Land-based GT off the breakwater
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In some of the southern isles of Japan, very specialized fishing has been done by the most addicted land-based anglers, Giant Trevally off the breakwater (GTOB). The targets are adult GTs, of which the average size would be around 30kg.
In my 1st year of GTOB, I luckily had 2 bites but I could catch neither of them. In the 2nd year, I caught 4 GTs of which the largest weighed approx. 37kg. Although I caught some GTs then, honestly to say, I had to realize I was not physically well-prepared for this extreme fishing. Each time I battled with a single GT, I had to take a rest for an hour or two to recover, while other veteran anglers landed several GTs unbelievably smoothly. You can imagine it was very frustrating for me, and when the season ended I decided to work out to rebuild my body.
I went to a gym 4 days a week, and worked out for 2 hours each day. In the meantime I ate a lot of chicken & fish and took protein powder every day. As a result I gained my weight by 5kg purely with muscle. The power-up was not only for battling with massive GT, but also for using heavier poppers that are likely to attract more and larger fish.
I went on to a trip to the southern sea of Japan for my 3rd year of GTOB. During the trip I was fishing with 2 veteran angler brothers, and I learned a lot from them. The fishing had been kind of o.k. but nothing special for the first several days, and then, there was a special day. In that night the brothers caught 5 GTs and 1 dog tooth tuna and I caught 1 GT, too. The sea eventually became calmer after a frenzy, and the fishing slowed down. All of us thought the best time of fishing this night had finished, but after 2 hours of silence, I heard some fish rise. I walked towards the spot and cast my popper, then popping, popping, popping...
After I reeled in 20m of line or so, a bomb exploded on the sea surface, STRIKE!!
The GT ran at a speed which I had never experienced - the spool was rolling so fast despite 10kg+ drag strength. I cupped the spool applying the maximum pressure which would not break the main line,
and the GT finally stopped, which was about to reach the reef at the other side of the breakwater.
The weight of the fish through the rod was incredibly heavy. I then realized I was battling with a big one, gotta land the fish!
Our battle lasted for about 20 minutes. During the fight my lower back started to hurt terribly,
and I was losing grasping power. But I had determined to LAND the GT no matter what would happen,
and no matter how long it would take. At a final end, the GT came to the surface, and we safely landed it using a huge net.
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The catch was Giant Trevally of 140cm 48kg!!
Several years have already passed since I caught this massive fish, but I clearly remember the battle, and how strong this respectable fish was. Still now this is my personal record (by weight) for land-based GT.