the system used. As I commented in another thread some time back, there are some incredibly complex systems out there and some have been developed simply as a signature rig for some celebrity angler. They offer no real advantage.
I agree with brandon here. The more lines connected to each other the better the chance of a break-off. Keep it simple, mainline to leader. ;)
cheers.
D
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Right~
Some day I gonna develop my own signature rig consist of a specific brand of lifevest. LOL
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Hey Nathan,
Where exactly in Hawaii do you go to catch GT'S from the shore ??? In NZ most of our biggest Kingies are caught "land based" be it land based may need a canoe to get to it at low tide.They don't get the same level of publicity as boat caught fish because it is hard work carrying all the gear to the right spot.,you cannot reach it from the car park.Most fishing mag writers aren't into this.Live baits are first choice which can mean carrying then in!!!PE8 casting rods are the norm with 200lb leaders.Others use overhead out fits but these are more susceptible to line failure due to rocky terrain.
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Wassup Neville,
You can catch GT from shore just about anywhere in Hawaii, though our fishery is quite poor comparatively to most places. Most of the time i keep a few rods rigged in my truck and fish the areas around my workplace before work in the early mornings. Just today while i was eating lunch my friend landed a 21kilo GT on a popper from right behind my workplace where some jumbo waves were hitting the cliffs.
Typically the farther you get from people, the better the fishing gets around here. When time allows, the best spots are anywhere from 1.5 mile to 9 mile hikes in to remote areas.
As for overhead rigs, i experience the opposite. My preference is to throw overhead 80% of the time with long leaders. I find much better abrasion resistance with these rigs compared to spinning outfits, along with much greater casting distance. Lava rock caves are the great equalizer in our fishery, and sometimes the fish just bury themselves too deep in them to get them out. PE8 with 12m of 100-125lb leader + 2m of 250lb tippet is my standard shoreline GT rig. Casting distance of 100m+ is critical to getting bites at my spots, and overhead reels are the only way to reach that distance with a long leader.
(http://imageshack.us/a/img339/6950/dscf3073f.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/339/dscf3073f.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
(http://imageshack.us/a/img198/5536/july2010015.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/198/july2010015.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
This is a spot in the middle of nowhere, where the waves will kill you if you're not paying attention. This is also what it looks like getting your butt kicked by a 30kg+ fish with poor footing in a dangerous spot. Lost this one big time ;D
(http://imageshack.us/a/img703/4674/dscf1167n.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/dscf1167n.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
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Hi Nathan, thanks for that,very usefull.We are not exactly comparing apples with apples but I understand where you are coming from.The overheads heads are often two speed and Livieswith ballons are lobbed out.Not the same as casting popper or sick baits.A Livie for a GT is definitely on my agenda .Reckon a Flying Fox Rig is the way to go.Will let you know if I have any luck
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Hey Nathan,Merry Xmas mate.
Any chance of you giving me an update on exactly what your land based set up consists of,reel rod etc.There are a few places I intend going to where a land based set up would be a good idea not to mention taking the costs of a charter out!!!.
You are so Lucky having GT'S on your door step.I have to get on a plane and fly 3hrs due North or 5hrs Nth Nth West.
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Hi Nathan
How do you find casting lures on a overhead reel using braid ? I have done a lot of shore based GT popping , but with nylon on my overhead reels.
I also agree with the casting distance being longer than with a spinning outfit , but , I haven't mastered the casting of braided line on a overhead reel . For me the braid tends to loosen itself after a couple of casts and then a BIG mess in the line tends to follow. What is the secret ?
cheers
JP
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slightly off topic but how have you liked that new Saltiga?
(http://imageshack.us/a/img339/6950/dscf3073f.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/339/dscf3073f.jpg/)
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It seems that it is practically impossible to find a 9ft (no more and no less) heavy duty popping rod for shore :(
Anyone here know of any other 9ft rods?
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I have a EP 90/37 ICBM on order its nine foot but more for casting sticks and it ain't no heavy duty rod, 8foot6 is probably it in a heavy duty rod and my fisherman big game 86rs is a serious bit of kit that can flog a heavy popper out there and make them pop
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The specs I've been looking for is:
- length : 9ft
- line : pe8 - pe12
- lure: 120 - 200gr
Just straight up brute force of a rod. I wish fisherman had that BG in a 9 footer with the same specs as the 86 :(
cheers.
