GTPopping.com - Giant Trevally, GTPopping, Topwater & GT Fly-Fishing Resource
General => General Topwater & Jigging Discussion => Topic started by: Karl Nelson on February 11, 2011, 10:13:38 PM
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Just wondering where i can find some history on GT popping, photo's, articles, etc of when and where it all started.
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Karl, I'm not even sure where'd you'd start. There were guys popping three decades ago using mono and poppers.
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Karl, I'm not even sure where'd you'd start. There were guys popping three decades ago using mono and poppers.
That's like the equivalent of ancient Egypt compared with modern history :D
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it is and the equipment has improved out of sight since then. We've got braid now when they were using 20lb mono.
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Not to mention the rods!
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...... and reels and everything else!
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The Fijians would have some stories dating way back.
I know one fellow over there who started his popping career by handline popping.
100lb Mono and big homemade poppers....
Terminal tackle was a real problem.....Hooks especially.
He has very nice burn marks over his hands from early battles....He started at least 30yrs ago.
Pete
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hi karl, a good starting point for australia anyway would be the carnarvon area we moved over from sydney in the late 70s and fished places like cuvier and exmouth as well as anywhere inbetween , we used to use hoe handles cut into 7 or 8 inch lengths glue in wire for hooks and a spade bit to open up the front so it would popp we rgularly accounted for for gts up to 40kg from the rocks using our 20 pound mono(considerd heavy at the time, remember this was also ansa sportfishing movement at its zenith) met some great fisherman and friends in those days some good names for info would be people like ray monk and terry fitzgerald from carnarvon hal harvey from perth should be able to help a bit younger than the others but a fine fisherman and there in the earlier days steep point was another area although a bit harder with the poppers, shouldnt have looked at this post its got me remenicing about the early days some great memories there though, best of luck, lou murray.
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That's the kind of stories i like to hear about Lou. Hope this post get others thinking of days gone by. Luke's report on Tokara got me thinking about this subject..
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The Fijians would have some stories dating way back.
I know one fellow over there who started his popping career by handline popping.
100lb Mono and big homemade poppers....
Terminal tackle was a real problem.....Hooks especially.
He has very nice burn marks over his hands from early battles....He started at least 30yrs ago.
Pete
Thats awesome Pete, I'd like to hear more about this..
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The Fijians would have some stories dating way back.
I know one fellow over there who started his popping career by handline popping.
100lb Mono and big homemade poppers....
Terminal tackle was a real problem.....Hooks especially.
He has very nice burn marks over his hands from early battles....He started at least 30yrs ago.
Pete
Thats awesome Pete, I'd like to hear more about this..
Ewan,
Georges biggest fish was a Goliath 72kg fish which was taken believe it or not inside a river...!!!
It was caught on exactly that gear 100lb Handline and homemade popper.
They used to do the big helicopter wind up with the popper and then let it fly.
Sachin Chaudry (from this site) is very good friends with George and he will know the stories.
Pete
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In Tamil Nadu, India a couple of locals still fish GTs from shore with handline and poppers using the helicopter cast as previously described. I was invited to watch them fish when the tide was right, but did not have the time. Instead I shot this video on the same spot that the local fishermen use. The guy in pink shirt and long trousers who appears at 1:35 is one of the local GT fishermen. I don't know whether they use home-made poppers, but I assume that this is the case, since commercial tackle is difficult to find in India.
Prithvi lands a Giant trevally from Kovalam Beach (India) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dio7ac2BR9k#ws)
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Interesting thread!
I'll have a dig around for some stuff.
I know that Hawaii, Japan and the nations of the Pacific such as Fiji have seeded the ideas into our local anglers. It pops up in magazines and other literature I have dating back to the 1970's.
I've got mates who started pegging poppers at GT's around 40 years ago as part of the ANSA sportfishing movement that Lou Murray mentioned earlier in this thread.........I never asked who showed them OUTSIDE of the clubs members.......there had to be someone on the outside who was doing it and then passed the knowledge onto others who saw it and put the ideas to our local GT population.........I never asked, strangely!
Aaron.
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Plenty of Cairn's Skippers in the 70's if not earlier. There's quite a few of them but their names escape me!
Mal Florence would've done some pioneering stuff too.
Then there is all the history and folklore to decode from the likes of Amami and Tokara...plenty of handmade poppers on the walls from the early 80's. I will ask Fukui-San this year or even next month where his influences came from. I can't stop thinking about the 100lber portrait he has in his office with his head side-by-side...
