West Australia

[HOLEINTHEWATER]

VERY NICE

[jurelometer]

The guide should get most of the credit, especially on  the flats.  The guy at the front of the skiff has mostly one job:  try not to screw up the cast.

[Dominick]

That is one beautiful fish that anyone would be proud to pose with.  Goodonya.  Dominick

[theswimmer]

Dave,
Could you please describe the setup used for the GT ?
I'm curious what size/ weight rod , reel and fly line.
Very nice GT on any setup let alone a fly rod!
Congratulations!
Best,
Jonathan

[Donnyboat]

well done Dave, yes summer down under, starts in December, was 37C close to 100 F, in Perth today, the capital of Western Australia November 14, but it has been a very cold spring so far, cheers donnyboat.

[jurelometer]

Dave,
Could you please describe the setup used for the GT ?
I'm curious what size/ weight rod , reel and fly line.
Very nice GT on any setup let alone a fly rod!
Congratulations!
Best,
Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,

What is recommended for targeting big GT on the flats from a boat would be the same as a large tarpon flats setup- a 12 wt rod,  large arbor strong drag reel,   intermediate WF fast loading line. Floating line would normally be used, but the flats here are very windy, and some of the flats get a bit deep for a floater. For leader:  a  60 -100 lb bite tippet (if going IGFA compliant for attempting a record),  or straight shot of  60 lb abrasion resistant mono.   

What I used:

Rod:  TFO Baby Bluewater.   This rod is rated 300-400 grain (about 8-9 weight) but has a foregrip, and some s-glass in the blank- designed for fighting fish.  Fights better than many 12 weights.
Reel:  Abel  super 12.  This is a large arbor 12 weight  (spool diameter around 4.5 inch)  reel with a strong cork drag.
Line:  clear tip int  400 gr. 30 lb core strength.
Leader:  40 lb fluoro. (GTs and queenies had been fussy that week).  I was lucky and got a corner hookset - otherwise a different ending to this story. 

Wading the flats for  jumbo GTs in other parts of the world is a hot topic now.  These guys use specialty floating fly lines with high strength cores and straight shot leaders 60-80 lbs and up. The idea is to stop the fish before it drags your line over the rocks/coral en route to to deeper water.   I suspect that they are not using more than 10 lbs of drag.  That is all most large fly reels are capable of, plus you are often knee to waist deep in the water over sand. Any more drag and you will be getting the underwater reef tour

-J

[theswimmer]

Thanks for the great break down Dave.
My boat rod for a couple of years now is a Diamondback Aeroflex 13 wt , great rod ,very forgiving of us novices.
Fished a bunch of different stuff  but still keep coming back to my Grandpa's  Kunan 9 wt for wading.
Lots of different reels, bunch of old school but I love  Borger  Pro series  reels in the 8 - 12 wt sizes.
Great value for salt size reels.
Can't wait for a trip down under!
Thanks again for the report.
Best,
Jonathan

[ijlal]

That's a great catch on any tackle, and on a fly rod, it is tremendous!