Tim Pask shares his fish Christmas Island Giant Trevally.

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1 In Search of Giants Tim Pask shares his fish Christmas Island Giant Trevally. I didn t know what else to do, so I just swung my fly rod at it. The water flew and then it was over as quick as it had begun. I was shaking like a dog passing peach seeds, and looked towards the boat that was on the next flat. Nobody was watching which I considered good, but it also meant I was stuck on this tiny pancake flat. I quickly backed up towards the middle of the small flat and measured my distance to ensure I was as far away from every edge as possible. Still shaking a bit I inspected my work and realised my rod was broke; well really it was shattered to bits. Everything had unfolded rather quickly with me standing on the edge of the drop-off looking for cruising bonefish, when I caught a movement off my right shoulder. I glanced up to see a sea monster coming right at me. I did what came natural; I screamed like a schoolgirl and tried to run. Obviously I was in a couple of feet of water, so I wasn t really running, more like flailing. When I turned back towards the edge I found my self face to monster face with a great beast that had followed me on to the flats. Another blood curdling scream, followed by the now infamous double handed swing of the fly rod towards the beast. I didn t tell any of my fishing partners about that encounter as I could not even begin to imagine the amount of shit I would have been given. I did however make up some hellish lie about how I had broke my rod and then spent most of my time in the middle of the bonefish flats, where the fishing wasn t as good, but it was much safer. That was February of 1995 and I was a long way from the trout streams of Montana, and these definitely weren t trout. 400 hundred yards of backing poof gone! A great fly angler told me one time that bonefish took him to Christmas Island, but GTs are what brought him back. I absolutely know that is the case for me, and to this day I still consider them to be the greatest game fish in the world. Let review this; they hunt the flats, they are the size of a midsized sports car, they are super-aggressive and they will peel 400 yards of backing off your reel before you can decide to run or watch your backing knot snap like 2 kilo tippet. What s not to like? In the early days of hunting these I struggled to find the right combination of rod, reel, flies, line and backing. I quickly found out that unlike tarpon, there was very little available information. So I tracked down most anybody I could find who had some experience fishing for them and soon found that virtually all the information was held by a fairly secretive group of guides on Christmas Island itself. While most of the guides on the Island focused on bonefish, many felt GTs were virtually impossible to target and didn t seem very interested in hunting for them. Over time I did find a few who had caught the fever and keep storing away bits of information over their years of stalking the flats. LEFT: Boardroom meeting, Christmas Island style. OPPOSITE: Big GTs pull like hell when they re in the shallows.

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3 Fish on! Once I decided I was committed to catching GTs my days got easier; well at least they had focus and purpose. I tracked down any guide who would talk to me about GTs and finally found Tebaki, who at that time was the Head Guide at the Captain Cook Hotel. I pled my case and he was all over it. His eyes matched mine in intensity and I knew I was headed in the right direction. He was full of ideas and soon my education began. He explained to me that the Giants hunted the rising tides, and would follow them all the way to the back of the lagoon on the largest tides. They often traveled in groups and it was not uncommon to see as many as eight huge fish together. When they were focused on hunting the drop-offs they were virtually fearless (which explained a lot to me), and would actually fight for a well placed fly. So with 10 weight in hand off we went. I had gathered from most people that poppers were the best flies to use, and had brought a variety of hard epoxy style flies in a variety of colours.

We hired a boat for the 2 of us and headed towards the back of the lagoon, trying to catch the rising tide that morning. I soon found myself stationed on a point that Tebaki told me GTs often hunted.

Huge bonefish came flying out of the drop offs and quickly darted back to the safety of the deeper water.

