first time oman popping trip

[Stanley Yow]

Hi ! to all brother
I have an Oman popping trip coming next year and i am not sure whether my gear can do the job or do i have to get something else,please please help!
The rod that i have is the RIPPLE FISHER Ultimo79mh(pe8) and KAISER EL TORO 150(pe8-10) and reel 2x Stella 10000XG pair with 16000 som spool and fill with PE8 line.

Many Thanks
and
Merry Christmas

[Trevor Skinner]

Stanley,

Merry Xmas.

I know there is a school that says that fishing for GTs in Southern Oman requires minimum PE 10 and locked drags and I can see the rationale given that fishing there typically means hooking big fish in shallow water. There are some anglers who advocate that style that I could not hold a (Xmas) candle to.

However, I fished it fine with PE8 and caught decent fish up to 127cm (admittedly with an SW18000) and intend to fish it again soon using the same gear. I'm not sure I'm capable of working anything bigger efficiently enough to really get the best out of the fishing over 5 days.  I fished with one guy who got some big fish up to 143cm on a Race Point 200, PE6 with a Stella 10000, so there's no hard and fast rules although I would not advocate fishing that light. There are times when you have to get lucky, palm the reel to stop fish and there will be times when you won't stand a chance no matter what you or your captain does and just get smoked but that will also happen on 150lb (albeit less often!).

The best bit of advice is make sure your gear is in top shape...reels and drags serviced before the trip, guides and seats on the rods checked, premium extra strong terminal tackle and hooks and your knots 100%. I think that's much more important than whether you're fishing PE8 or 10.

Just my thoughts.

Regards,


Trevor

   

[Mark Harris]

Stanley, that's some good advice from Trevor.

So much depends on where you catch them I think. The fish could be in 2 metres of water or 25 metres of water. If the former you are going to need to fish heavier than normal drags and you might then find a PE10 set up very helpful.

Looking at the gear you list, if there is one thing I would advise buying it is a SW18000 or Saltiga equivalent. That would allow you to have a PE10 set up - the El Toro 150 handles PE10 just fine.  Or if you don't go to PE10, you still have a more heavy duty PE8 set up, than you would with 2 x 10000/16000.

[Barry Kurten]

Hi Stanley,

Depending on which area you are fishing in Southern Oman , PE8 should be able to do the job.
I used PE8 on my last trip and caught some really good fish with only 1 reefing to show for the "lighter" braid, and the added casting distance which you get with PE8 is a big advantage down there, but PE10 is a happy medium and probably the safer option.
As Trevor mentioned there are some fish down there that are just not meant to be caught no matter what breaking strain braid you are using.

Have you perhaps thought of getting a spare SOM spool or two ?? and filling those with thicker braid just as a backup ?
As Ive learnt in recent times, spare spools are probably the most import piece of gear in a man's GT tackle bag, and well worth the additional cost. 

All the best

[Stanley Yow]

Yes,you are right Trevor Skinner i was told that fishing for GTs in Southern Oman requires minimum PE 10 and locked drags thats why i worry about my GEAR.I'm more easy and relex now after reading your reply and of cause i will remember your best bit of advice.Many thanks to you brother.
HI, Barry Kurten, Mark Harris thanks for your help again. I will get myself a Saltiga Dogfight fill with PE10, Then i will have a PE10 set up and a spare 10000XG/16000SOM as what Barry Kurten had mention( 1 reel kill 2 fish ).
Thanks you all for your time and best bit of advice.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
stanley

[Brandon Khoo]

Stanley, one of the first principles of GT fishing is to fish with what you can handle. Approach with caution broad and sweeping statements of advice like you must fish with locked drags. The English language meaning of the word is "to fix in place so movement is impossible". No GT reel is the market is capable of a locked drag per se. If people are telling you they fish for GTs with reels that have locked drags and that they stop monster fish dead in their tracks with the fish not even pulling an inch of line, that is the stuff of fantasies.

If however people are telling you that you need to fish with heavy drags due to the terrain, then this makes sense. Can I say, there is nothing unique or new about Oman in this regard. Since the sport of heavy popping started, anglers have fished brutally tough locations which are shallow and covered in reef. Extracting fish from such locations takes far more than strong drags. It needs a large measure of luck.

There are few things worse (or more dangerous) in this sport than for an angler to fish a level of drag they cannot handle. The result of this against a very big fish will be either the loss of gear or an injury and a potentially nasty one.

I have no idea how much GT fishing you have done but please be careful about going out and buying a PE10 outfit and screwing the drag to sunset because someone suggested you fish locked drags. That is going to end in tears unless you have the capabilities to fish PE10 to its breaking point.

There is no doubt that it is advantageous to be able to handle heavy drag when fishing such locations but there is a world of difference between a heavy drag and a locked drag.

[Stanley Yow]

Hi, Brandon thank you for the tips,I have read almost all your post in gtpopping and i do learn and understands alot and of cource i still have alot more to learn and ones again thank you very much.

Me, love fishing, so i wanted to fish further and try something new(popping/stick bait), after doing some reseach and reading from you and others,I then start to purchase gears and started my first popping trip at Aceh indonesia.

Oman is my second popping trip, my friend just came back from Oman recently, he told me need to fish with minimum PE 10 and very heavy or may be locked drags due to the terrain and he lost afew big GT due to line snapping cause he was using PE8 at that time.

May be i should use pe8 with slighly heavy drag to try out first before i injured myself but i will bring along the pe10 setup just incase and a yes to me CATCH AND RELEASE.

Thanks Brandon
Wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Stanley

[Brandon Khoo]

No worries. The point I am trying to make is simply for people to be cautious about drags set at sunset when fishing heavy braid for GTs. Experienced GT anglers know what you have to do to brace yourself for the impact of such drag settings. If not, the impact can be pretty brutal and you can get an injury quite easily. It doesn't hurt to have a PE10 outfit but just make sure your drag level is manageable.

There are subtleties involved in every form of fishing. As I learnt last week, fishing successfully for snakeheads requires quick reactions, pinpoint casting and great lure presentation. A a novice, I couldn't do any of it properly! 

[Stanley Yow]

Thanks  Brandon, i will be extra careful. As for snakeheads i and my friends like to used YO-ZURI surface cruiser and Rubber Mouse and do have very good result, hope this will help a little.

Happy Fishing
stanley

[Jay Burgess]

No GT reel is the market is capable of a locked drag per se. If people are telling you they fish for GTs with reels that have locked drags and that they stop monster fish dead in their tracks with the fish not even pulling an inch of line, that is the stuff of fantasies.

I think in most cases the term 'locked drag' is used as a figure of speach meaning that the drag knob is wound down as far as it can physically go. On an SW18000 this still allows line to be pulled from the reel, albeit under very heavy pressure. For an experienced angler it is quite acceptable to fish this way in certain circumstances but I can say that a BIG GT will still pull line ridiculously easy at times with this drag setting. I have seen cases where Dogfights have had the drag knob similarly wound down and upon strike of a fish the start up inertia (any one who has fished with me will know my disgust of Saltiga drags  ) caused the spool to physically 'lock' and cause the line to explode on the spool   

[Mark Harris]

LOL.... yes, the old Saltiga factory drag had its very own locking mechanism .

[Stanley Yow]

Thanks for the reply Jay Burgess

Got it, will start with something i can handle before i start swimming with the fish he he..than apply more drag if necessary. I had the new saltiga dogfight not try yet but i can said the drag should  be alot more smoother than the old Saltiga factory drag.


Happy Fishing
stanley