Giant Trevally

Referred to by many as the gangsters of the flats, Giant Trevally (or GTs) is a seriously badass fish. They are known for their incredible speed and the wolf-pack style with which they attack smaller fish in the shallows. At Tidehead, we've pursued a lot of different saltwater species and have never encountered harder fighting, more tackle-busting fish. You had better be prepared with the gear below.

Gear Overview

Flyrod

12 weight fast-action rods, such as the Sage Salt, Scott Meridian or Hardy Pro-Axis.

(Our Pick) The Scott Meridian 9012-4

Reel

Saltwater reels are extremely important, especially with GTs. We recommend a high-end reel with a superior drag holding 300 yards of 30-40lb backing. Match the reel to the appropriate rod weights above. Top brands are Hatch, Tibor and Nautilus.

(Our Pick) Hatch Finatic 11-Plus

Lines

A versatile, weight-forward floating line is ideal. Choose from the many great saltwater-specific tapers available from SA and RIO.

(Our Pick) Lines from Scientific Anglers. We prefer the Mastery Series.

Leaders/Tippets

6 to 10 ft. of straight mono fluorocarbon is the norm for GTs. Opinions vary, but leader strengths generally range from 60-100lbs. Some people feel that 100lb is ideal, while others believe some fish will spook on sunny days with that heavy of a leader. A good place to start would be 8 feet of 80-pound test. Again, it's equally important to have some additional fluorocarbon tippet spools when you need to lengthen your leader.