D
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Nathan what blank would be suitable to cut down to a serious 9 footer
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Wow, hunting for a 9ft BG Jack is kind of a tough one! I dont really know of any 9' blank that is exactly in the same idea range of the BG Jack. There are 2 broken BG Jack's sitting against my wall, with another 2 waiting to be re-wrapped for my friend Vinh. Handling them now, i really cant think of a 9' (no more, no less) that can accurately be compared with these.
Does the blank in question need to be a 2 piece rod? If you are OK with a 1 piece rod , then a good one to look at would be a Calstar GF 900H. The blank is rated up to 80lb Mono, which puts the braided line rating at about 100lb or PE8. The Clastar GF series is a blank that transitions from an all graphite butt section towards an all E-glass section at the tip of the rod. The tip "glass" section of the 900H is only about 18inces long, making the rod very stiff while still useable. I have owned the GF800L and GF900M, but not the 900H, as it was too much rod for the striped bass i was targeting at the time. If you were to cut 2" off the tip of the 900H, i think you'd have a rod pretty close to what you are looking for; just a face ripping meat hammer! They are an excellent blank with one of the best reputations for durability in the market. I'm not sure the availability of Calstar Blanks down in AUS though, do they distribute them over there?
If you can be a little flexible on length, then the United Comp 100XXH2-J would be another one to look at. You could cut down the butt joint section maybe as much as 8-10 inches, then trim another inch (maaaaybe 2) off the tip, and you'd have a rod somewhere in the 9'6" range. *The 100 series blanks come in at somewhere between 10'4" and 10'6"*. Myself and a few others that own this blank can all tell you that it is a MONSTER of a shoreline rod. with the modifications mentioned above, it would easily be more powerful than the Patriot Design Rockfist. As an unmodified stock blank the 100XXH and the Rockfist XTX blank are extremely close in feel with the UC being a tad stiffer.
Hope this helps somehow, please let me know if you do find a 9' blank/rod that is comparable to the BG Jack, as i have a few customers who would line up for one!
Aloha!
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I am hurting even thinking about trying to handle a 9 ft BG Jack type rod! :o
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I'm not sure how many anglers on this earth could hold onto a rod like that under heavy drag!! :o
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Once you set the hook, you find a place to jam your leg or hip or feet or whole body into a lava rock and hold on for dear life until the fish turns or you break line. Fishing with heavy drag from the lava rocks forces you to use the terrain as much as you can to your advantage. If you've got a few good rocks, you can apply more pressure to a fish from the land than you can from a boat. Then once it turns, that fish can absolutely not take drag again or its all over. Often times it becomes a foot scramble between rocks to keep the best pressure on the fish. Stick and move, stick and move, is the only way to get the job done.
It just sucks when you get reefed and end up flying backwards ass over tea kettle onto sharp lava, always ending up bloody and bandaged during the year at some point!
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Huge respect to you Nathan.. really.
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Now that is extreme fishing!
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Huge amounts of respect.
I feel like a real wuss now......'why hasn't this boat got a cappuccino maker?' is my idea of roughing it.
Regards,
Trevor
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The United Composites 100XXH is a beast of a rod, it'll cast a 200g+ popper a mile and have enough power to work a big cup popper properly. I'd say its a 10ft pe10-12 rod. Nate trimmed my UC down a bit, the butt section is really long so trimming it to shorten your swing during casting is ideal. I foul hooked a GT that was about 35lbs range from the rocks and it didn't tap into the power section of the UC, very strong rod. Only downfall, if you want to look at that way, is the UC is a 10ft butt jointed rod so transporting it will be challenging.
Again, another option would be the Patriot Design Rockfist. At 11ft and 70/30 joint it's a little easier to transport. I think the Rockfist has a slightly fast action tip than the UC. But they're close down low in power. I've only handled the Rockfist blank at the moment until Nate finish wrapping it for me, so I can't give you a side by side comparison. Though I don't plan on having to 2 heavy shore rods, my plan for the Rockfist is to keep at 11ft and use it to throw slightly smaller lures and utilize the 11ft to clear areas that needs to clear some distance.
Another option, and an impossible one, is the MC Works Raging Bull 938XX, 9ft 3in, pe10, the only butt jointed rod and strongest of the Raging Bull series. Probably the lightest (weight wise) of the group. Only downfall is actually finding one. EXTREMELY hard to find, even in Japan. Good luck
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Some truly brutal sounding rods there.
