I'm interested in the actual experiences which people have had using large poppers and whether they result in bigger GTs. I know a number of people swear by using huge poppers which they believe result in bigger GTs. I suppose there is some rationale in that but my experiences have not supported that supposition. If anything, the majority of the bigger fish I have caught have been on smaller poppers and on my last trip, every strike I had from a big fish was on a smaller popper (under 150g) or a stickbait.
In reality, I wonder how much difference in profile which a GT notices with a popper that weight 125g to one that weighs 200g.
I am one of those who does believe in bigger lures for bigger GTs. I don't believe that using bigger lures alone will guarentee bigger fish - however, i am a firm believer that if the bigger fish are around, your chance to attract and entice the fish increases significantly. We all know that GTs big and small will eat prey of just about any size. This includes the smallest of Fusiliers to even juvenile turtles and dolphins (mainly in the bigger specimans). I have personally seen the size of some of the fish that the huge GTs chase - tuna to a metre in length, other 40lb GTs, Spaniards etc... so this is where i also start to think your odds are getting better when you start to 'match the hatch' a bit more. I have also found that the bigger monsters tend to hold deeps - say 50m. The extra noise and water displacement that these bigger lures create can be the perfect enticement. However, we all know that there are small lures that can create some great noise and displacement to equal some of the bigger lures (no denying that).
Incidently, most of my captures are on lures that are greater than 150g - mainly because that is what i use the most.
In reality, i don't think it's the weight but more the physical length being the key - a bigger silouhette in the water. Obviously, weight and balancing come in to play, affecting issues such as castability and ability to displace water and make noise.
I have also found that smaller GTs respond less to larger lures. I believe that sometimes the competition created by smaller fish for food just makes the larger GTs wait for something that doesn't interest the smaller specimans - which is usally a much larger prey which seems much more logical for a larger fish.
Of course these are just my own personal views - no hard and fast rules as we all know that GTs can do backflips in what they like and dislike - one minute on, one minute off.
