GTPopping.com - Giant Trevally, GTPopping, Topwater & GT Fly-Fishing Resource
Topwater Caranx Ignobilis: Giant Trevally (GT) => Reports & Expeditions => Topic started by: Chris Tan on February 27, 2012, 01:26:05 PM
-
Just got back from Hallaniyat Islands, Oman with No Boundaries. Will keep it short for now with a few pics as teasers :P.
Kudos to Ed and Angela - what an amazing set up you guys have there in Oman!
Monster GTs and fantastic light tackle action.
Full report soon (after work.....need to edit over 500 pics)
-
Nice teaser. Look forward to the full report!
-
Can't wait for the full report - FROTHING HARD ;D
-
This trip consisted of my wife, Jac and myself from Singapore and 2 Sarawakans, Greg and Maverick.
We made our way from Changi to Dubai to Muscat to Salalah, south of Oman and then another 3 hour drive to Shuwaymiyah along the coast. The drive took us through the desert and camels were everywhere. Dangerous especially at night!
We finally reached Ed's lodge in the late evening and enjoyed a home cooked meal, geared up and got ready for a 5.00am wake up call for Gt fishing
-
First day: flat seas, no wind and a quick 50 min ride to Hallaniyat islands - home of the monster GTs!
1st fish - a hard fighting milkfish. I thought it was a school of baitfish and casted my gamma into the school and snagged a milkie instead. Was testing the new mid joint Ripple and it worked very nicely.
Next up....monster fish for Greg. A Gt over 40kgs. Fought real hard and when it was time to release, the fish started to float away. So Ed does the only thing that comes naturally to him, dive in and resusitate the fish in shark infested waters (big tigers and bulls!) After a few minutes, success - the fish swims away
-
A couple of small GTs are landed and its real hard work without much results.
-
Then a monster class GT lands on Greg's lap. He's on fire! 135cm to the fork and 150cm to the tip.
We ended the day with some light tackle fun and a well earned rest at Ed's lodge
-
Well done Chris & Co 8)
-
2nd and 3rd day, as predicted was windy and rough seas prevented us from heading to the islands for the Gts. So we stuck inshore and caught a number of species on light gear.
-
On light poppers, plastics, spoons....
-
Finally on the 4th and 5th day, the winds die down a little for us to try the islands again.
I managed to get my biggest GT ever!
-
Enjoying it a lot so far Chris.
One great advantage of this area (as I found out!) is that no matter the weather you can find excellent light tackle fishing inshore.
That Ed jumped overboard to save a GT from a potential shark attack is so typical.... top, top bloke in my book.
Some impressive GTs there plus lots fun light tackle fish. Catching a Permit with a minnow is excellent!
And you bonded with Rad. He is a fine animal :D
-
Whoa... photograph 6C is a complete bus of a GT. Did you get measurements?
Very well done with a personal best.
-
Thanks Mark. Ed's hoping to get you a big one when you go again later in the year.
That fished measured 134cm to the fork and 150cm to the tip. That's the advantage of having a short body like mine, all fish look big! ;D
-
It looks bigger than that and is very fat! Still though, a 134 cm fork length is an excellent fish.
-
Nice work for Niu Niu ;D
-
Great report Chris ;D good to see great catches n thumbs up for the conservation efforts
Your report really pumps up our enthusiasm 8)
Deposit paid, Stella's checked, Dogfights checked, monster hunter checked, patriot design checked...here we come in April...yoooohooo
Hate counting the days on the calendar. We are not even excited about our end April trip in Pekan for sails...gulps :-X
-
I can't wait to get back!!!!
-
Those pictures are amazing mate,great report,are they taken from your camera or the boys on the charter ?
Some cracking fish and monster bream also...
-
Thanks for the replies guys!
Pics taken from my D90 with Tokina 11-16 lens
-
Back in Dubai for a night so can finally get access on here. Great report Chris, thank you for the feedback ;) Please pass on regards to Jac, Mav and Greg . . we had a 'Goal Keeper' 2 days ago! Dudes first cast of his first day and lure lands on water then all hell breaks loose as a 65kg GT goes on the rampage!! Landed though despite hooking up at only 3 meters. Pics coming. Was pleasure putting you guys onto some great fish and we look forward to welcoming you again. Cheers mate Ed
-
Guys, Ed has some pics up of this fish on his Facebook now:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=363275313703328&set=a.348232581874268.82231.230072677023593&type=3 (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=363275313703328&set=a.348232581874268.82231.230072677023593&type=3)
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=363275327036660&set=a.348232581874268.82231.230072677023593&type=3&theater (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=363275327036660&set=a.348232581874268.82231.230072677023593&type=3&theater)
144 cm fork length and a huge 120 cm girth.
-
Now that would be an awesome goalkeeper to get - on his first day and first cast - a 65kg monster! Just saw the pics - that thing's huge!
We need to get back there to for Maverick's 65kg!
