GTPopping.com - Giant Trevally, GTPopping, Topwater & GT Fly-Fishing Resource
General => General Topwater & Jigging Discussion => Topic started by: Ralph Holland on June 24, 2011, 05:12:18 AM
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What is the average amount of lures GT fishermans use on a trip?
And what are the favourites in terms of size, weight and type?
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1.5 per trip (but I don't think you mean my sort of trip)
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If you are popping Gary's rock at our secret location in Fiji it is about 1 a cast. Forget about landing the fish.
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Ok...
and in case of a destination like Caledonia or Komodo. What's the minimal amount of lures?
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On my first, and only, GT trip to date I took a bag of about 40 mixed lures. I ended up using about 25 of them but stuck to the three most successful lures on the last 1.5 days as they were the only ones that got touched.
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On my first, and only, GT trip to date I took a bag of about 40 mixed lures. I ended up using about 25 of them but stuck to the three most successful lures on the last 1.5 days as they were the only ones that got touched.
which lures were they Ben?
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The three most successful were the Heru Cubera 150 and 125's all being black or having black barring, but the most fish were caught on a Halco Roosta Color H71 (yellowfin)
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Thanks Ben, I'm off to Ningaloo in a few weeks mainly a fly trip. Just taking some kong 180's from fullscalle and some stickbaits.
Do you think the black barring of the cubera's helped or was it just a coincidence?
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I don't think it was a coincidence, we used a few different colors and only the Heru's that were black or black barred got hits. I think the dark color may have helped with the silhouetting of the lure?
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The issue around colours is one of the age old arguments in lure fishing, not just GT fishing. There have been books written on this topic. From my perspective. I haven't got a bloody clue! The longer I fish, the more confused I get on this.
The is also an element that when you use a lure that works, you keep using it so who is to say that the fish would not have hit another colored lure of the same type?
Conventional wisdom is that you use dark colours on glooy days and bright colouors of sunny days but I've done the exact opposite and caught fish.
I think over the years, I have found that 95% of the time, it doesn't seem to matter much but I have had two occasions over the years when the fish seemed to only want a specific colour. I really don't know why.
I think it is far more important to focus on working a lure well. With the exception of sinking stickbaits, all the fish can see is what it sees from below and this is primarily a silhouette. It can't see the bands on the side and it certainly can't see what colour the top of the lure is because it is looking largely from below
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Ralph,
It's a pretty wide open question!
Research the area you are going to fish and see if there are any trends for the place i.e is it a big fish locale that needs massive poppers to draw them up, or is it a calm and clear where stick baits are better.
Back when I sold the stuff, I catered for above and beyond the fact that not every angle can be covered with just one lure size, colour and style.
Most GT trips would see a sample of bloopers, chuggers, stick baits and skipping poppers.
Most times, too many were taken though I am glad to have had the extras when those odd occasion there has been something different the fish would only eat.
A total of 20-25 of the above lures would be heaps. It could be refined down to half that if you were really confident about where you were fishing and what had worked their before. THIS IS BASED ON A 6-7 day TRIP.
Most would agree that more GT lures are dying of catching too many GT's these days rather than getting busted up.
Probably the most important aspect about the lure size is if YOU can handle it ALL DAY LONG or not........if in doubt, cast the heck out of a heap before the next trip to find a few good "ALL DAY LONG" size lures in the pack. No point wrecking yourself with heavy gear and massive lures if you cannot do it. It's better to keep fishing with a smaller lure and pace yourself than to tear your muscles working and I Cup Hammerhead because someone said that's the only lure for here.........you need to be able to work each cast as good as the one before and cramping joints/burning muscles does not help you do that.
Brandon,
Yep.....colours....she's a flogged topic!
The only attachment to colours for me has come from certain trends from certain reoccurring events.
I cannot dismiss the logic in having some very specific colours in the pack when they seem to be a strike trigger when I have tried to use everything BUT the evolved "hot" colour.