I have always been intrigued by the Ripple Fisher Infinity Shore 102. Not a PE10 rod admittedly, but a PE8 rod designed specifically to catch GTs from shore at Tokara. It must therefore be up for some seriously heavy duty work. As few people seem to use chuggers in Japan, I am guessing it is a stickbait rod. It is a two piece and I am guessing a butt join? And as is the Ripple Fisher way, very light at just 420 grams.
I was told that only a few of these were ever made.
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I have one, Mark.
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Mark, the RF Infinity Shore is a split joint I believe. I think the only Japan butt jointed rod above 9ft would be the MC Works Raging Bull 938XX, the other Raging Bull models are split joints. I read somewhere that Ripple Fisher were testing some prototype pe10-12 shore rods at Tokara but haven't seen anything released to into the market yet. Pretty sick because they were catching Dogtooth from shore! :o
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I think Dante is chasing the 9 footer because his fish will be fighting under and behind him anymore than 9 foot and he has a good chance of being flipped, hav'nt chased XO GT's like this but have caught some monster grouper in the pylon.
Go the 8foot6 and stand closer to the edge :-)
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I have one, Mark.
Great to know Brandon. I would absolutely love to hear a bit about this rod from an actual user! Please :)
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I think Dante is chasing the 9 footer because his fish will be fighting under and behind him anymore than 9 foot and he has a good chance of being flipped, hav'nt chased XO GT's like this but have caught some monster grouper in the pylon.
Go the 8foot6 and stand closer to the edge :-)
Thanks Sydney, that's exactly my point. In my opinion, a 10ft + rod just doesn't have much head turning power oppose to a 9ft. For me, a 9ft is just right for distance and at the same time boosting leverage.
cheers.
D
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The rod has a slower taper than what I am normally used to but that is to be expected for a rod its length. I see it as a PE6-8 rod. No problem with poppers up to around 130-140g, I think. I don't know what else to say - I don't have any expertise whatsoever when it comes to shore based rods.
I have one, Mark.
Great to know Brandon. I would absolutely love to hear a bit about this rod from an actual user! Please :)
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some updates for landbase/shore gt fishing
zenaq defi muthos HHH is one option readily available from JDMTackle
right now i am borrowing a 10'6" Black Hole Surf rod matched to a 10k gosa n 65pp. used it 3 time so far casting lures ranging from 60g -120g. 100g seem to be the best weight the rod can cast in to the wind. works stickbaits very nicely and can pop/walk the dog a 120g heru skipjack very easily.
going out tomorrow with a buddy to get his opinion of the rod.
other fishermen from the island Of Hawaii are stretching bushido blanks 200-600 to 10'6". most are set up to cast overhead and one set up for a spinner.
i'll have to dig up the review of the stretch 600 that i have on my fb plugging page.
there is a few more rods that are being developed for hawaii shore gt popping. they should be getting tested this summer.
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I have a 938xx raging bull rod and this rod is nasty. Solid backbone and can cast lures in the 180 gram range comfortably. Only had it for 2 months and looking for a big fish on it.
Had the ripple fisher runner exceed final spirit 100sxh. Another great shore rod and easily handled a 20# bluefin trevally. Sweetspot is 120 to 150 grams
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We dont have GT's in the Arabian Gulf.
But that does not prevent me from preparing for trips later in the year as well as testing gear.
Here I am casting a 150g Cubera Popper with the 106BH Cape Cod.
The rod launch the popper easily out to 80 odd meters.
I also cast 80g and 90g poppers and stick baits with no probelms on distance...
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Aloha Gerhard,
The 106N is one of the noodliest blanks available. It's a nice material, but is very much softer action than any other rod suitable for shoreline GTs. If you have room in the budget for a different rod, I would definitely search for another stick.
Good shoreline equipment is always hard to find, hope you are able to find something. It's even harder since the guys over on Kauai horde gear by the truckload (Blaine)!!!
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Hahaha. Yes Nate we(aaron, andy and grayson) have a good amount of shore here.
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Aloha Gerhard,
The 106N is one of the noodliest blanks available. It's a nice material, but is very much softer action than any other rod suitable for shoreline GTs. If you have room in the budget for a different rod, I would definitely search for another stick.
Good shoreline equipment is always hard to find, hope you are able to find something. It's even harder since the guys over on Kauai horde gear by the truckload (Blaine)!!!
Howzit Nathan,
For now the 106N is fine for my needs as I dont have GT's here in the Arabian Gulf.
I would still love to try it from shore on GT's and will keep you posted...
Tight Lines from Saudi desert