Catching GT's from land

[Cy and Kerrin Taylor]

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on GT fishing from the shore?

We've recently been targeting GT while casting from rocks around the Whitsundays - we've found it to be a very stealthy approach and the fish definitely seem less spooky and easier to tempt when there's no boat in the area.

The action is more visual too when fishing from a slightly elevated position like rocks. You can often see the fish before and after the strike - which has to be the most exciting part of fishing!

On our past few trips however, out of the 6 fish connected, only 1 was landed. It was a fish around 20kg and the other GT's lost we're estimated at 20kg to 30kg+.

The main problem is the braid rubbing against the coral or rocks. The fish usually swim deep amongst the coral or down into a reef drop off. When the tight line touches against the sharp structure, it breaks fast.

It's annoying loosing expensive lures, not landing the fish and leaving the lure stuck in the GT's mouth. Brandon told us he doesn't do land based GT fishing much anymore as they're just too hard to land. We agree but it's such an exciting technique! 

Cy & Kerrin Taylor

[Brandon Khoo]

I don't know of any land based fanatics for GTs in this country but clearly, there is quite a bit of interest in Japan as there are rods specially made for it. It's really exciting but the fish are damn near impossible to land as you just can't apply the same drag, let alone having to contend with the structure. I've hooked a few in the past as well when I used to livebait a lot for Jewies. Always got my butt kicked!!

[PeterD]

We got into a few on a trip up north but like you we lost more then we landed. Extremely exciting fishing but also extremely expensive when you look at what lure you have left at the end of the day!!

[Daniel Fisher]

Hi guys, my first post on here.

My mate and I do a lot of spinning for tailor, small kingies and AJs down off Byron Bay and occasionally hook onto GTs. They are really difficult to stop as we're generally only running PE1.5 on 2500 size reels as that's more than enough for the bulk of fish we hook. I got blown away twice yesterday on roosta 135s just couldn't get any line back before getting reefed by GTs.

Those fish aren't even big, probably only around the 5-10kg mark. I joined this site to brush up on the different techniques as I'd like to start targeting these fish and trying to stop a few.

I'm thinking I'd need to be running at least a PE 4 setup to have a chance at stopping them.

"there is quite a bit of interest in Japan as there are rods specially made for it" Brandon, I'd appreciate if you could point me in the direction of these rods or any info would be much appreciated.

[Peter Morris]

Love chasing them from the rocks and although I havent hooked many Landbased I have been witness to some great captures.......33kg being the best.
I have a spot that is fairly friendly country if you manage to hook one and there is no need for the brutal style knock out type fight. You can let them run like a tuna.

Fighting style needs to judged on location.

I found the whitsundays landbased frustrating as many areas lack current.
I would get follows from big fish and they wouldnt strike and ultimately shy away.
Stick baits,pencils and bloopers all received the same treatment.

Your spots (which I have seen in QFM etc) seem to have much more current flow.

Pete

[Cy and Kerrin Taylor]

A good idea would probably be to only fish areas that are easy to land fish from. Peter, that place that you talked about sounded good. A nice open area with deep water all around. We've found the structure that causes trouble when trying to land them is usually what's attracting the fish there.

Hi Brandon, just wondering what you think about the abrasion resistance of heavy braid? Do you think heavy braided line is a lot stronger when a fish brushes the line on the coral? We've never used braid over 100lb so we're not sure what it's like.

We've found landbased fishing is great for seeing the types of spots GT like. You can see the what the current flow is doing a lot more and pick where to cast. Current flow is a huge part of GT success we believe. Finding where it passes and compresses along rocks is easier from a high view.

Hi Daniel, those GT you get around Byron bay sound fun on light gear! They are great fun on 2500 size reels and a light rod. Some of the bigger size GT almost pull you in sometimes and you have to get a good footing in the rocks!