Having said that, most of the colours end up either dark (silhouette) baitfish (fusilier, yellowfin, pilchard) in colour, with the good ole Qantas colour in their for good measure :)
Aaron.
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I found when I started out I wanted to take 2 of everything and was having trouble keeping it below 30 lures. I was also paranoid about losing 4 or 5 lures a day and running out haha.
Now I have found that whilst you can have bad runs (yes I lost 5 lures in a day at Bugatti, yes 2 were craftbaits and one was a patriot design, no I don't want to talk about it) it is more about having lures you like to use which are good for the situation you will be fishing.
I now find, with a bit more confidence in what I like to use and experience in what lures I can work well with my rods, skill, physique etc, that I try and keep it down to about 15 lures for 5 days fishing, with usually about 10 poppers and 5 stickbaits, and I try and actually only take about 5 or 6 popper styles as I do like to have back ups in case I lose a lure that I am feeling confident with.
There is obviously a lot of variation in what different people do but that is how I approach it.
On colours, I have little regard for this except when fishing in Fiji, the skipper we fish with insists that the darker lures in the larger size catch the biggest fish, and over 2 trips he has been consistently proven correct, all of the big fish have been taken on completely black, dark purple or dark red lures, whereas larger lures in brighter colours, which have been used plenty, have not really accounted for anything largeish
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Scott - I love the "yes, I lost five lures in a day and no, I don't want to talk about it"!
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G`Day all
I have been wanting to ask the question for some time now but just haven`t come across the right topic to ask the question.
I know the question is ( How many Lures ) but i see the topic is also about lure colours and size.
My question is are fish colour blind...?
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I took a mix of 30 poppers and stickbaits to Ono Island in january and returned with all of them. In fact it turned out only one lure did the damage for me, a black 130gm Jai bighead. I'd get a follow or hit on that lure and swap out a couple of different lures for no result, return to the black Jai and bingo strike/follow again. The thing is if I only took a couple of lures, murphy's law says I would have been smashed and lure less on day 1.
On 20lb spin gear I got spanked on just about everything I hooked, but thats always the risk with light tackle.
Josh
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Scott - I love the "yes, I lost five lures in a day and no, I don't want to talk about it"!
Alex, my guide on this particular day, is no doubt still laughing his head off..just like at Bligh when the huge wrasse came up on my popper only to have the lure stolen from its massive lips by the tinest red bass at the last second....Alex always seems to be there for my most devastating fishing moments!! I landed 0 GT this day from like 10 hook ups, it was ridiculous. I am pretty easy going but I do not like losing fish and I especially do not like losing lures when I am not catching fish. The steam coming out of my ears just made him and my fellow angelrs laugh even harder haha
I can kind of see the funny side of it now. Kind of.
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That is bloody priceless! ;D
ask Damon one day how lures he lost in the first two years at Shoalwater. My first trip there was years ago with only three other customers as we were invited by Damon. Only George Pang is still fishing of the three. It was devastating - I lost fifteen poppers that trip. I don't know how many poppers George lost but the trip was expensive - he broke three rods!
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That is bloody priceless! ;D
ask Damon one day how lures he lost in the first two years at Shoalwater. My first trip there was years ago with only three other customers as we were invited by Damon. Only George Pang is still fishing of the three. It was devastating - I lost fifteen poppers that trip. I don't know how many poppers George lost but the trip was expensive - he broke three rods!
OUCH >:(
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At least there were plenty of memories!
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That is what really keeps us coming back isn't it, the memories....good, bad, triumph, tragedy.
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So Brandan do tell why were so many poppers lost and 3 rods broken it may help to now as others will learn what not to do .
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The only answer needed is 'Shoalwater Bay is why'. That place is mental, crazy terrain, shallow water, big fish.
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So many lures were lost because the fish kept stealing them :o
If you don't want to lose lures, the only advice I have is don't fish there
So Brandan do tell why were so many poppers lost and 3 rods broken it may help to now as others will learn what not to do .
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G`Day all
I have been wanting to ask the question for some time now but just haven`t come across the right topic to ask the question.
