Giant trevally Fishing

• Indian Ocean: the Maldives, Seychelles, Oman and Mozambique are world-famous GT destinations, especially on the flats and reef edges.
• Red Sea: reef walls, channel mouths and the Gulf of Aqaba in Egypt and Sudan.
• Pacific: Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii (where it is called ulua) and remote atolls.
• Andaman Sea: Thailand and Myanmar offshore reefs and pinnacles.

GTs patrol reef edges, surge zones and current-swept channels. They often hunt in small groups and will charge a surface lure from a long distance.

• Deep, powerful body, silver-grey to almost black in big males, with a steep, blunt forehead.
• A row of hard, bony scutes along the rear part of the lateral line, just before the tail.
• A small black spot at the upper base of the pectoral fin.
• Bluefin trevally are smaller, with electric-blue fins and fine dark spots on the body.

• Fish of 10–30 kg are common at good destinations; fish over 50 kg are the ultimate trophy.
• The IGFA all-tackle record is 72.8 kg (160 lb 7 oz), caught in Japan in 2006.

• Popper (100–200 g): loud, splashy retrieves over reef edges and in surge zones.
• Stickbait (100–250 g): sinking or floating, with long sweeping pulls.
• Metal jig: along drop-offs and pinnacles in deeper water.
• Live bait (bonito, mackerel scad): for the biggest fish when lures fail.
• Tackle: a heavy popping rod, 14000–20000 size reel, PE 8–10 braid and 130–200 lb leader.

• GT fishing is almost always catch and release. Keep the fish in the water as much as possible, and revive it by holding it upright into the current.
• Large reef fish, including GT, can carry ciguatera, a toxin that causes serious food poisoning. Local rules and guides usually advise against keeping big fish to eat.