havent gotten any response and only a few reads in the travel section but anyone know much of anything about giant trevally fishing? ill be in diego garcia again in the future and definitely want to hook into one of those. the locals said that big topwaters work well along with live baitfish. theres 2 spots from shore i can fish from, 1 of which is a small dock that at high tide is a few feet deep and has a few rocky areas, the other is where the ocean and lagoon meet, a bit deeper, and again some rocky some sandy bottoms. ive been told trevally can be caught at both spots but havent seen one for myself. i can also rent a boat and fish the lagoon that ranges from 60-80 feet deep fot the most part, but some humps up to 50ish. when i was bottom fishing last time i marked some fish both near the surface and some about mid depth, but didnt have any big lures at the time to throw at em. ill also have some butterfly jigs i plan on dropping for grouper. anyone ever latch into one of those things and have any advice on what area/what lure may be best? any help is appreciated.
Courtland is the man for this job…
“mr keys”
I used to fish for GTs or “Ulua” when I lived in Hawaii. Mostly fished for them from shore, but off the boat it was easier to catch them. I used the Slide Bait technique that is commonly used in Hawaii and Australia. Basically casting out a large claw lead to set an anchor then sliding down a bait on the main line. If you are fishing for them around reef, beefy gear is mandatory. They will go down and wrap around coral heads. My typical set up was 80lb main, with a 250lb rub leader, and a 300-350 lb bite leader. Caught my largest from shore, 70lb fish on a 13 ft heavy rod and a Penn 4/0 HLW. Took a 7 inch live bait. If you do hook up with a sizable one hold on tight. Guys would also jig and pop for them, basically with the same gear you would use for tuna. Good luck.
Bishop, That is my experience exactly. When were you in Hawaii? We may know some of the same people. I was there from 2000-2004. Fished on the base at Kaneohe, Kaena Point, Kahuku. I was in a local fishing club for a while. Island Shorecasters.
Never Satisfied
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