queensland Trevally in Fiji

[aussiebass40]

Hey guys im lucky enough to be going to fiji in the holidays (CANT WAIT) and i was wondering if there were anyway suggestions as to what tackle (lures, Tackle etc.) I will be fishing the reefy edges around the island on either land or boat. I really wanna catch a trevally.

Thanks Guys

Cheers

[chris_stewart14]

Mate having never been there take this advice with a grain of salt but with all the reef and magic water up there Im sure there are spots where you could use a bath plug and get fish.. I would say rather then buying a bunch of big dumbell poppers etc that you probably wont use again. Speak to some locals or jump on the net and do a half day charter! I will almost guarantee they can put you onto a Trev. They are common as mud in those parts.

[aussiebass40]

yeah true...there are charters that run off the island so i will mostly do that

[fishinking]

ok poppers if u wanna get a gt like river 2 sea dumbell pop 150, halco roosta 135's, nomad cubera 125's, and other big poppers, u will probably need a popping setup for this as not just any gear can be used for this kind of thing

[aussiebass40]

What sort of setup....like a 3000 size reel and medium to heavy rod

[Angus]

Have a look at the Interstate & Overseas reports.

There are at least 3 reports there that feature Trevs in Fiji.

Jimmybobs were all land based as well I think.

Angus

[bretto]

Keechies report was a cracker too. He got a nice blue trev from memory

[fishinking]

aussiebass40 wrote:

What sort of setup....like a 3000 size reel and medium to heavy rod

well if you wannaa have a chance at any decent size gt's you would have to look at a 100000-20000 top end size reel with a 7-8ft rod in about 15-24kg range, shimano t curve bluewater spins are great for the price for a startout popping setup and are a great size for boat and landbased, 7"6, the long rod is needed to get any distance on the cast and this is very important especially when landbased

[Bill74]

my wife and i have done a fair amount of fishing throughout the sth pacific (including fiji) over the past few years. you'll be happy to know that the most likely species you'll encounter are GTs and bluefin trevally.

poppers work well but i have major success with raider type slugs. the locals in fiji will think your a weirdo when you first rip one out of your tackle box but soon come to a different conclusion when you've hooked up on a large trevally on your first couple of casts. i took a small ship cruise a couple of years ago in western fiji and had a ball everynight fishing with the crew from the engine room. the best fish we managed to land was around the 25kg mark.

if you mainly want to catch trevally and other reef dweleers the best advice would be to have a chat with the locals and get them to take you out in a small boat. you'll save loads of cash and probably catch just as many fish. the only catch is that you'll need to take your own gear.

i usually travel with a 7 foot 2 piece graphite spin stiok with a Shimano TSS loaded up with 20lb braid and one or 2 trolling rigs with TLD25s. remember to take PLENTY of line and lures as many of the fish you can encounter are VERY unforgiving.

as far as trolling lures go i mainly take a few medium sized skirts and CD18 rapala's.

another tip (and this goes for slugs, hardbody and poppers) is that sth pacific fish love blue coloured patterns. not sure why but we always seem to nail most of our quality fish on this colour.

ps - warning: if you want to keep your catch be warned - the locals have a habit of helping themself to the esky as soon as your boat hits the dock!!

best of luck and bula!

Bill74

[yoyo]

A 10000+ series reel, please...c'mon...why dont you just tell him to take a tow truck over with him ?

The size of the reel you choose depends on how even a fight you want to make it....

[fishinking]

mate that couldnt be further from the truth. you have your opinion but try throwing a 150g popper to a 40kg gt with a snapper outfit, im sure you would not get spooled or reefed at all.

[yoyo]

there are guys knocking off billfish and big tuna on fly gear....

[chrissy_fisher]

hey yer, i agree with yoyo...10000 is a bit of overkill...just out of curiousity, bill75 what size reel did you use...thanks

chrissy_fisher

[aussiebass40]

mate i dont think i will be targeting that size GT land-based....and if i do target them it will be on a charter and they will most likely supply the gearing...i do understand where your coming from though...thanks

[aussiebass40]

Thanks HEAPS Bill that information was great... i will take heaps of photos and make a great thread when i get back...

Cheers

[fishinking]

yoyo wrote:

there are guys knocking off billfish and big tuna on fly gear....

for 1 billfish and tuna are clean fighting fish and 2 there is big fly gear its not just all light gear, ask any experience gt popper fisherman or gt fisherman in general and they will tell you that popper fishing for GT's is not for light gear at all!

[Keechie]

no need to take 10000 and 20000 reels over if your only going to use them once, i got a 6000 reel and it handle it fine over there with 50lb braid on it, and still i can use it over here off-shore and for sharks etc. Smooth drag, quality leader and good rod work can knock a solid fish over in no time at all no matter what line class. I was mostly throwing 100-150mm poppers and scored a few nice fish over there fishing landbased. Yes i wasn't getting the 20kg monsters but there is no need to target them, would rather be catching lots of fish then getting no hits at all. next time i go i will take a 8000 sized reel too as its easier to have 2 combo's set up.

I found that the blue colour absolutley inialates over there, i dunno why but i ran out by the second trip even though i had another 14 days left. I would be taking a variety of lures over as its often a bit slow this time of the year over there fishing surface, closer to december/january i would be taking a whole lot of surface lures. Don't be afraid to take some twitchbaits over and some vibes as last time i got nailed but i only took over 2 vibes and 1 twitchbait.

Leader wise i used 40lb 10x but next time i go i will take a spool of 80lb leader over as well as i was fishing very heavy reef structure and to fish landbased it was very difficult. Goodluck on your trip i hope you catch plenty, i swear you will be going back for more.

