new to GT fishing need help!

[scouser]

i am coming to Australia for 6 weeks in November going to Cairns , Darwin, Perth and sydney i have got some trips arranged with Blackout sportsfishing and Bluejuice in Perth. I am looking for help with rods for Gt fishing i woul like if i can a travel rod say 3 or 4 piece. i have looked at the Shimano Caranx deep  monster and the shimano Gt special any advise on these rods ? i know about Carpenters and have looked at the Longcast 88. i have a Shimano Stella 10000 with Varivas avanti pe8 line. I would like to try some shore fishing all i have hard of so far in the areas that i am visiying (Cairns,Sydney,Perth and Darwin) are Palm cove jetty to try for the Gts and some shark if that is true? can you guys help and advise please

cheers Stewart

[Stephen Polzin]

Mate Palm Cove jetty is scenic enough but don't go there expecting to catch anything. 

[scouser]

where would you recomend i will have a car in cairns so i can travel around ?

[Stephen Polzin]

Land based is pretty tough, there's no-where I could really recommend for big fish- I only fish from a boat.  You could get lucky at the Palm Cove jetty, but lucky would be the operative word.  I think you're doing the right thing going with Blackout, he's got a pretty good reputation. 

[Ivan Verhage]

hi stewart

i have got a caranx DM and it is a great rod for fishing from a boat and it can easily handle 130lb braid.

cheers ivan

[scouser]

stephen
what type of knot do you tie from your braid to your leader?

[Sachin Chaudhry]

Ditto on the Caranx DM

[Fraser Simpson]

Scouse, Liverpool or Everton mate?

Blackout Cairns is a good charter. I went with him on 24/12/07 and he works really hard to get you on the fish.

I fish a Shimano GT Special and love it. There is a trade off in that whilst 8ft is great for punching out a popper/stickbait, the length can be arkward at times during the retrieve. Top action during the fight, and unbeatable at the price. Popping rods are usually stiffer in action than stickbait rods but the GT Special is an excellent compromise if you can only afford 1 rod, or need to travel light.

If you want to see some Cairns action look at the popping trip reports in this forum. There is a recent entry from "Stephen" from the 22/02/08 with a link to some video (of me and Stephen) on Youtube.

If you at some of the tackle discussions in the forum you will se just a few variations of preferred leader knots. I personally use a 70 twist bimini double to a twisted leader, with a short 120lb single strand leader. You will find that Luke and Brandon have multiple posts with directions on tying biminis, twisted leaders and the joining knots.

Good luck on your holiday

Fraser

[Fraser Simpson]

Mate,

I forgot to mention, get in touch with Hal HARVEY at Bluewater.net.au in Scarborough (Perth). He knows his stuff and will no doubt advise you on good areas/charters, and supply you with any tackle you need. Commission Hal?

I can't think of any 3/4 piece GT rods. The action is crucial, and when you have multiple spigots in a blank, the action is compromised. I have travelled all over the world with 12 foot 2 piece rods and have had no dramas. FYI the Shimano GT special splits at the top of the handle section and is 1.7 metres (about 5ft) long when split. It would be fine to travel with.

[scouser]

Thanks Fraser
RED there is no other team in liverpool! thanks for the name in perth
Apart from Gt fishing from the boat can you recomand any shore stuff from Cairns or Perth?
anything like ray or shark as i do alot of this at home ( Cornwall now )
Cheers Stewart