Giant Trevally popping in India

It’s not hard to understand why fishing for Giant Trevally (Caranx ignobolis) has become so popular in recent times.  In any sport, a small group of diehards always search out the extreme and, in angling, fishing for GTs is exactly this. For those uninitiated to this side of the sport, hooking a large GT could be compared to having a train suddenly attached to the end of your line.  The South Africans, for example, have suitably corrupted the scientific name to Ignobus which exactly sums up this formidable opponent.

 

A long journey led to the capture of this solid, west Indian Giant Trevally.

 

Giant Trevally freely smash large surface baits and possess unbelievable fighting qualities, which is exactly why they have gained such a following.  Add these characteristics to the fact that fish can be found in good numbers throughout the Indo Pacific region of the world and you immediately have a popular angling species.  Initially, it was just for those specialist anglers who were ‘in the know’, but in the last decade or so the fishing world has gone GT mad and it seems everyone has this species on their bucket list.
 

Lures suitable for GTs

 

Before you rush out and start throwing lures for GTs it’s worth spending some time to research the species and the tackle needed to subdue one of these beasts.  The first thing to remember is always to practise catch and release!  Even though the species occurs over a large area and is relatively common in certain places, year after year pressure on Trevally increases from recreational anglers and, to a larger extent, from commercial fishermen.  We must all do our bit to ensure that there are fish for the next generation to catch.  Thankfully, it seems that the majority of serious GT anglers now release their catches after a quick photo.

 

Shimano Saragosa 18000s used to pop for GTs

 

It would be very foolhardy to attempt to fish for large GTs without an adequate tackle set!  A purpose-made rod for popping or stick baiting, of a reputable brand, should be used together with a quality reel from a manufacturer such as Shimano or Daiwa. Skimp on your set up and it’s almost guaranteed that the result will be disappointment when you finally hook that fish of a lifetime.  The overall tackle set up will depend on the area to be fished as well as the expected size of fish.  Generally, deeper water will allow for lighter tackle and more snaggy, shallow areas require everything to be beefed up to offer maximum pulling power.  Of course, as you gain more experience, tackle can be refined to suit your individual needs.  There is plenty of Information about tackle choice on the web, but please feel free to email me should you need some advice.

 

Abbey shows off a well used Halco Roosta popper.

 

Casting poppers and stick baits for large GTs shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Put quite simply, it’s damned hard work, and that’s before you even hook a fish.  Working large poppers and stick baits will quickly cause your back and arms to burn so it pays to be in top condition before embarking on a trip.  Should you hook a fish, then real work will begin.  The fight will be very hard, but not drawn out over a long period. GT fights are usually decided in the first couple of minutes and should you manage to keep the fish from the sanctuary of the reef during the initial few runs then the drag can be loosened a touch and the pressure eased.

Markus and his fantastic land-based GT.

 

I’ve toyed in the past with the idea of joining an arranged trip to one of the tried and tested GT destinations such as Oman or New Caledonia, but have eventually always decided against it.  It would be the easy way, but I knew from the beginning that it would be far more satisfying to track down one of these brutes myself, particularly where they hadn’t previously been specifically targeted.  And, I’ve known for a few years that large fish are present along the coast of India.  Specimens can be seen in the larger fish markets and there have been a sporadic captures by anglers over the years, but nothing consistent to follow up.  On the west coast, over the years, we have caught many juvenile Trevally, but nothing large until, finally, whilst kayaking from Mumbai to Goa, Nils landed one of twenty kilos on a trolled lure.  The next day I connected to an almost identically sized fish, but lost it to the reef after a hard fight.  The sight of it swimming slowly away hasn’t ever left my memory.

Nils and the 20kg Giant Trevally that took a trolled Minnow lure.