[fishinking]

i didnt say you had to take 10000 or 20000 size reels but if you wanna have a chance at some good fish it is needed especially when fishing big reef areas and bommies which is where the GT are. also a 20kg Gt is far from a monster and if your casting big poppers around bommies you can find schools of big Gt's and get just as many as you would find of the smaller ones.

[paulymassy]

yoyo wrote:

there are guys knocking off billfish and big tuna on fly gear....

might sound amazing but, my uncle has shown me his fly reels as he goes on nomad flyfishing the reels that they use for billfish and trevs are fly reels that have 15kg of tested drag fly reels are not only for trout

[Keechie]

you would be suprised as how much pressure you can put on 6000 reels, most of the new shimano range in the 6000 size has 13kg of drag. Imo easily enough pressure to knock down a big GT or anyfish for that matter. With the use of quality gear you can knock some suprisingly good fish over on light stuff, 2 trips ago i was using just the normal 4lb braid and 8lb leader on a 2-4kg t-curve and twinpower and i was knocking over small bluefin(45-58cm) and 55cm cod no where near big but on that line class fishing over a big nasty reef its a good effort.

I am by no means a pro or anything but its just thats my experience.

(p.s Does anyone know if you can put a 8000 size spool on a 6000 sized reel??)

[fishinking]

big difference between 45cm bluefin tuna and 50cm cod to a Decent GT

[HookedOnTackle]

Keechie wrote:

(p.s Does anyone know if you can put a 8000 size spool on a 6000 sized reel??)

Shimano 6000/8000 are the same body, just different spool sizes.

Jones Tackle at Lutwyche are a bit of a jigging/popping specialist centre, so head in there and check it out. GT's like big blooping poppers, but reefs have the shortest life expectancy of animals anywhere on the planet so as previously said you could probably use anything and still get hits in such pristine waters.

But at Jones or many other decent tackle stores, you will get great advice. Just check up on what sort of weights/sizes you can take over there as a brand new $500 popping rod is no good if the airline refuse to let it on or you pay five times as much for a lure when it goes into excess luggage...

So jealous of you, might see you there when i win lotto next week! *fingers crossed*

[Keechie]

fishinking wrote:

big difference between 45cm bluefin tuna and 50cm cod to a Decent GT

No shit sherlock, i am just trying to point out that you can land big fish on light gear, for example some of the guys on this site catch big thready's on light gear (heard of some big ones on 4lb). I am just saying that its not neccessary to take over huge gear when its not exactly needed. Yes you may lose some but thats all a part of fishing for any species. I am sure if you use the right sized lures and stuff and target the right sized fish you can take a 3000 sized reel over and still knock over some quality fish.

[fishinking]

mate its not about whether u can catch good fish on light gear or not its also that you cant cast a 80-150g lure with a small rod and light line. GT are not like tuna thats what im saying tuna are a clean fighting fish that head for thehorizon gt's try and reef you

[Keechie]

He hasent stated what size trevally he will be chasing, if he only wants the ones at 70cm to less there is no need for 80-150g lures. Myself have been nailed by big GT's (in excess of 15kg plus)on 56g lures they will smash anything. Atleast with the smaller lures you got a good chance at any sized Trevally or another species for that fact.

GT's don't always try to reef you, most that i have caught have just bolted hard and fast to get away, the only time they get close to busting you off is at the boat or at your feet where they will quickkly dive under the boat or hit the rocks at the base of where you're fishing causing the line to unfortunetly snap.

[fishinking]

ok, im just going off all the information I have got off many experienced gt popper fisherman including cy and kerrin taylor. sure he might only want the ones to 70cm but like u said he didnt say i was saying to have a chance of fish in excess of 10kg u need this kinda gear.

[HookedOnTackle]

You don't fly to Fiji to try and take on GT's you can catch around here. Fiji has lots of coral and steep drop offs where GT's will go and try to shred you or clean spool you. Brissie river Threadfin are usually over mudflats and were probably chased with the boat so light line was very possible.

Check out some of the Nomad Sportsfishing videos and you will see what GT's are like in poppers around reef. They use the really big reels and rods up there to subdue really big fish and to release them after as short a fight as possible to aid survival.

[maccatuna]

take a rod and a reel few different lures and have fun cant wait to see the pics good luck

[aichepee]

fishinking and the other dude is right. YOU ARE GOING TO FIJI! dont take some flimsy estuary rod and catch trevally that u can land at bulimba in the brisbane river. if u want to do some serious fishing and get fish of a lifetime u need the gear. the shimano saragosa 14000 is an alright cheaper combo, or you could go an okuma v system 80as that will certainly knock some good fish. only problem is the reel wont last long. anyway, if u choose not to get the gear, spend ur times chasing reef specis on plastics, dont go out with 150grm poppers and get spooled. good luck

[aussiebass40]

I will have to agree with keechie, i will only be chasing Trevally about the 60-70cm mark and using farily small lures so yeah...if i was chasing some monster then i understand where you are coming from 'fishinking'. Thanks though to all the comments (Keechie and Bill)

[aichepee]

go the big t ravs. 40kg+ GT are out there....

[aussiebass40]

yeah mate i will....im also going on charter which the tackle is supplied so it should be great

[fishinking]

yeah jsut saying why would you go to fiji and target "little trevs"????

[aussiebass40]

mate this thread was just asking what tackle i should take if i was targeting trevally land based...i said im going on a charter as well which im sure will show us some big trevally but the gear is supplied on this charter. I was just asking what gear i should take to target smaller trevally land based