[Andre van Wyk]

Cy & Kerrin,

Hello from South Africa! While our conditions are vastly different to most of yours, here on our Northern East coast, and into Mozambique, we have some of the finest land based GT fishing in the world in my opinion, and guys have been casting homemade plugs/pencils/poppers from the beaches here for the last 25 years or more...

Most of our areas are heavy surf zones though, and rocky ledges, very seldom cliffs and such... bays and river mouths with lots of whitewater and plenty of current ( something they have in common ) seem the keys to getting the fish on the chew...
Most of the "popping" for GT's done here traditonally has been with 14ft surf rods, overhead reels like Trinidads loaded with .55mm mono or similar, and a heavy leader... but enough fish in excess of 40 kilos have been landed to rather learn from these methods than knock them...
the added distance a 14ft rod gives you is unquestionable, and especially in areas where you are fishing off the beach in heavy surf ( 6 to 10ft swell at times ) the extra length of the rod enables you to keep your line off ledges and reefs which a shorter rod might not be able to help you avoid.... Of course, with the extra length, comes the added leverage, and trying to fish 10 kilos of drag on anything over 10ft is going to get ugly in a hurry, and VERY painful!!!


The guys also swim livebaits for them at night as well, usually a Bonefish or wave garrick, also on long surf rods and Trinis/Saltigas....plenty of 50 kilo plus fish get taken this way


I think a compromise between 14ft surf rods and short 7'6" brutal GT rods is needed for a general land based set up.... A rod between 8 and 9 ft, possibly up to 9'6" which enables you to throw a long way, but still put the hurt on fish that you need to turn in a big way....

Land based popping for big GT's must really be the pinnacle of our pursuit I think... landing a 50 Kilo GT from the stones is an epic achievment I think...

[Brandon Khoo]

Daniel, a few companies make quite specialised land-based GT rods. Ripple Fisher have rods like the Yaku and Inifinity, Zenaq have the Defi Muthos range, Medusa Custom Works have the Raging Bull range and even Fisherman have one if you have a bulging wallet. Yu may find a couple of these which are light enough to suit what you are looking for.

Hi guys, my first post on here.

My mate and I do a lot of spinning for tailor, small kingies and AJs down off Byron Bay and occasionally hook onto GTs. They are really difficult to stop as we're generally only running PE1.5 on 2500 size reels as that's more than enough for the bulk of fish we hook. I got blown away twice yesterday on roosta 135s just couldn't get any line back before getting reefed by GTs.

Those fish aren't even big, probably only around the 5-10kg mark. I joined this site to brush up on the different techniques as I'd like to start targeting these fish and trying to stop a few.

I'm thinking I'd need to be running at least a PE 4 setup to have a chance at stopping them.

"there is quite a bit of interest in Japan as there are rods specially made for it" Brandon, I'd appreciate if you could point me in the direction of these rods or any info would be much appreciated.

[Brandon Khoo]

Hi Brandon, just wondering what you think about the abrasion resistance of heavy braid? Do you think heavy braided line is a lot stronger when a fish brushes the line on the coral? We've never used braid over 100lb so we're not sure what it's like.

Not much at all - it's hopeless like all braid. Even PE12 goes like cotton when it hits structure under tension. I was shocked when I read some people using heavy braid for leaders when fishing for impoundment barra at night.

[Angus Hulme]

On our past few trips however, out of the 6 fish connected, only 1 was landed

Sounds about right Cy & Kerrin. Our last trip to the Whitsundays produced 16 (land based) GT hookups, for 6 fish landed, and that was our best effort so far. Previously, we've always struggled to land fish from the rocks on overhead gear. We reckoned our improved results were due to heavy spin gear (no surprise there), aggressive fighting tactics and picking the right locations. A brutal rod like a GT Special works well too.

Fighting style needs to judged on location.