 

The hunt was truly on and Markus was next to take up the challenge.  Casting poppers from the rocks he landed a great fish of around twenty kilos, along with a few smaller specimens.  The area we fished was rough to say the least and a certain amount of luck was needed successfully to guide any hooked fish around the submerged rocks.  Then, one day, I hooked a big specimen that really tested my tackle and skill to the limit and, after what seemed like an eternity, victory seemed to be mine.  Markus had seen the fight unfold and was on his way to help land the monster fish, but disaster struck as the GT wallowed in the seemingly safe water below the rocks.  I should have known from prior experience that the fight’s not over until it’s really over!  The fish suddenly, but slowly, shook its immense head and cut the 100lb leader on an oyster shell and it was another unlucky ending for me.

Playing a 30 kilo+ GT on the West Indian coast.

 

Recently, we decided to concentrate on a few new areas where it looked likely that large fish might patrol.  However, the weather made fishing on our chosen days a little difficult as northerlies whipped across the sea and coloured the water making conditions hardly perfect for popping.  We did manage a few sessions, but only small, juvenile fish took the lures.  Nevertheless, a few solid fish followed and boiled near the end of the retrieves, but weren’t keen enough actually to commit and strike the lures.  It was frustrating to see these better fish turn away, but at least we knew they were there, and when conditions came right there would be a good chance of catching them.

GT lures - hooks and split rings should be upgraded for catching GT on  lures.

 

The colour and clarity of the sea improved with a change of wind direction and once again the water  once again became aquamarine.  Every day the wind still picked up from late morning and produced a nice chop, which from my experience could mean the difference between success and failure.  Leaders were re-tied and checked for strength and tackle prepared to make sure no mistakes were made should we find the fish.

 

Abbey and his first good Trevally.

 

Early afternoon and the first haymakers started to fly over the shallow reefs.  This large, cup-faced lure is both highly visual and audible so any fish in the area can’t possibly miss it.  These lures are harder to work than more ‘subtle’ stick baits, but with the fish having never experienced artificials before it seemed maximum disturbance might be the answer.  And it didn’t take too long to draw a response from the resident GTs.  A fish of around ten kilos zipped and darted behind the lures like an underwater fighter plane, but chose not to strike.  The speed and reaction of the fish was incredible and a sight that will make any fisherman go weak at knees.  Even as we prepared the tackle back at base camp my heart beat had increased, but now it was fully up there as adrenaline surged through my body.

Mid-sized GT that wasn't too shy to attack the popper.

 

A few casts later and the water erupted behind Abbey’s popper as a large fish tried hard to secure what it thought was a fleeing baitfish.  However, although it missed the lure, it continued the chase and a second later the water’s surface exploded again and this time a solid hook-up resulted.  Immediately the Trevally realised its error and tried to turn to the safety of the reef, but the tight clutch severely checked its progress.  The stiff rod bucked again and again from the powerful tail beats, but slowly the pressure was too much and the fish had no choice but to turn and try a different escape route.  This was the fatal mistake for the Trevally because now it headed away from the snags into deeper water where control was much easier.  Now, away from the protection of the reef, the fish could only sulk in the deeper water, using its weight and body shape to resist the pull from above.  After a minute of slow tussle it came to the surface, finally beaten and ready to be landed.  We always use barbless hooks so the lure was quickly removed, some photographs taken to record the special moment and, much to the amazement of the crew, the fish released to live to fight another day.

 

Another hard-fighting GT for Abbey.

 

Another fish followed a few minutes later and I briefly hooked up to what seemed to be a solid specimen, but unfortunately the hook pulled.  The more we cast the more worked up the fish became, but I knew the action would end as quickly as it had started.  The last strike came to my lure and this time the fish seemed to be well hooked.  I resisted letting it gain any ground in the direction of the reef and, quickly, it turned and came to the boat as the tackle got the upper hand.  It was a smaller fish of around eight or nine kilos, but very much welcome.  After this fish, things became very quiet so we decided to leave and return a few days later.

 

On the way to the popping areas, these Yellow- finned Trevally took our trolled lures.