4 We hired a boat for the 2 of us and headed towards the back of the lagoon, trying to catch the rising tide that morning. I soon found myself stationed on a point that Tebaki told me GTs often hunted. I was amazed that once I started looking around I could actually see the tide transitioning this area and it was becoming alive. Huge bonefish came flying out of the drop offs and quickly darted back to the safety of the deeper water. Baitfish were quickly schooling up and being pushed towards the tiny point and they leaped in all directions as barracuda, queenfish and who knows what else patrolled the area. Tebaki was a great teacher in those early days and he kept me entertained with small talk about the island, its people, his family and pretty much anything he figured would keep me entertained and not moving around. I remember being so entranced by the conversation that I almost pissed my pants when he calmly said Tim, there is a giant trevally coming. It is 100 feet at 2 O clock, can you see him? I can honestly tell you that his calmness is what probably saved me from having a stroke. Once again here I was, face to monster face with my prey, only I wasn t too sure who the real prey actually was. I managed to get my fly moving, but had no real chance of even getting it in front of me, let alone towards the fish. In the excitement I must have began to move my feet (you know the coveted body lunging casting style) and this time instead of charging me, he quickly changed directions and was gone. GONE? Bugger! I folded like a cheap lawn chair. I was horribly embarrassed and could hardly even talk. I didn t know what to do and was sure I had missed my one and only chance. To my surprise Tebaki just picked up our conversation where it left off, with the exception of some much needed coaching. Tim, please peel off at least 60 feet of line and make some large coils you can hold in your left hand. Then shake some more line out of your rod tip and hold the fly in your right hand. Then he drifted off to some small talk followed by more instructions. This time I kept my eyes focused on the task at hand, but continued to listen as well. When the GT comes I want you to cast the fly off to an angle of the direction you see him swimming and then wait. I ll tell you when to strip. This time I saw them first (no idea how) and there were several. I just began casting as soon as I saw them and Tebaki soon began his calming coaching approach. This time the fly landed to the right side of the and I could hardly stop from immediately stripping. We stood there for what seemed like hours as they approached, and it wasn t until they were even with the fly that he told me to strip the fly. No sooner had the fly began to move, than every fish caught the movement and rushed the fly. I was stripping with all the speed I could muster and it wasn t even a close race. They were crashing all over it and the water was flying in all directions. I could not even see the fly at this point and they all seemed to be missing it, but then it tightened up. Tebaki actually showed some emotion and yelled Set the hook, set the hook! With my left hand I was strip-setting while my right arm swung low and to the right. The hook held fast and then it happened. The fish disappeared and with it all my fly line, and then my hundreds of yards of backing melted away. My newly acquired Billy Pate Tarpon reel was screaming for relief. None came! OPPOSITE: One of the largest GTs ever hooked on Christmas is about to be released by the guide. They truly are an awesome fish at that size. BELOW: You need to keep constant pressure on them until the very end. 7

The world s largest coral atoll Christmas Island is the world s largest coral atoll and the mouth of the long extinct volcano has created a monstrous lagoon which is mostly protected from the ocean

6 The world s largest coral atoll Christmas Island is the world s largest coral atoll and the mouth of the long extinct volcano has created a monstrous lagoon which is mostly protected from the ocean itself. The flats are too numerous to list, but it is safe to say that you would have to spend months to fish them all. Not to mention that each and every one of them fishes differently depending on the tides. The tides are really the key to flats fishing, but that is no secret. Selecting tides for GTs is relatively easy as you want the biggest possible tides, so either the full moon or new moon is preferred. I have fished for them in all phases of the moon and in every month of the year, and still prefer the full moon. Even with good tides though a boat and a guide are a huge benefit and I will honestly tell you that if you are seriously considering hunting for them, then get your own boat and hire the very best guide you can find. There are a few guides who love to fish for GTs and it is worth finding out who they are and hooking up with them. My shortlist includes Simon Corrie, Peter Kairoi, Teannaki Kaiboboki and Moana Kofe. On a personal note my original guide and friend Tebaki died suddenly several years ago leaving a planet worse off. Tackle envy Through trial and error I have put together what I consider to be the best tackle for GTs. I have settled on 12 weights, and would cast a 16 weight if I could make foot casts with one. The bigger the better in my opinion, and trust me when I tell you that you will NEVER feel like you are fishing to much rod. Tropical floating fly lines are the ticket and I have spent time with virtually everything out there. I made the mistake of fishing some intermediates and won t be doing that again for a variety of reasons, but primarily you will find you have to manage a lot of line and you want it floating around you, versus sinking and shifting with the currents. My leaders are roughly 10 feet and I have found 60 pound fluorocarbon to be excellent for shock tippet. I build all my leaders and start with a hard butt section, some taper, class tippet and then shock. I use the best knots and know it makes a difference, so if you can t tie a bimini twist get a book and get busy learning. Flies Well, let me be blunt! Poppers suck! You heard it here first and I will stand by my words. Large fish rush the fly and most of the time will push large buoyant poppers away from them as they push forward. When, and if, you hook a fish on a popper it is frequently hooked on the outside of the mouth and often pulls free. Plus a lot of poppers are tied on long shank hooks and trust me when I tell you, you don t want to give these fish any more advantage then you need to. They will straighten them, pull free of them and simply smash them to pieces. Streamers are the flies of choice and I suggest tying them on the best quality hooks you can find. I absolutely love the Owner hooks and have never had a single issue with them. I like my fly to sink slowly through the water table and I achieve this by using lots of bucktail on my flies. I use long, wispy saddles and bucktail body up to the collar and then epoxy the heads for durability. White is the colour, but I tie lots of variations as well, but white is the key here and if I only had white on white flies I would be thrilled to death. If you want to fish a floating fly I suggest a gurgler and have had good success with them tied in white, on the same hooks I use for my streamers. If you are determined to use a popper I suggest using a tube popper with an extremely soft head and snelled bait style hook (large). And please pinch your barbs, as it might save your trip and will allow you to safely unhook these amazing fish. Sink or swim My wife Sonya and I were hunting the shoreline towards the back of the lagoon and high tide was quickly pushing in on us. The plan was simple enough with each of us taking a large stretch of the shoreline and then hunting towards one another. We were standing on the edge making the plan for the morning when we spotted them. Eight of the biggest GTs I had ever seen were headed directly at us! 9 OPPOSITE: Sonya and guide release a big flats GT. Look at the conditions! ABOVE: My best GT so far. I ll be back to find its momma. heaven help me. Sonya s fly landed perfectly. We had to crouch low as they approached, which made it that much more intimidating. They were actually pushing a wake in front of them, and three may-jul feb-apr 07