Spot on Pete, if there is too much structure, then don't fish there, cos it's going to be simply too hard to land the fish. We also use our own home made lures, so tackle losses are not as costly as if we were using $90 lures. (An interesting side note here, last year one of my brothers was using a popper I made, and got wiped out by a huge GT. The lure was not seen again......until my aunt found the same lure on a nearby beach some 5 months later! The lure was all scuffed up, and it appeared that the GT had been rubbing it's head on the coral to get rid of the annoyance. Thats one reason why barbless hooks are a must)

The main problem is the braid rubbing against the coral or rocks. The fish usually swim deep amongst the coral or down into a reef drop off. When the tight line touches against the sharp structure, it breaks fast.

C & K, it's the same problem everywhere with GTs off the rocks! One thing we tried last trip which seemed to have some success was, after the initial strike and hookup, let the fish power off (under light drag) over the dropoff, then when you reckon it's clear of any immediate underwater danger, suddenly pour on the pressure through massively increased drag and aggressive rod work. We found this seems to stun the fish into submission, and before it can mount another challenge and head for the bottom, it's worn out. Worth a go anyway.

Certainly, it's an extremely challenging way of fishing, but the satisfaction of a landed GT is great.

[Daniel Fisher]

Daniel, a few companies make quite specialised land-based GT rods. Ripple Fisher have rods like the Yaku and Inifinity, Zenaq have the Defi Muthos range, Medusa Custom Works have the Raging Bull range and even Fisherman have one if you have a bulging wallet. Yu may find a couple of these which are light enough to suit what you are looking for.

Hi guys, my first post on here.

My mate and I do a lot of spinning for tailor, small kingies and AJs down off Byron Bay and occasionally hook onto GTs. They are really difficult to stop as we're generally only running PE1.5 on 2500 size reels as that's more than enough for the bulk of fish we hook. I got blown away twice yesterday on roosta 135s just couldn't get any line back before getting reefed by GTs.

Those fish aren't even big, probably only around the 5-10kg mark. I joined this site to brush up on the different techniques as I'd like to start targeting these fish and trying to stop a few.

I'm thinking I'd need to be running at least a PE 4 setup to have a chance at stopping them.

"there is quite a bit of interest in Japan as there are rods specially made for it" Brandon, I'd appreciate if you could point me in the direction of these rods or any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the info

[Travis Heaps]

I've always been keen to try it but have always wondered how the landing part was handled...

Cool story about your lure being found 5 months later Angus!!

[Angus Hulme]

I've always been keen to try it but have always wondered how the landing part was handled...

That's another reason why I reckon you have to choose the location carefully Trav. There's no point fishing from a sheer rock face high off the water when there's no way you can comfortably land a fish without damaging it. Our best landbased spots have a gently sloping shelf where you can lead a fish, then stand in knee deep water to secure the fish, take pics and release unharmed.

See pic below...

Cool story about your lure being found 5 months later Angus!!

Yeah, I was amazed when the lure turned up so long after it's loss. However, the fish obviously got rid of the lure quite quickly because there was no marine growth on it or anything, so it must've floated to the beach and washed up high on the beach on the big full moon tide we were fishing at the time.

Cheers
Angus

[Cy and Kerrin Taylor]

Hi Angus, that sounds like an interesting technique you described for landing GT from the rocks. We'll make sure to give it a try next time. Hi Andre, the fishing you have over there for GT's sounds incredible. That's interesting to hear the success the locals have with long rods and mono line in the surf. We find it hard enough to work a surface popper or stickbait well in heavy chop so fishing one in the surf sounds tricky! That's also interesting how the bigger fish around 50kg are caught with live baits. They must eat some big live baits?

Brandon, we've tried using braid as a leader once for impoundment barra. It ended up damaging the fish too much and also breaked very easily with the raspy mouth of the fish. Mono is a much better leader! 

[Brandon Khoo]

that's why I was so surprised when I read an article from Starlo saying that some anglers were using heavy braid tied directly to the lure - to any regular angler who uses heavy braid, that is completely insensible.

Brandon, we've tried using braid as a leader once for impoundment barra. It ended up damaging the fish too much and also breaked very easily with the raspy mouth of the fish. Mono is a much better leader!