 

On the next trip, the journey out to where we wanted to fish was a little rough and we knew that, later in the day, when we returned, sea conditions would be much worse.  Still, the boatman was happy to go and, with his vast experience, who were we to argue?  The only question was would it be possible to fish the spots we had chosen if the sea did become considerably rougher?  The boat was large and the reef in some places was shallow so it could be risky.  However, we needn’t have worried because we were in very safe hands and we witnessed some of the finest and most skilful boat control around.  As the day progressed, the wind came up and the sea became much rougher, making fishing very difficult.  Keeping one’s balance whilst casting and retrieving was very difficult, but, with the prospect of big fish as a reward, we struggled on. Action was slow and we started wondering whether the fish could actually detect our lures in the rough water.  Earlier in the day, I had optimistically predicted a 30kg fish, but now our hopes were waning.

After nearly two hours of fishing nothing had happened and, during this time, it was impossible to see if any fish had followed the lures.  By now, we were thoroughly wet and excitement and expectation had slowly changed to boredom and weariness.  The heavy tackle was taking its toll on our arms so we agreed to try one last spot, which looked interesting.

 

Even with the rough water I could make out a rock shelf sloping gently away from a pinnacle so that’s where I cast, far out into the white water.  The first and second retrieves yielded nothing, but, as I started to crank the handle on the third cast a huge fish suddenly appeared and smashed into the popper.  Where the take occurred, the water was hardly more than a metre deep and, with rock behind it, the fish had nowhere to go.  With a line tight and the tackle straining, the big GT churned the water to froth as it tried again and again to shed the lure.  This worked in my favour by giving me enough time to apply huge pressure in order to draw the fish over the sloping rock into deeper water.  However, it wasn’t easy and the powerful fish tried its best to hold its ground.  The El Toro rod performed flawlessly and, slowly, I was able to draw the impressive beast towards the boat and the safety of the deeper water.

 

Another image of the pick of the bunch.  A powerful fish indeed!

 

I quietly prayed that we would successfully land this GT because it would undoubtedly be the largest so far.  It didn’t give up easily, but the tackle held and after five minutes of deep slogging I passed the rod to Abbey and hauled the fish aboard.  Everyone on the boat was ecstatic.  My prediction had come true and, before I knew it, even the boat driver was giving me a congratulatory hug!   Horrified that no one was at the wheel in such a rough sea, I politely asked him to return to his post!  After photographs, the fish was returned to the water and, on a real high, we headed back to shore through the rough sea. The boat suddenly seemed quite small as wave after wave broke over the bow and soaked us to the skin, but spirits were high and a trip that might have been tedious provided time for reflection of what had just happened. It had been a long journey to track this fish down and finally I had realised my dream.

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Fishing the Maharashtra coast, Western India

The Blubber Lipped Snapper. Not a very common catch on the west coast, but look in the right places and  you will be rewarded with one of the hardest fighting dermersal reef species in India. Here Jochen shows off a good specimen that took a home made buck-tailed jig worked around some structure.

Trolling a small lure near the rocks rewarded Sam with this stunning Grouper.  

The legendary Yo-Zuri Tobimaru lure that tempted the fish into striking.

Sunset on the Konkan

Flat Head are pure ambush predators and will rarely move far to secure a meal. Surprisingly this one came off the bottom to take a relatively large hard minnow. There's always a surprise around the corner in fishing!

The Maharashtran coast is dotted with commercial fishing harbours with boats targeting a a variety of fish and sea food. These guys had just brought in a good catch of Mackerel, which is one of the most popular species with the locals. 

An incredibly hard fighting Barra which will be remembered for a while. The fish ripped into a Yo-Zuri minnow  and took off high speed. With Barra there is often a pause after the initial bite as the fish computes what is happening, but this fish  tore off at high speed directly out to sea. After thirty or forty metres it suddenly changed course and turned back towards the rocks - again at high speed - with me winding frantically to try and keep up and avoid a slack line. The fight wasn't over yet and the fish continued to go hard, kiting to the left looking for sanctuary in a shallow reef, but the tackle held and we were able to land the prize.

