Let’s get the GT ! (Giant Trevally) : Tips and Trick
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Giant Trevally (Charanx Ignobilis) A.K.A GT is a common catch fish in the Indo-Pacific tropical waters. This fish is easy to recognize starting from its forehead which looks big with silvery body color and yellow tinge. They are pure muscle and a very, very tough adversary even on heavy tackle. They typically charge out of the reef, grab your lure, and then charge back in and cut your line on the rocks.
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General characteristics of GT fish:
-The body is elongated, flat, and slightly oval.
-Gills layer 16-18 in the lower first gill arc.
-Has 9 first dorsal fins with hard fingers.
-Hard-fingered second and 18-21 second dorsal fins are weak.
-The anal fin consists of 2 hard (loose) fingers, followed by 1 hard radius and 14-16 weak.
-The front lines are curved ribs, straight behind.
-There are 24-34 thorn scales in straight ribs.
-Categorize as a wild fish, feeds on small fish, crustaceans. Living in shallow waters, rocks, forming a small group.
-Color: the top is greenish or grayish blue, the bottom is white silver.
-The two dorsal fins are broken white with a whitish edge.
-The caudal fin is dark or slightly yellow with the other dark ends of the pale fin.
In the sport fishing circle, giant trevally is famous for having stubborn and strong energy, so this fish is much popular and becomes a magnet for anglers throughout the world. This fish habitat in Indonesia is in coral, rock reefs and fish are almost scattered from Aceh to Papua.
How to target
Giant trevally will take live or dead whole fish and fillet baits as well as soft plastics and trolled minnows, but by far the most exciting and sporting way to target them is on large surface lures like poppers and stickbaits.
Rod & Reel
Minimum rod length for casting of 7ft and up to 9 ft. Preferably choose a strong, lightweight graphite rod rated PE 6-10 to suit the lure size and area you plan to fish.
Line and leader
Mainline PE 6-10 braid
Min.100-200lb leader, fluorocarbon preferred
Terminal Tackle
Quality high breaking strain crane swivel
Quality high breaking strain split ring
Quality trebles
Hints & tips
-When a fish follows don’t speed up the retrieve. Keep doing what you are doing and even throw in a pause if they are still not hitting.
-In calmer conditions work poppers with a slower retrieve with big sweeps of the rod to displace more water.
-Always be ready for a strike. You will often get hit as soon as the lure hits the water.
-In calmer conditions or when the fish are less aggressive use stickbaits with an aggressive walk-the-dog technique -with the rod tip down to get the lure darting.
Rigging for lure casting
This method involves casting and retrieving large poppers or stickbaits over and around reef structure. Join your braided mainline to: a) a twisted leader by tying a Bimini twist, or b) a single strand leader by tying a FG knot, PR knot, Fingertrap knot or similar. At the other end of the leader attach a quality crane swivel by tying a Uni knot, Chain knot or similar (even when using a twisted leader). Connect the swivel directly to a quality split ring on the lure and you’re away.
example of Bimini Twist from fishing.org :
Written By : @ipanardik
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Image Sources:
-Personal Data
Additional sources :
-personal experience
-mancingmania.com
-getfishing.com.au