Vanuatu GT trip December - gear ?
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=128487
Printed Date: 01 Feb 2026 at 9:32pm
Topic: Vanuatu GT trip December - gear ?
Posted By: advtracing
Subject: Vanuatu GT trip December - gear ?
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2018 at 12:59pm
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booked in with ocean blue to chase a few GTs / doggies in Decemebr ( rather then go to the christmas work do
 ) so gearing up now for the trip.pretty sorted with stellas (20000 and 14000 ) popper and jig rods , selection of nomad stick baits and poppers , some carpenters to come. From lures to clothing ...what is all the other recommendations from the gurus who have been there , done that when heading in to these places ? |
Replies:
Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 9:24am
| Before the real gurus jump on with advice, can I suggest checking out Tony Orton's article in either the latest NZ Fishing News or the one before - exactly what you're after re his packing tips for overseas missions to Oman, the islands etc. Covers off terminal tackle, first aid, tools, clothing etc in addition to rods/reels. |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 9:27am
| will do , thanks for the heads up |
Posted By: Fishy11
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 3:02pm
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Hey John. You don't really need to use carpenters for GT's(well unless you really want to) each to their own and that. Plenty of good reasonably priced lures out there that will get you good results. What rod/s are you running for casting? PE rating/ cast rating etc? - This will somewhat determine what lures you are able to cast/work, poppers vs sticks etc. More than happy to give a few suggestions lure wise but no point if you cant use them on your rod. Haven't fished Vanuatu but have fished other places for GT's, doggies etc(mainly PNG and Aus). Ocean blue will probably be able to give you advice on jig weights to take and that sort of thing as i have no idea what depths and terrain they are jigging. My go to would generally be long 300g jigs(i generally don't bother dropping further than 100m though) with a few 200s, maybe 1 or 2 heavier 400g or so and some lighter fluttery jigs - sub 150g for shallow light jigging. Will need to match your rod/s obviously. Don't bother with expensive jigs though, as in better off having 2x $15 jigs than 1x $30 jig. The little stuff can be easy to forget - plenty of spare assists or assist cord, hooks, leader, split rings, swivels, pliers, casting gloves etc Clothing - others who have been to Vanuatu may have a better idea than me on this, but as far as i am aware will be pretty warm and humid in December 30+ deg. The loose fitting button up fishing/outdoor shirts from Columbia, Simms, Katmandu etc are good or UPF rated long sleeve shirts. Buffs, decent polarized sunnies and a hat are a must for me, if it's anything like Aus or PNG it doesn't matter how much sunscreen you use you still seem to get burnt somewhere so covering up tends to be the best prevention. Hope some of this helps. Cheers. |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 8:24pm
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thanks for the feed back , using 3 rods all rated to pe8 , 37kg line only though as its the max i can do with stand up due to being a light weight . jig wise they are advising 150g up to 300g but more in the 200 range , due to getting exhausted working them all day ( i think they are allowing for office workers rather then fitter people ) |
Posted By: Fishy11
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 8:46pm
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What is the lure rating on the casting rod/s you're taking? and model etc Pays to know what lures are best suited to your rod/s before buying all sort of lures then finding out they are hard to get to work well. |
Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 7:57am
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There are also a couple of well stocked tackle shops over there - which Ocean Blue use a lot for their stock. Alan
------------- Legasea Legend member |
Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 8:07am
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They generally jig in 50-70m for doggies. depends a bit where they go on the day. Sometimes a bit deeper. Alan ------------- Legasea Legend member |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 9:13am
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current rods Daiwa Saltist Hyper 82XH Spinning Rod
Specifications: main ·
Model: 82XH ·
Type: Popper ·
Pieces: 2 ·
Length: 244cm (8ft) ·
Action: Extra Heavy ·
Taper: Fast ·
Cast Weight: 150-300g ·
Line Rating: PE8 Shimano Energy Concept Topwater Spin Rod
Specifications: back up ·
Product code: ENC803SP36 ·
Length: 2.4m (8ft) ·
Pieces: 3 ·
Line weight: PE 3-6 ·
Lure weight: 70-120g ·
Blank type: SVX2 Carbon graphite ·
Grip assembly: Extra hard EVA ·
Guide type: Fuji ·
Action: Fast Shimano Anarchy Mechanical Jigging Rod
Specifications: jig ·
Pieces: 1 ·
Braid rating: PE8 / 80lb or 100lb Braid ·
Jig weight rating: 300-400g ·
Blank type: X Technology Construction ·
Grip assembly: Custom ·
Length: 1.52m (5') |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 9:14am
| good to know theres a tackle store to troll through on my day off ;-) |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 9:16am
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With 30kg baggage allowance and not many clothes needed i may as well load up over here. I popped into yehaa tackle the other day , man its so well set up for the true fisho !!
