General Description and habitat:
This is surely the most famous of all the kingfish species, rightfully named the giant kingfish, giant trevally and often merely referred to as a GT. Whenever a seasoned angler mentions this species it is always with a sense of respect. This is the largest of the kingfish species and is able to reach a length of 150 cm and a maximum weight of 60 kilos. Juvenile ignobilus are found in large shoals, and as with most other game fish species, the numbers within a shoal decrease steadily as the size of the individual fish increases. The largest GT specimens will often be solitary or move in pairs.
The giant trevally has a very deep body, built to be robust, fast, and strong and is easily recognizable from other kingfish species, by its short face and steep forehead.

The body of the fish is generally olive green, with a white belly. On the surface of the fins are many irregular, small black spots. With some older GT specimens, the overall body colour may change to a broken black, depending on the water and reef conditions that the individual has be exposed to.

Angling Tackle and Tactics:

Fly:

The GT can be targeted in many different ways and this is mainly due to the GTs ability to live under almost any conditions. This is one species that can be found in water depths from ankle deep to 60 meters. Although the GT has a preference for structure, the biggest GT are rarely landed in the vicinity of any reef or wrecks, as the strong fighting GTs are known for their dirty fighting tactics, thus almost all the large fish hooked around structure will be lost. One of the most popular tactics for targeting large GT’s on fly rods is to tempt them while they are hunting on shallow sand flats. This gives the fly angler a fair chance of turning the fish before it reaches structure. Fast action 9ft 12wht rods, matched with a large arbor direct drive reel is the standard set up. In most cases a floating line will be used.

The GT’s diet is as varied as the different environments that it hunts in. The majority of the prey species consist of bait fish, namely mullet, bonefish, small spot pompano, but the GT is very opportunistic and other important prey species include crab, crustaceans, and baby turtles during the turtle hatching season. Flashy profiles, Sin profiles, brush flies and clousers minnows all work well at imitating the wide range of bait fish that the GT’s hunt. Matching the colour of your fly to the light condition and the general colour of the flats over which you are fishing, is as important as imitating the prominent bait fish in the area. These flies can be used in conjunction with a popping heads to create further surface activity to trigger the GT into attacking the fly. Stripping crabs are also very productive.

Nine to 12 foot leaders with a class section of 20lb are commonly used when fishing off shore. In these instances, shock tippets of at least 60lb must be used. A popular method of leader set, the “commitment rig” is to use a single section of 80 – 120 fluorocarbon. This allows one to apply maximum pressure to big fish. This leader set up works well on the flats, but results in many severed fly lines when fishing over deep reefs or wrecks.

Comprehensive tackle lists, compiled for each unique Salt water fishing area, will be sent out on request, rob@tourettefishing.com, or on booking.

For details on the areas Tourette Fishing targets Giant Trevally, go to the following pages:

• St Josephs, Seychelles
• Cosmoledo Atoll, Seychelles

Conventional:

There are many ways to target GTs fish using conventional tackle methods. Live baits are always a good bet for success. When targeting GTs conventionally from the shore, these can be slid off the beach. Good species to use from the beach include species such as small spot pompano, large mullet and bonefish, which make up a large percentage of the GT’s diet when hunting close to shore. Live bait fishing off shore proves very successful, especially when eastern little tuna are available as the live bait species. Over reefs, pinnacles and wrecks, these live baits are best fished as close to the structure as possible where the GT’s will be holding. In these circumstances as much pressure as possible is required as soon as the fish is hooked, as the first run will often result in a failed attempt if not enough pressure is placed on the fleeing fish. Artificial surface lures prove most exciting with the visual aspect of the aggressive take for the conventional angler who is willing to put in the hard work. The terminal tackle has to be 100 percent, as the strength of the GT will find any weakness in the terminal set-up. Leader set-up is vital, and a leader of more than 1mm, and around 60 pound, is required to put sufficient pressure in order to turn big fish.

Comprehensive tackle lists will be sent out on request, rob@tourettefishing.com, or on booking. Also have browse through the following article for more on the subject:

For details on the areas Tourette Fishing targets Giant Trevally, go to the following pages:

• Inhaca Island Kayak Safari