Top Water Fishing on the GBR

To cover all the aspects of fishing the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) would take weeks so here is a snapshot of some of my favourite fish to target and what to catch them with 😉

Firstly, I love top water fishing. Chasing Giant Trevally on poppers and stickbaits is by far my favourite form of fishing on the GBR. There is nothing quite like seeing a 40kg GT open its bucket mouth and hunt down a surface lure. Its completely visual fishing and the fight is insane.

My go to gear is a PE8-10 Popping rod (I use Venom Rods) and a large capacity spinning reel like a Stella or maybe an ATC SW16000 Vigilance spool with 80-100lb braid. 100-120lb fluro carbon leader and a range of stickbaits and poppers. There are simply too many lures to go over but anything around 200-250mm is the go.

The other type of fishing I love doing on the GBR is flicking plastics for Coral Trout. In that situation I use a PE4-5 rod around 7 foot long with maybe a 4000 size reel spooled with 40-60 pound braid. 3-5 inch plastics of all shapes and sizes work but the most important thing is to use a jig head thats big enough to keep you close to the bottom depending on the current. 

The time of year doesn't really matter but it can be insanely hot out there from December through to February. 

Some of the charters I can recommend are Big Cat Reality Charters based out of Bundaberg and Exceed Sportfishing in Port Douglas. Very different to each other but both excellent charters that will take you to one of the best fishing destinations on the planet, The Great Barrier Reef.