Fishing for Giant Trevally in Rarotonga

Rarotonga is an extremely popular holiday destination for Kiwis. It’s easy, cheap, tropical, has incredible fishing and diving opportunities and is so close to home.

For many people, especially Kiwis, the giant trevally (GT) is a dream fish to target and catch. Possibly because of their size, power and beauty the idea of catching a fish of these proportions from land appeals to many anglers. Whatever the reasons, nothing can quite prepare you for the fight and reward of landing a GT while land-based fishing.

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Prepare

If you are planning to fish without a charter and with your own gear, as I did, you need to be properly prepared. I have seen people bring over their best gear, which is often much too light and wouldn’t stand a chance against the power of a GT. The fact is, you pay good money for top-quality gear, and for this type of fishing, you NEED strong, good quality gear.

Only good quality tackle will sustain the pressure and your chances of stopping a fish before it breaks you off on the reef. (Sometimes leaving the unfortunate fish with a hook and trace hanging out of its mouth)

I used a Shimano Stella 10000 on an Energy Concept PE 3-6, 8’3” rod. This reel has 25kg of drag and I wouldn't go much lighter when targeting big GTs. You want something with a reasonable amount of line capacity as well, because those fish can peel out a lot of line if they want to.

As for the rest of the tackle, you also need heavy, good quality gear. I run 80lb braid with 150lb leader attached using a tidy FG knot. When it comes to hooks, you really need to take the fish's welfare into account. For example, if the line breaks, the hook/popper is left stuck in the fish’s flesh, while the use of J hooks increases the chance of the fish ingesting the hook and possibly dying after release.

However, there are ways around this and as sustainable kaitiaki (guardians) of marine life, we try to minimise our negative impact. If using bait, small, heavy-gauge circle hooks are ideal. These are going to grab safely in the corner of the fish’s mouth. If using bait or poppers, crushing/flattening the barbs on your hooks helps them to fall out of the fish if the line were to break. Otherwise, the hooks, especially treble hooks, are most likely going to stay stuck in the fish for a long time, causing it distress and physical deterioration.

Using a small (heavy gauge) circle hook with a nice bit of fresh bait is what I used to catch my bucket list fish and in many ways it was a smarter option than a popper.

All these critical steps are going to increase your chance at successfully landing a GT and hopefully I have made clear that you NEED to come prepared…

 

Where

A unique attraction in Rarotonga is to go see the massive resident GTs which reside at the Avarua wharf, waiting for their next feed of fish frames from the local fishers. These beauties are referred to as ‘pets’ by many locals, and it's not hard to see why when they are being hand-fed by the local fishers.

Although many tourists do fish for them in the Avarua Harbour, I would not advise fishing there. Aside from the pet aspect, there are many obstacles in the harbour – boats, buoys, ropes etc. The first thing that one of those resident GTs heads for when it’s hooked is a mooring line. Snap! Many of the fish that you can see daily have long traces trailing behind them from failed capture attempts. 

A more suitable place to target GTs is near the Avana fishing club in the Avana Passage. This is a more open area of beach and reef which drops away into the channel. The resident fish here also get a feed of fish frames daily and with a bit of encouragement (berley) they will appear out of the deep channel, eager to grab your bait.

Although there are fewer obstacles in this area, there is still the sharp reef, jetties and the odd mooring line. This is why it is so important to have the right gear and also to play the fish correctly. 

Another option is to approach a fishing charter business and see if they are willing to target GTs. Quite often they will oblige only if you have brought your own gear, because it isn’t viable for them to risk losing and damaging their own. However, if you are prepared, charters such as Akura Fishing Charters will happily take you just outside the lagoon to fish along the edge of the reef and target your dream fish.

 

How

The easy part is hooking the fish – the hard part is playing it! Make sure your drag is TIGHT, berley up, throw the bait in front of its nose and then hold on!

The power of these fish is incredible, and from the initial strike they will run as hard as they can, so you need to be prepared. Make sure your drag is tight from the start and adjust it as needed. Do not give the fish any slack and keep that tension as tight as your reel will handle.

It is important to put the heat on from the start because GT’s will peel a lot of line, trying to reach the reef or any other obstacle.

The most crucial thing is to keep the line away from any potential breakage threat so that might mean moving around and pulling the fish away from any danger. You will need to retrieve as much line as you can as quickly as possible – short pumps of the rod and quick winds are a good option when possible. Getting the fish into the shallows is the goal, because once it is tired and on its side, you might get the chance to grab it by its tail.

As with any fish that is going to be released, quickly remove the hook, grab a photo and then revive the GT properly before letting it swim off. The giant trevally is not known as being great eating so the meat holds little value for local fisherman. Catch and release is advised.

I have never felt the kind of power from a fish while using spin gear as I felt hooking GTs. It really is incomparable to any other species and I now understand why the giant trevally is a dream fish for many anglers. It’s an incredible experience, to say the least, playing tug-o-war with a giant!

Landing a fish such as a decent GT while land-based fishing is hugely rewarding and I am still stoked with my 40kg-plus catch. And of course, no other place can compare to the wonderful Rarotonga!

 

   This article is reproduced with permission of   
New Zealand Fishing News

November 2018 - Jordy Bardin
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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