Back in Dubai for a night so can finally get access on here. Great report Chris, thank you for the feedback ;) Please pass on regards to Jac, Mav and Greg . . we had a 'Goal Keeper' 2 days ago! Dudes first cast of his first day and lure lands on water then all hell breaks loose as a 65kg GT goes on the rampage!! Landed though despite hooking up at only 3 meters. Pics coming. Was pleasure putting you guys onto some great fish and we look forward to welcoming you again. Cheers mate Ed
-
Hey Chris,
Good to see you and Mav getting amoungst some cracking fish! Those monster bream look awesome, do they go hard on the light gear? Great report mate and quality photos!
Cheers Sam ;D
-
Sam, jumping in here as those Southern Oman Bream intrigue me for an number of reasons.
First to answer the question you asked to Chris, they pull like hell! I was lucky enough to catch a couple of 5 kg class fish and I could not believe how strong they were. Also a very smart fighter which heads for the nearest piece of structure as soon as it is hooked.
I am doing a bit of research to find out which acanthpopagrus Bream species this is as there are several candidates, at least one of which is poorly known.
-
Hi, Mark,
What sort of lures work well for light tackle in Hallinayat ? I was thinking about bringing some spoons, minnows, stick baits n poppers.
But I m not sure about the weight & type that works well there.
Appreciate yr sharing
-
Lenny, as I spent ALL my time there light casting >:( due to the weather I got quite a good feel for that!
I caught fish with surface and sinking stickbaits, metals and soft plastics. The bream seem to love surface sticks that you can zip along fast, or little pencils. I caught my biggest Bream with a little Yozuri pencil. Small metals (say 30-40 grams) went well with emperors, pompanos and blacktip trevally. There are big Queenfish to be had - I caught a 11/12 kg fish on a sinking Shimano Ocean Pencil 60 grams. Ed's personal favourite stickbait there is Orion Mr Joe 40 grams. That ought to give you some ideas.
Chris and co might be able to add to that.
-
Cheers, Mark. Now, I know better what to bring along.
How about the bonies ? What is their preference ? Any chance of good bonies ?
I am pairing my Yamaga Blue Sniper PE4 with a Twinpower 5000. Not sure whether the reel is sufficient for the "light ones" at Hallinayat ? Should I use the Saltiga 4500Z instead ?
Have a great day !
-
I have never heard of a bonefish being caught in Southern Oman but maybe there are some.
You will be fine with that set up for the light work. I would say perfect is a PE2/3 set up with a 5000 size reel. Twinpower SW 5000 is certainly enough reel.
-
Hey Sam
Mav and I had great time in Oman. It was unfortunate Mav couldn't land his 2 Big fish.
Those bream are real cool. They fight hard and dirty.
What worked for us were small poppers, soft plastics, spoons and minnows. The remote beaches were amazing. Fantastic marine life with bait balls and loads of predators smashing them up.
We saw some large shadows which refused all lures - not sure if they were bonefish or not but they were similar in shape.
Hey Chris,
Good to see you and Mav getting amoungst some cracking fish! Those monster bream look awesome, do they go hard on the light gear? Great report mate and quality photos!
Cheers Sam ;D
-
Super stuff guys. Incredible pictures. Those Gts are insane. Awsome light tackle action too.
Congrats.
Jeen
-
Love it, cheers for the report fellas! Well done on a great trip.
-
Just uploaded the 1st video for the trip - milkfish, 40kg GT and Ed reviving the fish.
More videos up soon. :D
Hallaniyat Oman Gt popping with No Boundaries! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTSKVWh745s#ws)
-
2nd video for the trip - Greg's small GT and 50kg specimen
Hallaniyat Oman part 2 with No Boundaries (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhL6cPwVgow#)
-
Great stuff Chris. Love the way that Milkfish hauled you around :) .
Top man is Ed... great footage of him diving in to sharky waters to revive that GT.
And please tell your friend to open the bail arm once the deckie has hold of the leader. I think he was close to a broken rod there.
Just uploaded the 1st video for the trip - milkfish, 40kg GT and Ed reviving the fish.
More videos up soon. :D
Hallaniyat Oman Gt popping with No Boundaries! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTSKVWh745s#ws)
-
Thanks Mark for the tip. No breakages this time!
Here's the 3rd video. Light tackle in slightly windy conditions, small fish in light conditions and big bust off.
Hallaniyat Oman Gtpopping and light tackle part 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqAG8h251DY#)
-
4th video of me getting bullied by the GT
http://youtu.be/xg3M6ygO0RE (http://youtu.be/xg3M6ygO0RE)
-
All good stuff Chris. I am guessing your wife was on video duty a lot of the time? What set up were you using for the big GT? The rod looks like a Ripple?
-
Jac was fishing hard for Gts as well but not much luck and she decided to go for the light tackle stuff after the 4th day.
For the GT, I was using the Ultimo.
Here's the 5th and last video of our buddy Maverick.
Maverick in action in Oman with No Boundaries (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL6JNRwnPZw#)
All good stuff Chris. I am guessing your wife was on video duty a lot of the time? What set up were you using for the big GT? The rod looks like a Ripple?
-
The black gimbals with back support that you usa.. what brand are they?
-
That's a carpenter gimbal
The black gimbals with back support that you usa.. what brand are they?