I know the question is ( How many Lures ) but i see the topic is also about lure colours and size.
My question is are fish colour blind...?
This is one of the those old perennial that keep coming up. The short answer from me is I'm not sure BUT light is attenuated differently depending on the colour when passing through seawater. The red end of the spectrum fades out first the deeper you go. I seem to remember that red is just about gone at 30 feet :)
Now we see a particular colour because the light reflected off the surface is that colour. BUT if there is no light red light then red will not show up. (is this why a lot of deep water fish are red - there is no light down where they are :) )
BUT if you live your life (as a fish :) ) with red fish round you your eyes just might just become more sensitive to low levels of red light through the eons of natural selection.....so at the surface they may well be more sensitive to the much stronger light........:(
Many years ago I was long lining for Yellowfin tuna off the NSW south coast. The water was very clear and I could see yellowfin circling baits very deep down and following baits as we retrieved the long line. The yellowfin would veer away from the clear nylon droppers (250kg mono) so they could see them, but would invariably brush against the long line itself which was coloured a reddish Brown colour.
I was pretty sure they could not see that mainline or at least did not see it as solid. There are often algae blooms of a similar colour at times in these waters.
For Marlin an "Evil" Colour works better than most (its sort of a slimy mackerel or striped tuna colour) but also another colour that works well is a lumo (flouro cream/pink colour) both of these same action, shape size and brand lures in different colours don't catch as well as well.
Finally, remember commercial lures are meant primarily to catch fisherman, the fisherman have the money, the fish do not.... ;D ;) ;D
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Shoalwater Bay??...my backyard, now you know why I use cheap poppers. My loss rate is pretty bad everywhere around CQ though
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Shoalwater Bay is a very "hard on everything" fishery!
It's a loose cannon of a destination and certainly a real shit of a place to nominate how many lures will suffice on an extended trip chasing GT's.
Brandon,
I clearly remember Damon getting up to "favourite popper #6" pretty quickly when we filmed the Nomad/Australian Adventure Production trip in 2006..........I have never seen so many casualties so bloody fast!
Graham,
I'm the first to advocate the use of premium grade poppers as a general rule, though the thourough spanking we copped on that first trip made 130gm Jai Big Heads THE popper of choice for that place, since many were looking at serious tabs being accumulated from lost poppers!
A bit of sensibility had to be shown after losing so many (at the time) hard to get premium lures.
Aaron.
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Is there somewhere I could get specifics on fishing Shoalwater bay?
I am thinking a run up there at Christmas for 4 days might be fun. Might have to stock up on Halco Roosta's by the sound of it!
Is the fishing good inside the bay or is a trip out to the reefs required?
Is Stanage the best place to stay for access to the fishing grounds and if so, is there a caravan park or other accomodation available there?
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Hi Ben,
Send me a pm if you llike. Most of the "Shoalwater Bay" Gt fishing is not in Shoalwater Bay, its on the surrounding Islands and headlands.
It's not the sort of place you plan a trip from a long distance away as there is always a better than average chance the wind knocks you out. Stanage Bay gives you options if its windy. We fish it from Yeppoon, but there is a lot of ugly water before you get to the GT's and its not a lot of fun fishing exposed headlands in anything over 10 to 15 knots...and in my experience its also pointless when it gets rough. The "reef" is over 100 miles out.
Even though I live at Yeppoon I still think the Whitsundays are probably your most reliable, easily accessed area for trailerboats to encounter GT's. At least you're still a chance in 20 knots plus.
Like Aaron said Shoalwater is a pretty hard place. I've been going up there for over 30 years and it still scares me.
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Ben,
As Graham mentioned, the Bay itself isn't where the main fishing for GT's occurs.
Island Head Creek, the headlands to the North and South, the Clara Group of Islands plus the other Islands to the North and North-East, such as High Peak, are the places where it really happens.
It's hard on fishing and boating gear, fuel and food rations plus the weather is a bugger to pick.
Unless you have a 30 plus footer with a couple 5m tenders in tow, I'd go to Stanage Bay!
Aaron.