Been planning a remote trip for some time and the weather gods smiled apon us for the easter weekend and we finally managed to get away. Left around 10pm on Thursday evening and once we left the ramp it was bit choppy so we decided to hide around one of the close islands and leave in the morning. The following morning we woke to light winds and only a slight chop so on we pushed on for the long journey ahead. Throughout the course of the trip the wind slowly died off so we cruised with glassy seas - beautiful.

On our arrival we geared up and found a likely spot to throw some poppers. As we neared the rocky island I caught a glimpse of something in the water and to my amazement it was several GTs cruising around. I yelled out to Glenn to stop the boat and I bombed out a cast. Didn't get any hits as I think they were moving pretty quickly so I threw out another cast in the opposite direction. Got walloped almost instantly by a good sized fish but no hookup. Next cast I managed to hook up but turned out to be rather large queenie.

We cruised around a bit more when Glenn spotted bait going ballistic so we pulled up. I looked to see what they were swimming from and I saw 1, 2, 3... 5, 10.. 50 GTs going nuts there were so many you literally couldn't count them.. all ranging in size from 15-40+ kgs. I let out a cast and a millisecond after I closed the bail arm a BIG black GT came out of no where and smashed my popper so hard but it didn't hookup. I blooped the popper once and on the pause 2 big GTs shouldered each other out of the way to try and get it but they both managed to miss. This continued for a few more seconds before eventually I conected to one of the smaller fish.

Confident I wasn't going to need Glenn to drive the boat out I told him to cast out so we could get a double hookup. Pretty much the same scenario repeated itself and about three quarters through the retreive Glenn was smashed by a rather respectable looking GT but unfortunately no hookup. I was nearing the end of my fight with my fish so Glenn stopped fishing to help me land it. A little shy of 20kg.

We took a few snaps and then spent a bit of time trying to find the bait and fish again but they seemed to have dissapeared so we decided to do a bit more exploring. We cruised up the island further and found some good looking ground on the sounder so we dropped some jigs and both got smashed instantly. Thought we were onto some good reefies but turned out to be some gold spotted trevs so we moved on.

Found some more popping ground but it was difficult to fish, the swell was up and the water was fairly green with weed everwhere. Still, we managed a good fish that nailed the popper in 22m of water. Around the 20kg mark.

The GT fishing was proving difficult due to the conditions so we cruised out wider and found some crystal clear water for a jig. Moved around a bit to find some good ground and shortly found a nice little patch. Fish weren't very interested in our taikabura jigs we switched to some knife jigs. The change worked instantly with a couple of nice rankins coming over.

We moved on in search of more ground. Found another nice patch that was a bit larger so we got a much better drift over it. I used knife jigs and Glenn switched back to the taikabura. Glenn got an awesome hit but dropped it and then, WHACK! the fish came back for another go. Went pretty hard and fought all the way to the surface and we were stoked to see a nice Red boatside and quickly in the net. Reds on jigs - awesome stuff.

Went back for another drift and it didn't take long before Glenn got whacked again. We were hoping for another red but turned out to be a nice Chinaman fish not a bad consolation prize.

It seemed taikaburas were the flavour of the day so I switched back and we went back for another drift. It was a bit quiet and we didn't get anymore hits, it was getting late so we decided to head back to the spot where we popped the GT in the morning. Had a few casts for not much interest so decided to anchor up close to the island and kick back with a beer or two while the sun went down. Once the sun went down and the moon was out we decided to go for another pop. It wasn't long before Glenn hooked up. It went hard and dogged deep for ages, we were expecting a big GT but turned out to be a whaler shark around 50kg with Glenns $200 craftbait popper in it's mouth!We managed to get it back, put in a bit more time popping then pulled the pin. Went and had dinner, smashed some beer and then hit the sack.

The following morning we woke up and went straight over to the spot where we hooked the GT the previous morning. First cast and about 2 bloops in I saw a big GT cruise in on a wave and then smash my popper hard as. It went hard and ripped off line, I pointed the rod at the fish and gave an immense amount of drag but it managed to find reef and bust me off. Damn.

It went quiet so we found some nice ground in 10m dropped some plastics down. Managed a multitude of species including various cods, trout, spangos & bluebone.

Went back for another pop and the queenies were being a real pain hitting our poppers intended for GTs.

I downsized my gear so the queenies were a bit more fun and Glenn persisted with the GT popper. After a few queenies Glenn hooked something different and said he thought it was a good GT. It went pretty hard and gave a real good account of itself and were stoked to see a good GT boatside.

Measured 109cm fork and was around 28-30kg mark. We continued popping for a bit longer but all we could manage was queenies so we moved off. Found some other ground that looked real promising. It's a nice reef ledge about 200m off a beach that faces the swell, rises from about 10m and just breaks the surface with white foamy water around it. Had a few casts but no interest, perhaps because it was at the top of tide. Definately a place to revisit next trip.

Went back to the island and had some lunch. It was so calm it was awesome!

It was decided that after having done reasonably well we would head home as it was really calm and we weren't sure if it was going to blow up or not. Got most of the way back in 4 knot winds and glassy calm seas and waited at an island for the tide so we could get in at the ramp.

Overall a really good trip considering we've never fished there before. Barely scratched the surface but got some good jigging spots marked and know where to find the GTs so next trip should be a cracker! Hope you enjoyed the report.

Jay