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Luke,
Barry Cross did a massive amount off the GBR very early on, along with his brother.
Once Barry's vessels became too big, he handed the popping clients over to Kim Andersen.
As you said, there were a few around doing it, though Barry was certainly at the very forefront off Cairns and he really specialised in popping to the point of making his own big bloopers.
Mal Florence, yep, he did a heap in mags, though it was his film work which was truly ahead of its time.
Anglers who I have met through the Brisbane Sportfishing club, such as Warren Steptoe and Darryl Steele did a heap and not only on GT's but longtail tuna, yellowtail kingies and spanish mackerel.........there were a heap in the club but as I said earlier, I never asked them who showed them the ropes.
A lot of the ANSA way was 'just help out your fellow angler' so who showed who and who saw the techniques from other parts of the world, I dunno!
I do know of the reach that the hand full of popping maniacs had back then was pretty spectacular in a day without internet..........RSL Halls were the monthly "forums" we now can partake in 24/7 over the Net.
I'd love to hear more about the Japanese influence........lets face it.......how much gear do you own now that isn't made in Japan for this sport!
Aaron.
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Hello all,
Have just registered and noticed this topic so wanted to introduce myself and to congratulate Luke and Brandon on a terrific site. I was raised in North Qld but have lived in Sydney for quite a few years now - just starting to find the time to think about doing some serious fishing again (if it's got a tail and swims I'll chase it but GT's were always something special). Aaron's spot on - some of the Cairns skippers used to 'fun fish' for GT's on occasion and Mal Florence had been doing his thing around Townsville since the mid 70's, but it was Barry Cross (and his brother John) who in my experience made popper fishing an artform in that part of the world. I did a few trips with them in the late 80's / early 90's and had a ball - from memory Daiko EC-704's, Penn 850ss spinfishers and 10 to 15kg solaroam mono were the weapons of choice and we pulled some really nice fish on that gear. Barry was making his own poppers at that stage which, thinking back, were probably ahead of their time. Similar to a slightly stretched Arbogast Scudder with extra weight in the tail, they cast really well, shifted loads of water and were built super strong. I may have a couple left so will post a photo if I can find them although most of my GT lures ended up decorating coral caves. Great blokes and very patient with raw newbies. Hope this helps.
All the best,
Peter McC.
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I have a sneaking suspicion i've read somewhere many moons ago about Hawaiian marlin anglers getting their trolling lures smashed by Ulua when in closer to the rocks and some bright spark trying to copy the trolling lures "pusher style" with a casting variety (broom handle bits etc). I think that is maybe 1960's vintage stuff. The only historic Ulua knowledge I can find easily online has been about the Slider technique - not popping. Certainly US companies were making surface lures for Bass in the 1930's, some of which were the size of Pili poppers etc - so it isnt a stretch to imagine someone lobbing one out over a reef and having a GT (or the local equivalent Trevor variety) nail it !
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Peter,
I was lucky enough to be invited into Barry's "lair" to look at some amazing fishing history back in 2004.
He is a very patient bloke with newbies and I must say I loved to see the "blanks" of his poppers as well.
Your description is apt: they DO look like a stretched Arbogast Scudder!
You are indeed lucky to have spent time on the water with Barry and if you ever feel like handing the poppers over to an avid collector, my hand is up!
The Daiko/Penn Spinfisher set up was the equivalent of a SW Stella strapped to a Carpenter back then!
There were some memorable fish caught by Barry and John. A mate of mine, Warren Steptoe, did several articles on the boys antics for Modern Fishing aaaages ago. I still have the issues somewhere in the garage. Wire on the front plus single tail hooks were a couple things I noticed about their lure rigging back then too.
Al,
It would be interesting to see who cast a popper at a Jack Crevalle (perhaps in Florida?) or over in Hawaii with some of the lures you mention.
I'd like a dollar for every "Bass" made lure that ended up being a good saltwater performer, if somewhat lightly built.........there HAD to be someone casting bass lures at some form of Jack/Trevally over there early on, you would think??
Aaron.
