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Andrew Cox

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Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 09, 2009, 06:34:15 PM

Dave Foyle

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 09, 2009, 07:52:16 PM
Hi Andrew,

I don't know Vavau I'm afraid but will do my best to help generally.

100lb braid should be fine.  Tuf line XP is a good line at a decent price.

River to Sea dumbell poppers will get you in amongst the fish if you have any.  If not try the Heru/Black-Jack/Nomad Cubera popper 130 or the Halco Roosta Haymaker.

Hooks - Owner ST76's in 4/0 will work for the lures above.  Get some owner 11H split rings to fit them on - and remeber to squash the barbs on the hooks !

Hope this helps mate and good luck.

Dave


Andrew Cox

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 09, 2009, 08:02:47 PM
Hi Andrew,

I don't know Vavau I'm afraid but will do my best to help generally.

100lb braid should be fine.  Tuf line XP is a good line at a decent price.

River to Sea dumbell poppers will get you in amongst the fish if you have any.  If not try the Heru/Black-Jack/Nomad Cubera popper 130 or the Halco Roosta Haymaker.

Hooks - Owner ST76's in 4/0 will work for the lures above.  Get some owner 11H split rings to fit them on - and remeber to squash the barbs on the hooks !

Hope this helps mate and good luck.

Dave



Gidday Dave

Thanks heaps for the advice, I will take a couple of river2sea poppers to see how they go, and look at getting some of the nomad ones.

I will make sure I replace all of the hooks and split rings of course.
I now have some decoy 11H split rings so im sure they are the same as the owner ones.

Please confirm are the hooks singles, doubles or trebles ? I have seen in the odd picture guys using a single on the back with two singles on the front and joining them with a rubber band, should this be done ?

No probs squashing the barbs.

Cheers Andrew

Malcolm Crane

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 09, 2009, 09:28:04 PM
Hi Andrew,

You should enjoy Vava'u - it's a great spot to visit and the people are excellent. Dave's recommendations regarding tackle are basically sound. I don't think you need to go beyond 100lb braid. You should get in touch with Kurt Carlson who is a member of this forum. Kurt lives on Vava'u and is without doubt the expert on popping for GT's in that part of the world.
You will find that there is a need to get beyond the easily accessible areas as the Tongans have a habit of keeping what is caught to feed their families, so the further you can get from populated areas the better your results will be.

We fished with Kurt for a week earlier this year, essentially popping for GT's, and found that whilst GT's are there to be caught the average size is under 20 - 25kgs. There will be bigger fish naturally, but the further out from the main island you venture the better your chances.

Land based is a viable option, depending on weather, but local knowledge and guidance will be essential if this is your intention.
You would be a lot better off to work with Kurt who has a boat and rely on his knowledge and ability to access the areas that can produce.

The majority of the guides/charter operators who work Vava'u are very focused on blue water trolling for billfish. They do this well - their results with marlin speak for themselves. However, if popping for GT's is your intention, get in touch with Kurt.

Don't ignore the general fishing opportunities that exist in Vava'u though. There is some of the most enjoyable light tackle fishing for mahi mahi and small tuna you could hope to find.

cheers,
Malcolm

Warwick Joyce

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 10, 2009, 08:50:41 AM
Hi Andrew, its up to your personal preference on singles or trebles. There are great arguments for both sides, I prefer singles. 1 at the rear, 2 back to back on the belly held together with a small zipp tie.

Have a search around the forum and you will find a days worth of reading on this subject!!

I think the Saltiga will be better than the stella in regards to retrieve ratio, the faster the better for popping. 100lb should be fine with a good leader setup.

Have a good trip!

Stephen Polzin

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 10, 2009, 11:18:10 AM
Sounds like the GT's there are similar sizes to Cairns fish.  Not sure of the terrain over there, but for that size fish 80lb braid would probably be fine.  That's all I use and haven't been bricked for ages.  Actually I've caught shedloads of fish on 60lb braid and an 8000 stella though that was in deeper water 50-70 feet. 

Hooks is a personal preference.   I only use trebles.  Owner ST76's are fine.  The ST66's are more sticky, being a finer gauge, but you'll straighten them out pretty regularly on that gear.   As for lures, the R2S dumbells are made of wood.  R2S also make a big plastic stickbait which works (last trip out one of my mates got busted up using one).  Halco Haymakers are another good cheap popper.  Made of plastic but tough.  Definately chase up a few Blackjack/Nomad poppers and sticks.  They work well and make a nice trophy after being chewed by a few fish. 
Cairns Bommie Basher

Nathan Cefai

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 12, 2009, 09:24:52 AM
Be sure to take some Stick baits for Sails,tailwalk Gunz or yo-zuri sliders or duel sliders!!

Gts will jump on them to,rig them with singles!!

Andrew Cox

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 15, 2009, 08:56:48 PM
Cheers for all the advice guys, think I nearly have my gear sorted so just need to get there and do it.
Report to follow in the new year.

Cheers Coxy

Mick Cunningham

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 15, 2009, 09:23:44 PM
good luck andrew ..  ;) ;D ;D

Peter Morris

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 16, 2009, 07:32:44 PM
TURN IT UP COXY.... ;D ;D

Good to see you on here mate...Those poppers I mentioned to you are around the $40 range.

Talk to you soon,

Pete

Andrew Cox

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Re: Help On Popper Fishing Please
November 24, 2009, 02:56:58 PM
TURN IT UP COXY.... ;D ;D

Good to see you on here mate...Those poppers I mentioned to you are around the $40 range.

Talk to you soon,

Pete

Gidday mate yeah thought I better get on for a look before my big mission to see how its done, theres a good chance I will just get smoked  :)

Cheers Coxy