Giant Trevally Techniques Updated

So 6 weeks on from the initial sighting of the surface feeding Giant Trevally things are changing.   The dredge has moved(why haven't they removed the 6kt signs??) and I'm sure this was the catalyst for this change in behaviour, as there seems to be less baitfish schools coming through over the canyon dropoff where the GT's like to sit. There seems to be an increase in the number of days they spend sulking on the bottom during the day and some increased feeding behaviour in the dawn/dusk time period. The good news is when they do decide to feed they are becoming less fussy and are more willing to hit a wider range of lures. Metals no longer rule the roost when it comes to catching GT's in the broadwater. Surface lures are the new king and some of the surface strikes are awesome to behold.
Some of you have been fishing on surface using poppers and stickbaits for a while, and I've been experimenting for a couple of weeks with plastics and minnows. I've just started to take surface fishing for them seriously and it works very well(yes... sometimes I'm a bit slow). Blind casting along the flats of wavebreak works in the low light hours of dawn or dusk and once the sun is up the edge of the canyon or casting underneath inquisitive birds also works. Stickbaits like the Cultiva Tango Dancer or the Atomic K9 Bulldog seem to work better once the sun is up, but big poppers seem to be the go for dawn/dusk. I have used poppers up to 14cm in size on these low light hunting fish and they aren't bothered in the slightest so don't be shy about going large as it gets dark. Any popper will do, successful ones so far have been the Halco Roosta Popper, River2Sea Bubble Pop in 9 & 14cm, and TackleHouse Feed Popper 120.
As far as techniques go, stickbaits are usually worked with a Walk the Dog type retrieve, basically wiggling the tip as you retrieve and the stickbait should pop from side to side. It takes a bit of practice to perfect. If any of you want to be shown that retrieve ask me when I'm out on the water and I'll give you a demo. You can also just wind them straight in. You can work larger stickbaits like the Saltiga Dorado Slider with a far more aggressive jerking retrieve. Poppers just need a steady jerking retrieve to get a steady pop going. Don't forget to pause it occasionally as many fish will hit them on a pause.

On to minnows, I did alot of work with minnows during last week and cast into a bustup and blind casting with a steady retrieve they work just fine, I was using a Rapala XR8 in chrome, the only problem was the smaller hooks had trouble sticking to such large fish and I lost quite a few. I'm sure that larger minnows cast around would work as well, particularly at dawn or dusk.

Plastics have been working alright on the sulking fish on the bottom or cast into bustups. I've been using Squidgy Flickbaits in Pearl or Pilchard on jigheads from 3/8 down to 1/4 oz and split shot rigged Flash J's in Glow Silver but I'm sure any minnow shaped plastic would do. Working a plastic through the sulking fish on the bottom usually picks up a fish or two, but don't expect too many that way.

This article has been produced from talking with multiple anglers so consider it the first SeawayFishing Community Effort.

So thats where we are at the moment, if you have anything else to add write it in the comments.