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Aaron,
We're working on the house at present so most of my gear is boxed up but I'll have a look on the weekend - any excuse of course! Lucky is right, learned a heap from those guys. The poppers I had were all rigged with about 6" of very stiff single strand wire haywired to the nose ring. The idea with the wire was that it helped in getting the lure shifting water from the first pop as well as providing protection from the razor gang. I certainly remember Warren's articles - sounds like you and I have similar garages. I've still got my old Daiko / Penn rig as well - initially used an old blue Shakespeare 2450 until I had enough dough to buy the Penn - it seized up while I was on a fish and we had to handline it in. John Cross used a big Mitchell with the manual bail to great effect and Barry also had an overhead rig with one of the smaller Newells. My gear got a fair bit of attention from mates when I was fishing in Fiji years ago - the closest anyone else had to the Daiko was a Shimano rod which was a nice stick but waaay too soft in the tip. I was always careful with the rod as they had a reputation for exploding into splinters if you went past the red-line. Erskines eventually started selling their own dedicated popper rod in a couple of lengths based on a white blank in the 90's (no idea of the brand but think it was a composite mix) that was physically heavier but a lot cheaper and not as temperamental as the Daikos. Barry would have a pretty amazing collection alright - I spoke with him via email late last year. Had bought a collectable lure on fleabay (have always been interested in reels but also starting back into lures) and turned out that the seller was none other than BC. Small world.
PMcC
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Aaron,
That was my thinking too - with such good bass fishing in Florida, Texas and Louisiana and Jack Crevalle present there (although pretty much classed as vermin due to the relatively poor eating qualities) I'd be surprised if someone wasnt lobbing early Arbogasts or Heddons across some flats/reefs.
My first GT was landed on a Mitchell 306 spooled with 15 lb nylon and an old Shakespeare Ugly Stick about 20 yrs ago. Only around 10 kgs - but i was HOOKED. and the Japanese economy has benefited ever since.
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AAAH Yes,
The good old days.
ANSA was certainly the breeding ground for new techniques. I was there in the mid 70's with the 3lb line class, then even lighter at 1kg. I was pretty good at the 2kg lurecasting division as you could put a bit of hurt on with 2KG!!!!
In CQ there was a bit of early popping attempted, Mitchell 489's Butterworth 7 wrap glass stick, 20lb pretest mono. I think we found 2 reasonable poppers, something from Rebel and a Cotton Cordell pencil popper. We caught some good queenfish, but never looked like landing a decent GT. They were called "bulldogs" locally and were much despised by pro mackerel fisherman.
By the late 80's fellas like BIll Sawynok of Infofish fame were catching quite a few GT's in Keppel Bay.
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AAAH Yes,
The good old days.
ANSA was certainly the breeding ground for new techniques. I was there in the mid 70's with the 3lb line class, then even lighter at 1kg. I was pretty good at the 2kg lurecasting division as you could put a bit of hurt on with 2KG!!!!
In CQ there was a bit of early popping attempted, Mitchell 489's Butterworth 7 wrap glass stick, 20lb pretest mono. I think we found 2 reasonable poppers, something from Rebel and a Cotton Cordell pencil popper. We caught some good queenfish, but never looked like landing a decent GT. They were called "bulldogs" locally and were much despised by pro mackerel fisherman.
By the late 80's fellas like BIll Sawynok of Infofish fame were catching quite a few GT's in Keppel Bay.
Interesting to hear some local stuff Graham, with the ground around here it's not suprising very few were landed ;D
(PS - you're PM inbox is full, tried to reply but wouldn't send)
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Thanks Travis,
got the mailbox sorted now.
I also thought Hervey Bay had a fair bit of GT fishing going on in the early years of ANSA, Don Boneham and others?? Inside Sandy Straits, not out around the Cape
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Qoute by Al Morrison:
My first GT was landed on a Mitchell 306 spooled with 15 lb nylon and an old Shakespeare Ugly Stick about 20 yrs ago. Only around 10 kgs - but i was HOOKED. and the Japanese economy has benefited ever since.
Al
Loved the last line! I think this forum and it's members does a good job at keeping the Japanese economy well and truly spinning!
I guess the "vermin" comment is apt for a lot of people were still fishing for protein first I guess.
Tarpon fisherman must have come across Trevally while casting Mirrolures and other stick bait/lipless plugs back then, surely??????
Graham,
I loved fishing 2kg. Actually, it wasn't too uncommon for a day on Moreton Bay to have 1,2,3,4,6 and 10kg spin outfits for tuna, mackerel and kingies.
Some mates and I loved to chase smaller GT's and bigeye trevally on 2 and 3kg on poppers.
Their size meant we would have a very good hooked-to-landed ratio, whereas the larger GT's (10kg+)would just destroy us on our heaviest gear most times.
