Fiji and The World's Best GT Popping resource
We catch GTs and dogtooth tuna all year round however the best weather for popper casting and jigging is Fiji’s summer time which runs from January to May. During this time the weather is generally calm and ideal for getting in close to the barrier reef breakers with poppers or drifting and jigging over reef drop-offs and seamounts.
Kadavu Island has 100km of Great Astrolabe barrier reef, the worlds 4th longest barrier reef and probably the world’s most unspoilt and least explored.
The island’s calm inner coral lagoons offer shelter to a variety of trevallies and coral reef predators but the exposed outer barrier reef breakers are home to numerous large GTs in excess of 40kg.
Kadavu Island has 100km of Great Astrolabe barrier reef, the worlds 4th longest barrier reef. Steep outer reef slopes quickly plunge to hundreds of meters in depth and the island itself spikes up from the seafloor some 4,000m below the surface. To the North lies a remote coral atoll and to the South East, a range of underwater seamounts rise in places to depths as little as 150m.
Most anglers here use Shimano Stellas or Daiwa Saltiga threadline reels spooled with PE10 braid. Popper rods start with the Shimano GT Specials and head on up the price range to top end custom rods by HOTS, Fisherman, Carpenter, Ripple Fisher, Patriot and Zenaq to name just a few examples.
We take great care handling fish and have a policy of releasing all GTs. We also like to frequently release Dogtooth Tuna. Using heavy tackle shortens fight times and ensures fish are released quickly and in the best condition possible. We also crush all our hook barbs for a quick easy release.
We catch a wide range of species when deepwater jigging around Kadavu Island and most fish can be handled with medium weight tackle. There are however monsters in the depths. Bite Me holds the Fiji All-Tackle Dogtooth Tuna Record with a fish over 90kg. We have caught Grouper even larger. We recommend using heavy tackle whenever jigging outside the Barrier Reef.
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