Do we ever get tired of topwater GT fishing? Difficult it is to answer, but in the meantime we still plug away. This trip was to be a first for us, and new destinations always add an element of excitement. So off we were, a couple of plane rides and some lengthy layovers taken in stride.
We were in India, admittedly not the first country to come to mind when chasing these magical sportfish. Never the less, here we go...
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| Sun beats down bright and early as we head out from harbour... |
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| First stop would be a jigging warm-up. Evergreen Poseidons were dusted off and ready for action... |
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| First drop and after a botched hook-up, we came tight with this Estuary Cod on the Shout! Strobe jig... |
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| Frantic action for the Poseidon-weilding anglers as countless takes and misses from this first spot kept all on their toes... |
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| Small GT taken from a school with the Shout! Flash jig... |
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| Evergreen Poseidon High Pitch Jerker loaded up... |
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| Another GT on the Shout! Strobe jig... |
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| A big hook up on the stout Poseidon Spin Jerker which resulted in disappointment as the fish won its freedom... |
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| After the jig bite tapered off we put in our first casts with the FCL Labo pop rods. Didn't take too long to find the first customer... |
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| The FCL Labo SPP scored well with this Giant Trevally to get things going... |
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| It scores again next with a smaller Gee... |
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| A switch to the large cupped FCL HP160 turned up this hungry GT... |
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| Fishing in shallow reefs, it was treacherous work. This fish was eventually lost boatside... |
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| GTs of this size were to be the mainstay of the trip, even though we did get into some bigger ones we were pretty unfortunate not to stay connected to any long enough... |
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| As always all GTs are kissed and released... |
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| Between popping the deeper spots, jigs were dropped and this little IMA Ro found a decent GT which took some coaxing to get to the boat on the Poseidon High Pitch Jerker... |
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| FCL Labo EXT 81MH bent. A common sight... |
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| A very good GT on popper. But just a consolation for the bigger fish we encountered but couldn't defeat... |
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| Seeya soon! |
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| Rod bent in the background as we posed for this Trev that took the large FCL CSP 260 stickbait, a lure which was subsequently lost when a big fish decided he wanted it for keeps... |
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| Chuggers were doing a great job, and they don't get much better than the Fisherman S-Pops... |
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| Next morning we were back to jigging. This big fish put a good curve into the ultra stiff Poseidon Spin Jerker but was lost on the way up, to much disappointment... |
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| This nice Rosy Jobfish on the Fisherman Andaman jig was the first fish in the boat on this day... |
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| GTs are no fun on jig gear from the deep. This one took the Shout! Strobe jig and tried its best against the High Pitch Jerker but alas had to give... |
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| Decent Rosy Jobs are capable of some bursts of energy, which gets us all excited. And they love Andamans too! |
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| A small Dogtooth on the Andaman as well. Not really the size we were after... |
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| By afternoon it was popping time. This GT mistook the FCL ZC-L popper for a panicking baitfish and pounced... |
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| Fisherman S-Pop does its usual stellar job. The new Shout! Curve Point Treble Hooks did well on their first tests... |
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| Big take on the FCL 81MH but the hooks pulled after short fight. Typical for all the big hook ups we had... |
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| FCL Labo SPP continues to show its effectiveness with another GT... |
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| We tried big chuggers but only got brave lil' smallies on them... |
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| Out came the easiest GT lure to work ever - the FCL SPP Slim works in all conditions and with varying techniques. It scores on the first pass... |
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| And continues to do so all day long... |
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| Some were a lil' better than others although the true monsters remained elusive... |
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| SPP Slim is on a roll indeed... |
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| It accounted for most of the fish in the session, they were not falling for any other lures but the SPP Slim... |
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| A nice Bluefin Trevally was a welcome change from the norm. FCL SPP Slim again... |
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| One of the better fishes of the trip which we managed to stay connected to... |
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| No prizes for guessing the lure which did the trick. The SPP Slim had the day covered... |
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| With calmer conditions the stickbaits shone, and they don't get any better than the CSP by FCL Labo... |
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| They were coming in thick and fast, but no trophies though... |
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| The GTs were really getting fooled by the spitting slides of the CSP when swept... |
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| With choppier conditions though, the poppers were getting favoured reactions. Here a Fisherman Jackal showcases the right balance for chugging in windy chops and scores a frisky GT... |
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| The jigging was proving tough with bouts of bad weather throughout the trip. There were some catches like this Triggerfish on the Shout! Strobe to keep us amused at times though... |
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| The popping was a little more consistent, it helped that lures like this FCL Labo ZC-S popper did a good job... |
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| The GTs liked the chuggers over stickbaits throughout the trip. Medium sized ones like the Fisherman S-Pop were easy to manipulate and were very stable in all conditions... |
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| Fisherman S-Pop with another nice GT... |
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| Here the smaller cupped Fisherman Jackal popper hauls in a nice Green Jobfish... |
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| The FCL Labo SPP is another all-conditions lure which continues to produce everywhere we go... |
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| The slow roll and wobble of the fat SPP lure creates plenty of flash in the water. This is the trigger for any lurking predator to hone in to have a look. Deadly is the word... |
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| The Gees hitting the deck were frustratingly small at times. We were raising the bigger fish but somehow weren't lucky enough to stay connected long enough. Tough luck, although the FCL ZC-S continued to shine... |
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| Last fish on the last day on the FCL ZC-S popper. This capture drew the curtains on an interesting trip. The results were sub-par but what we witnessed and experienced was enough to make us want to return for another shot! |
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