For the GT's sake, we would just leave them alone if we got nuked more than a couple of times or we would take the trebles off just to get the strike, knowing we would get our lures back.
You just couldn't help but make a few casts into the 'bear pit' at times. The strikes were always welcomed though the lures lost sometimes did your head in at the money going East.
We also made our own poppers just to help the wallet and to pass the time during bad weather too.
Yep, a 20lb GT was a cracker and a 50lber was the holy grail...........Times have changed a weeee bit!
I am glad to have been a part of the ANSA movement. I learnt a lot and met a lot of great people through the clubs in the 90's and early 2000's.
One of the guys from Marybourough told me of a mythical spot that they used foot long, home made pencil poppers for XOS GT's in the mid 1990's.........turned out to be Spit Bombie :)
The pro mackerel fishos fishing there really didn't like the GT's there either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aaron.
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I can't think of any other fishing technique that has changed so much due to technology. I still catch barra with a baitcaster and a gold bomber. Still bottom bash, still even use mono for whiting, high speed spin...all the same sorta
Imagine heading out with your 3,6 10kg rigs...and a bit of 60kg mono wrapped on a spinning reel, expecting to cast 70 metres and fish 15kgs of drag...wouldn't have picked it up let alone chucked it!!!
I fished 20kg mono on a sidecast alvey and a surf rod for planing up trout landbased on reef fringes like Northwest Island... now theres a thought a 50kg GT on a direct drive alvey...
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Graham,
I agree! The ingenuity that has gone into the more recent heavy GT and other facets of heavy surface luring has been immense.
For years we tried in vain to stop the kingies of Moreton Bay and the GT's of Cape Moreton and Point Lookout only to have raspberries blown at us time and again.
Nowdays, you actually have a chance of getting the fish out and your lure back. Who would of though eh?
Aaron.
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Really enjoying this thread guys :). Please keep it up!
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Righto Aaron, I'll hit you with "Ages of Fishing Theory"
Hands up all those that learnt some basic sociology/psychology. A bloke called Maslow developed something called
"Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs"
Basically it starts at the bottom with fundamental needs like shelter and food, then companionship, then acceptance or admiration by peers, then the top is something like understanding, or self actualisation (happy with yourself).
I reckon fishing has followed along the same path and you can see the changes between levels quite clearly, but just like Maslow, just cause the tribe thinks your a gun hunter doesn't mean you stop eating or burn down your hut.
My grandparents liver thru the depression, had no refrigeration, and they were fishing mad, they drifted wooden flatties up estuaries, they nettied, crabbed line fished...success was a good feed, prize cacthes were good eating and good size. They lived in the first Age of Fishing...FOOD
My parents shared the fishing bug, they also thought the best fish were the tasty ones, but they joined fishing clubs that started going to new places like charter a boat to the reef, boating and camping in groups in new places where other could help you out of the bog or tow your boat back to the ramp. I was pretty young at this stage but remember boubcing around in some bloke 4wd going to beaches we could only dream about with our old Ford. So the rise of the Fishing Clubs was to me the Second Age of fishing. I'm guessing ita about the same time as fridges, 4wd's outboards. To me it was around the 60's and 70's
The Second Age of Fishing...COMPANIONSHIP and EXPLORATION.
The focus started to move off just catching a feed and it began to get competitive. Fish were now worth points. The were Annual Champions and best fish awards. A major shift was the arrival of ANSA where the competition moved away from Food based, (most whiting, biggest Jew) to skill based, a move up the Maslow levels. Big fish on small lines, degree of difficulty, only 5 fish allowed...Welcome to the third Age of fishing.... COMPETITION, PEER GROUP APPROVAL. This was definitely the mid 70's and in some form is still pretty strong, but I think it waned in the early 90's with the odd burst of AFC and other media products.
So whats next? What is it now? I think the fourth Age of Fishing is FISHING FOR INFORMATION, understanding, self control and respect....pretty much the top of the Maslow Pyramid.This AGE is about sharing information, setting personal goals, protecting the environment, partnering scientific understanding.
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SO how do GT's fit into these AGES?
Well they're not good to eat and they were very hard to catch so GT's don't feature in the food AGE and probably make a cameo appearance in the exploration phase.