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Posted By: Alan L
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 9:22am
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Port Vila Hardware - top of town next to Bon Marche Namba 2 Salt Water Fishing - down town, next to Namba 1 waterfront/ Healthwise pharmacy.
Bus will get you to either, but if you are in downtown area, can walk to SWF easy. Need bus to get up to PVH (5-10mins). Alan ------------- Legasea Legend member |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 10:06am
cheers
 |
Alan L wrote:Posted By: Fishy11
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 5:44pm
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If you're after any more decent lures that aren't carpenter type money and stuff that's not too hard to work check out Fishead, Ebbtide, Elite Tackle online(all Aus stores). If you haven't done a lot of this sort of fishing i personally wouldn't recommend trying to cast 150g+(unrigged weight) lures, especially poppers. Better off having say a 120g lure you can cast all day. Would recommend poppers such as the Reefs Edge Elsie 115g or 110g(big popper results without being too killer on the body) or the 130g Hardtail. Heru Cubera is another decent option as is the Heru Skipjack. Stickbaits there's so many options out there. Your energy concept leads itself well to many well priced/cheap(but good) lures in the 70-100g range such as the Duo Roughtrails 188F & SF, Various Shimano offerings, Rocket dives, Ocea Pencil 185, Orca 190 etc all will produce fish, from smaller stuff on reef flats to GT's, YFT, Doggies. FCL TBO180 is good as is the 220 size(but would want to run on your heavier rod though being 120g or so unrigged) FCL CSP range are great also, Maria Rapido 230, any of the ASWB stickbait range range, Heru Bobara and Wahoo. Cheers. |
Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2018 at 7:09am
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Now thats a detailed list cheers I have been following the Fishead, Ebbtide guys and morning tide / cast mag boys on gear , articles ...some good info. I have been taking this trip seriously and putting in the time with lots more casting practice / tuning of the gear before December, So casting all day won't destroy me even in 32 deg heat . I train 4 days a week normally, so no couch potato  i will follow up on the lure advice and start arranging some to take. |
Posted By: ET487
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2018 at 1:30pm
| Check out the Strada poppers at Hunting and Fishing. They are my go to poppers the past 4 years or so. Cheap but really strong, just replace the hooks with some 4/0 ST76 trebbles or what ever you prefer. |
Posted By: out2sea
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2018 at 12:24am
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You don't necessarily need to throw big lures all day for GT my best lure for GT in Oman was an OTL 100g Chop in Black Jack(Get one). On a day where only an handful of fish were raised by 6 people, fishing that lure I caught 3 fish had 7 explosive hits that I missed hooking up on. Take a range of different lures; Poppers, Stick Baits and Sinking Stick baits. Don't get too caught up on how pretty a lure is I think it is more about the action and profile of the lure. The guide in Oman showed me his best lure and it was the ugliest un-shapely thing I have ever seen and was solid purple, but was the only lure that would work for him 100% of the time and out fish everything else. Do some research and find some good lures that are proven to work. Hook choice can be hard, I ran Owner ST-77's but found they were a really heavy gauge and the softer rod I was using for stick baits (Ocea Plugger Full Throttle Heavy) struggled to set the hooks. I will be doing some more research before chasing GT's again and finding a finer gauge hook that are strong enough. I crushed the barbs on all my hooks. OK maybe a lost a fish or two but at least we managed to get the hook out of the deck hands fore arm when he dropped a fish he was leadering. Biggest thing is just to enjoy the experience, catching fish is all a bonus for me.
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Posted By: advtracing
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2018 at 7:21am
Cheers , all my travels are more about enjoying the trip and if i catch some cool fish its a bonus.
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Posted By: Polar_Kiwis
Date Posted: 03 Aug 2018 at 9:12am
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The whitest clothes you can get your hands on to reflect the heat... SIMMS rashies are pretty good. ------------- Here fishy, fishy fishy.... Nom, nom, nom |