7 10 there was little doubt they meant business. When they got within range she began to move the fly and the pack rushed forward. It looked like eight elephants were chasing a peanut across the surface and water flew several yards in all directions. At one point the fly actually flew out of the water, but when it landed again the game took a sudden turn. Fish on! With less then 50 yards of backing left we had to make a decision. We were standing deep on the edge of a small point and it seemed the fish was not going to stop. We had to act quickly or lose the fish, so I told her we were going to swim. I am not sure how, but we actually made it to the other side and the fight continued. The fish had finally stopped and she was making some ground. I was feeling damn good about the swim and looking forward to tailing this huge fish. Thirty minutes later Sonya was screaming for relief. None came. Methods that work There are several ways to successfully hunt GTs on the flats. Stalking the flats; this is probably my favourite method of hunting for GTs for several reasons. Firstly I can do it on my own and often rent a truck for my own use. Over time you will learn where and when you want to be someplace. The rising tides are the best and slowly stalking the shoreline can be extremely effective. The stake out; this usually requires a boat which would get you to a transition point during a tide change. On the rising Eddie Sadvar cradles an 80 pound organic Volkswagen. tides GTs are constantly cruising the edges of the drop offs hunting. On the falling tides they will hunt their way out, but seem to be more hurried. Boat hunting; this is an absolute blast and an angler can be highly successful at finding good numbers of GTs. It is best to have a small boat and a very competent guide to navigate the lagoon. It works best with the angler standing in front of the boat ready to make a cast. Having most of your fly line off your reel is recommended, as long casts are often required. The guide will cruise the edges and will often cut the engine and float over deepwater rocky flats. This can be an extremely exciting method. Chumming; this is absolutely the most effective and also the least fulfilling in my opinion. Before I jump on my soapbox I have to admit to doing a lot of it over the years. Like I said it is by far the most effective way of catching GTs. Chumming from a point that will distribute the scent across the lagoon will bring a lot of fish, including sharks, huge bonefish, bluefin trevally, queenfish, barracudas and plenty of GTs. Once the fish get on the chum they will become tough to hook on a fly, so carrying some large chum flies is recommended. Or better yet devise a method to either pulp the chum to small bits or contain it, only allowing the scent to be released. Are you up for it? I can t really describe what it is like to have a monstrous GT come for your fly. It is something that every fly angler should experience at least once and it will have a life changing impact on a percentage of them. My first encounter changed my life and having caught a lot of big game fish since then including tarpon, sailfish, striped marlin, and more bluefin tuna then I care to admit, but to this day nothing comes close to catching a GT on the flats. I think it must be the take that gets me, seeing an 80 pounder come screaming into 2 feet of water is beyond description and will bring the manliest of men to there knees. The power matches any fish I have caught and I will personally guarantee you that you have NO CHANCE of stopping one on its initial run and your only job will be clearing your line and holding on until it stops (if it stops). Being on the flats they won t have the deep water to head towards, so that means the only safety lies in the ocean, which is miles away. His job is to make it to that ocean. Your job is to stop him. Are you up for it?

FISHING THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST

FISHING THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST The Laguna Madre is approximately 100 miles of shallow flats bordered on one side by the Texas mainland and on the other by the barrier island known as Padre Island. Because