When we get to the Competition AGE GT's arrive with a bang as they are a very difficult adversary. Many could say this site is all about GT competition... I think they're wrong. I don't see many post or trip reports saying "Hey look at me big GT...How good am I"
I think the successof this site is due to the FISHING FOR INFORMATION AGE.
Its all about learning and understanding. There are more posts about rods and reels and twisted leaders than GT reports. Its success is based on skilled, experienced anglers being prepared to share their knowledge. If Maslow is right, and the gurus like Brandon and Luke, actually ENJOY sharing their knowledge. I know for me, a novice at GTs, but pretty good in a few other areas, I get more fun out of seeing someone else catch a fish than catching it myself.
Better go now, the nurse wants me to take my medicine and go to bed before she locks the door.
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Graham Scott you are a bloody star. That's just fabulous. 10/10. :)
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I'll second that Mark!
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Graham,
That was probably the best summation of the evolution of our angling culture I have ever read.
PERIOD!
I'm with Mark and Peter................10/10 mate. 10/10!
You hit the nail on the head and drove it in 6 inches with one hit of the hammer.
We are steadily becoming a 'deeper' need-to-know bunch. All of my selling and writing on the subject of fishing has been accepted better from a learning and knowledge sharing angle.
Brilliant piece Graham.
Cheers,
Aaron.
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thanks guys,
The challenge now is to bring as many fishos as possible up thru the levels, but letting them enjoy every level on the way. You can't just yell at people to catch and release, or get involed in green zones.If someone wanted to keep a GT on my boat I would let them. I would also talk about how rare they are, how priviliged they are to catch one...and how sad I am to see a dead GT...We have a responsibilty to offer support and guidance. I was in the thick of the GBRMPA rezoning, which taught me a lot. No matter how crazy the views expressed,they were their genuine belief. They weren't wrong, they just might not have enough understanding...and in some cases a lot more understanding.
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For the record, no one has wanted to keep a GT so far
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Graham,
Brilliant summation.
Lets not forget that not all geographic populations are developed to the same degree. We on this site are the very priveleged few who can afford the luxury of specialist tackle (oh and internet connections and PC"S !) and the intellect to spend time making life hard for ourselves for personal reward - whatever that may be - respect, kudos, bragging rights, satisfaction, teaching etc etc. When i say making life hard - I mean that often easier fish are available, tasty fish, but we have moved through your ages and can now focus on the hard targets. There are still many people in the world out fishing for which the FOOD age is still in existance and GT's are food. I think culturally we are lucky to be at the economic stage where we have leisure time, we have disposable income and can focus on taking our pastime through this development.
The stages you describe are absolutely spot on - and different countries and different fish within those locations are all at different stages.
As a pom living in Australia I am still amazed at how THE prized European sport fish - Carp, are vermin in Australia. Carp are of course food in many parts of the world, revered in others and vermin in yet more places.
We are indeed at that most developed stage of GT fishing evolution - and the learning experience is brilliant - and as some chap once said - with great knowledge comes great responsibility (Roosevelt was going to say it but Spiderman did!). It seems , as is displayed on this site, it is a pleasure by those who have reached enlightenment to witness others "get it" and jump on board.
Now running off to find out about Maslow.
I'll throw out another train of thought for the GT sports development. I think we would all agree that much of the recent refinement in GT fishing has come from Japan. As an ex marathon runner, it was no surprise that success wise, japan was one of the most succesful nations - at what is arguably the most brutal athletic pastime known to man - running 42 kms for fun - because it takes focus, dedication, mental strength, etc etc. Culturally we are lucky to have a race of people in the right mindset to take on the challenge of GT' fishing and focus in on it. I see a parallel there.
Of course, it could also be that its late Friday night and James Boag is messing with my head.
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Hi Al
Some great points there, particularly around the fact we are in a fortunate position economically to regard GT's as sport only. This sport has the ability to change mindsets and have a very positive financial impact in those areas. The first step is educating people that we like doing things the hard way and will pay for the privelige. It's the old "Whats in in for me", that we need to show.
Its ironic that locally in WA, one of our great sportfish, the Australian Salmon, is caught by the tonne to be used as cat food at 30c/kg. Imagine the difference in income both personally to the fisherman and to the local regions if a mindset change was to occur.
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Paul,
Very interesting points indeed and there's a lot of merit in that maxim, 'who shares wins'. Per my ealier post, have attached a photo of Barry Cross' poppers from the late 80's. As you can see, they certainly did the business!