Markus casts an X-rap into very productive water. As the tide changes, current increases and the fish feed hard.  Markus soon landed a lively little Trevally and next came a Mangrove Jack for me and then Sam took a nice small Malabar Grouper. The only downside to a shallow area like this is the toll it can take on the lure box.

Silver bar of power for Markus from the shallow water rip!

Steven and I soaked some sardines one night in the river but action was slow. We had left the lures at home in a bid to resist the temptation of casting, but regretted it later in the night when Barra started busting up on the bait fish.  We arrived to a fairly low tide but, as the flood progressed, fish activity increased. At first a few small fish jumped here and there, but as the night went on more joined and the activity increased. Still nothing had touched our baits, but, with the increase of water, one of my rods tore off as something took the whole sardine.  This beautiful crimson Mangrove Jack was the result, and soon after I had another enquiry on the same rod. The bite was far more tentative and I quickly figured there was a high chance of being one of the big estuary eels that inhabit the rivers. As the bite progressed and became more positive I struck into a solid weight and, sure enough, a huge writhing mass of slime and body slowly came to the shore. Luckily, the hook pulled;  for those who haven't experienced one of these creature, it's not much fun trying to unhook them. As the night became older the bait fish movement increased until thousands and thousands broke the surface. Barra followed closely behind and 'boofs' echoed all around us and this is when we cursed for not bringing any lures. Next night we were back, armed with shads, minnows and poppers, but of course the fish decided to feed somewhere else! typical!

The lower courses of the rivers along the Maharashtra coastline are one of the main sources of  building sand , which is often removed illegally. I noticed at this time of year (April/May) some boats are working at night due to the unbearable heat during the day. The sand is removed by hand and loaded into boats like the one pictured above, before being offloaded onto the shore and then loaded into trucks.  It's incredibly hard work for a very small wage.

A very good reason to fish the coast of India - gold and silver treasure for Sam!

It's very satisfying to catch fish on homemade lures! A bucktailed jig tied earlier in the day was the downfall for this fantastic Blubber Lipped Snapper caught by Jochen.

Sailers (Neptis spp.) are always a joy to see along the Konkan coast. Upon seeing one flying, the reason for their name will quickly become clear.

Local fishermens' nets are unselective, but this Remora was one of the lucky ones that got released!

Steven and the kayak fleet taking a rest.

When conditions are right, the 'Rapan' net will be brought out to the beach. It's a  traditional and productive way of catching fish along the coast of India and, once the net has been paid for, it's relatively inexpensive. When the fish, often Sardines and Mackerel, are spotted, a large group of people will gather to help with the netting, which is hard work and can take many hours to complete. The end of the huge net is pulled out to sea by boat and, once far enough, will be brought back in further along the beach creating a 'u' shape. Then the two ends are slowly hauled by the fishers.

This unfortunate Sardine couldn't escape the Rapan.

The netting is immensely interesting to watch and there is always a very lively atmosphere as the fishermen wait to see how successful they have been. In this case the catch was huge and consisted mainly of thousands of Sardines, which will be shared out between all those involved.

Very slowly the net is drawn onto the beach. The net alone is extremely heavy.  Add the weight of fish and it becomes a serious task to remove it from the sea.

The Rapan net in the last stages of the process becomes difficult to handle and patience is needed to remove the catch from the waves. The fishermen start to sing and, in time with the rhythm of the song, slowly pull the net the final distance.

There at last - with a great catch of Sardines!

A popper-attacking GT for Sam. Not the giant we were after, but very welcome all the same.

Mangrove Jacks' voracity  is legendary.  When in the mood bait fish had better be alert!

Happy days indeed. A great Blubber-lipped Snapper that liked a deep trolled lure. Unfortunately as always with trolling for such fish the fight can't really be enjoyed thanks to the boat taking time to stop and the heavy tackle that usually has to be used to deal with the snaggy underwater terrain.

