despite epic failure last deployment with a blowup on a topwater that ended in no fish, i finally managed to put a giant trevally on the beach in diego garcia. honestly i just went out intending to fish for maybe an hour after work and was screwing around expecting to catch sharks with the 6-8" baitfish i threw out, but found something much better. i honestly thought i hooked a 5-6 foot reef shark that frequents the shelf i was fishing and it put a solid beating on the travel spinning outfit i take with me during deployments, but the 10-15 minute fight paid off and landed a 20 pound fish. the initial run ripped out an easy 100+ yards of line with several smaller runs and going side to side like mad as well. unfortunately it was pretty rough out and a wave smashed it against a pier piling and it didnt make it so not wanting to waste a fish like that i took the time to clean it with the 3" pocket knife i had with me, but it was probably 1 of the best tasting fish ive ever had grilled fresh (teryaki sauce on some pieces and cajun seasoning on others) and as sashimi. if anyone ever travels somewhere these beasts are, i highly recommend trying to catch one!
they are around there but not the easiest fish to catch. ive thrown topwaters and other big lures for hours right in front of their faces with only 1 big blowup on them and someone else who said theyve been there for 8 months said they still havent hooked one. being that hard to catch made it that much more rewarding though!
Nice catch! For sure a bucket list fish. I bet he did smoke a travel rod outfit.
GT’s get huge too -. I’ve seen some bigs ones on TV - Carter Andrews and Jose W were catching. Ones like close to 80# are reef mules.
the travel rod i have is a 3 piece, 7 foot 30-40lb class tsunami rod. the reel is just a $65 okuma 65 spinning reel with the baitfeeder feature. it came with 2 spools so i have 1 with 30lb mono and the other with 80lb braid. honestly its a great setup since its handled not only a gt, but several 5-6 foot sharks just fine, nearly got spooled by a large bull shark but didnt burn out even though the line broke, but isnt so heavy that i cant cast lures or see smaller hits from things like bonefish or trying to catch bait. works great for snapper and grouper while bottom fishing too. as i mentioned before, that 20lb fish felt like hooking into a 5-6 foot spinner or blacktip shark but much faster.
Nice catch and way to not waste it since it died anyways, some of the fish you really have to work for bring more satisfaction when the mission is finally accomplished. The okuma baitfeeder is under rated in my opinion, its compact for a 6500 and they perform good and are tough. I got one of the combos like 6 years ago and I like the rod more than the reel which was a fine reel and both surpassed any expectations I had for them and made me a big fan even though after 5 years of abuse the baitfeeder option failed but it far outlasted my intended life span for it and still functions perfectly as a normal reel.
I got me a Okuma 90 for surf and if I ever get back out bottom dropping, at the Shallow Water Expo. It’s got 45# of drag. It’s pretty light for a big reel too. I got it loaded with 25# mono. Good idea on the second spool with braid. I hope to try it out soon.
I got a son getting out of A&P school and looking at jobs in Fla. I’ve got a pretty good bucket list started myself for when I go down there to visit. I lived there when I was 4-5yo and didn’t hardly fish. I remember the green water at the Keys though. I will be on a mission when I get there.
I lived there when I was 4-5yo and didn’t hardly fish. I remember the green water at the Keys though. I will be on a mission when I get there.