(http://s3.postimage.org/15g9rax6s/BC_Poppers.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/15g9rax6s/)
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I suppose this also brings up why we are all so keen on catch and release policies for GTs but often do not put the same emphasis on other species? And often those other species are in greater need of protection (GTs are far from rare as we all know).
There have been pictures of massive dead tuna of different species posted here and (almost) nobody even raises an eyebrow. Imagine the reaction if that were a 50 kg GT?
I have personally witnessed boat captains who religiously release every GT caught, think nothing of killing 15 under-sized Amberjacks for example. The first time I caught a Mahimahi with the same captain I had to almost plead my case before he gave in and watched me release the fish.
What in the history and evolution of GT fishing has made them so sacred? I am of course delighted that they are, but are we a group of anglers practicising illogical double standards?
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Mark,
I realise this is off-track, but perhaps the lack of eating quality is one of the prime movers here? I've never had a skipper fight me over putting a GT back, but a YFT or Spanish mackerel - I've definitely had to be a tad more forceful to have them go back. admittedly that is largely in areas that would be considered 3rd world. I think the nearest analogy is with sailfish - these were wholesale butchered in Guatemala and Costa Rica until the US anglers recognized the value of them alive and spent an age "buying" the fish to release them and generating the knowledge that others here have mentioned - the overall economy then booms as a complete industry springs up around one species of fish. Malaysia is similar - its not so long ago (less than 15 years) that Sails were trawled there. Now it is turning into a world class fishing location where relatively novice anglers can, very cheaply catch lots of sail fish. Neither are spectacular food, but both a great sport - and local economies are getting hotels, resteraunts, guides, specialist tackle (witness the Kaiser sailfish rods specifically made for Rompin) etc..
Perhaps its the realization that we can only eat so much - so once you have caught a few trout, spaniards, etc - you are either heading home or putting things back - in which case - why not have a blast with the most spectacular strikes and hardest pulling beasts in the sea - who just happen to love living in pretty nice places too.
It comes back to the ages - we have got past that food stage, need a challenge and the non food fish is actually a harder target than many decent eaters.
As paul stated - in the areas still in the "kill em all" for food stage - we need to educate to lower the killing to the minimum needed to support humans. In the more affluent areas - its full steam ahead with the development of technology etc.
Lets face it - good anglers will ALWAYS be ahead of not so good anglers. Technology only closes that gap when it is limited in its availability, once everyone has it - only the fish lose out, if fish are returned they in turn learn and the cycle begins again.
And that is why we are here - to close those gaps.
Getting back on track. The PILI lure I believe was made back in the early 80's in Hawaii - thats the earliest reference i can find online. They are resin lures - so I am pretty certain someone copied a wood one. I still cant find any earlier references though,
And now an excerpt from the Hawaii Fishing News.
100-plus
Weight Angler Location Date
Ulua 100 lbs 8 oz Isaac Makapuu Point, Oahu 1958
In the old days of trevally fishing from shore, it was extremely rare for an angler to be able to conquer big reef predators like the 100-lb ulua. Isaac used a split bamboo/hickory pole measuring 12 feet in length, a Pflueger Templar 500 reel and 80-lb test linen line.
I guess this wasnt a popper though !
Another quote from the Hawaii news;
"Giant trevally, locally known as ulua, are the prize of Hawai'i's shorecasters. Many exceptional fish have been caught-some in the 150-lb range. The giant of them all, a 191-lb monster, was speared by Al Gadow from Lahaina, Maui on January 14, 1980. On the same dive, Al reported seeing a larger ulua that escaped"
Check out this list and then look at the tackle....... 13 ft beach rods for 150lb GT's.
http://www.hawaiifishingnews.com/100plus.cfm?order=ID (http://www.hawaiifishingnews.com/100plus.cfm?order=ID)
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Hi Mark,
I agree with Al, the double standard has developed, I believe because GT's were not part of the "Food Age"
AL' Interesting your news quotes from Hawaii. Those captures sem to be from the "competition age"...thats why they are in the paper, which I presume doesn't go on to say "and they had a great feed of ULUA".
The fishing Ages frequently all exist at the same time and as many have pointed out we need to understand where other countries and culture are at before we try to impose our views.
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The beginnings of top water Gt popping come from the invention of the resin popper with a urethane core, in Hawaii by the inventor Peter Dunn-Rankin in 1982.This is where the history began in which it was copied by Japanese anglers and others.It is all documented in Hawaii Fisshing News and Saltwater Sportsman.