Mangrove Jack are always a joy to catch and this one surprisingly put in an appearance when conditions looked far from perfect. Wind over the previous days had churned the sea to a dirty brown, but the colour had started to drop out by the time I fished and the Jacks seemed to like this. Two more followed a large mackerel Rapala until the very end of the retrieve, but just avoided the hooks as they struck.

Jigging a white shad from one of the river bridges along the coast produced this fiesty little Mangrove Jack for Jochen.

Sam displays another solid Barramundi that sucked up a slowly retrieved, small, soft plastic shad. A great fight ensued with long runs and jumps before the fish was tired enough to be landed, photographed and released.

Micro jigging proved very successful for all manner of species, including Groupers, Trevally and Snappers.  When the fish are really 'having it' the jig hardly gets time to settle before some toothy reef resident launches an attack!

A collection of hard body lures suitable for targeting a number of species on India's west coast. Rapala Skitter pop and  Savage gear silver stick bait will tempt Trevally and Queen Fish if they are around. Lucky craft, Bomber and Yo-Zuri are great all round lures for a variety of conditions and the smaller XPS, Conrad and Hokkaido minnows are great for Barra in the rivers. The deeper Halco 90 is a good bet to troll for Jacks in snaggy areas.

In the UK, fishing is classified as the most dangerous sport and it's no different anywhere else in the world.  The combination of sharp hooks, angry fish, excited anglers and water can sometimes be a potentially dangerous mix.  So far I've managed to hook myself three times, which isn't bad going considering I've fished for over twenty years. On this occasion Sam was unlucky enough to hook the back of his hand. As he unhooked a six kilo Barra , the fish jumped and the hook connected. I had seen the fight from afar and when I heard Sam shout I assumed it was in celebration but in fact it was the opposite. Some brute force fixed the problem and the fish was released, and luckily little damage was done. It's worth remembering to carry suitable equipment to be able to deal with any problem should it arise. A decent pair of side cutters that can cut any gauge hook you might be using is the minimum.  At least, if the fish is still connected, the hook can be cut and dealt with later, whether it,s by you or a medical professional.

Ashok was pleased with this large Grouper that took a trolled lure.  Not my idea of  enjoyable fishing, but sometimes a productive technique, particularly for novices.

A brute of a Jack that smashed my lure and proceeded nearly to pull me from the kayak because the drag was locked and the underwater terrain was unforgiving.  The power of these fish never ceases to amaze me! Unfortunately for this one, he ended up as dinner!

Barracuda will never win an award for fighting hard, but they are great looking fish. Just beware when they come aboard the boat and suddenly wake up and start gnashing those formidable teeth!

There is hardly a more beautiful time to be out fishing on the Konkan coast than when the moon is full. Head torches can  be discarded and sometimes, if the fishing is slow, a book can be brought out and read in the moonlight!

Markus explores the river at the magical time of day.  We searched for deeper holes and were rewarded with some Mangrove Jacks.

While out in the kayak one day I came across a large shoal of bait fish pushed up hard against a reef. With it being low tide the fish seemed to think this was the safest place to be and it was, considering they were protected on one side by the rocks. However, they weren't completely safe and  what seemed like a battalion of small Blue Lined Groupers continually attacked the shoal. A silver curl tail squidgy matched the bait fish and proved to be a devastating lure for the small Groupers. After catching around twenty six and one lone, small Trevally I called it a day and headed back to shore for a late breakfast.

Early morning is a great time to be out casting lures from likely spots on the rocks. As soon as the sun rises too high the sport will usually tail off and it's time to seek some shade.

The three amigos searching for new water!

With a little help ,Aurelie managed to land her first Barramundi!

Good territory for Jacks and Barra.

Another beautiful Maharashtran beach.

'No there aren't any leopards in this area' says a local guy. Well, these fresh spoor along a deserted beach seem to contradict his opinion. After seeing this evidence, sleep was of course a little fitful, but we woke to see another day. Maybe I'll soon get to see one of these leopards in the flesh.  

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