by The Captain | Jul 27, 2019 | Adventures, Articles
Armed with a case of Budweiser, a mask and fins, a couple of fishing rods and a Grady-White Freedom 325, Alli Ficarra goes in search of Sydney’s coolest coves. Sydney Harbour is IMO the best waterway in the world. It takes a lot for me to say that. Ya see, I’m a...
by The Captain | Jul 26, 2019 | Articles, Project boat
The Nub-Tub is finally ready for the fit-out phase. We take her to the experts at Johnson Bros Marine who say, “We’ve never seen anyone want to fit this much shit to a 4.5m boat in our lives.” Trav and his cohort of contractors have slogged away on the base for three...
by The Captain | Jan 17, 2019 | Articles, Captain's ships
Dave Rothwell treats his 10-year-old Hydra-Sports to a complete birthday refit with 1050 horsepower courtesy of Johnson Bros. Marine Services. Now this boat has tricks. Dave Rothwell loves his Yank tank and his love runs deep — all the way down to his chequebook. So...
by The Captain | Jan 17, 2019 | Articles, How to
Joel Ryan brings big game-boat know-how to his Edencraft 6M Offshore. Here’s a typical game-fishing scenario. See on Facebook that the hot bite is on during the week. Chuck a sickie. Drive all night and get a flat tyre. Eat salt and vinegar chips for dinner before...
by The Captain | Jan 14, 2019 | Articles, The craftsman
The Captain catches up with respected boat designer Paul Bury, the man behind the computer behind many of the boats you drool over at the ramp. WHO IS PAUL BURY? Paul is the principal of Bury Design and has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Before starting...
by The Captain | Oct 24, 2018 | Adventures, Articles
He’s got a job and lifestyle many young men dream about. He owns cool boats, cool trucks and drinks like a fish. He also happens to earn a living under the water, rather like a fish. But he assures The Captain it’s seriously hard work (the drinking, that is). Grant...
by The Captain | Oct 24, 2018 | Adventures, Articles
They’re the bigfoot of the ocean floor. The humble abalone (Haliotis) is a marine snail — or more precisely a univalve mollusc with a flat, smooth, pale, oval shell, containing a large muscular “foot” with a frill or lip. This rounded foot is very large in...
by The Captain | Oct 24, 2018 | Adventures, Articles
Abalone — most people wouldn’t know what it was if they stubbed their toe on it at the beach. Underneath an iridescent mother-of-pearl shell is a muscly piece of meat about the size of a teenager’s fist. This magnificent mollusc is so prized in Asia that most of these...
by The Captain | Oct 24, 2018 | Articles, Rations and rum
It’s smarter and more romantic than your average sea monster, with nine (count ‘em) brains and three hearts. No, we’re not talking about Miguel, we’re talking about octopus. Ingredients -1.5kg large Fremantle octopus -4 bay leaves -1 ó tablespoons spicy paprika -1L...
by The Captain | Oct 17, 2018 | Articles, Captain's ships
Not so long ago, a boat builder of repute reached out to The Captain, saying, “If you blokes come across a good performing hull, between 20ft and 23ft long, give me a call. I want to replicate something with a sweet, soft ride, big internal capacity and...
by The Captain | Sep 11, 2018 | Articles
The knot that dare not speak its name — at least not when the missus and kids are around — is naturally Justin Duggan’s favourite. There are a many game-changing moments in fishing. In the modern era, graphite rods have revolutionised casting and sensitivity. Braided...
by The Captain | Sep 11, 2018 | Articles, How to
The leader man must grab the trace. Will the fish come in easy or go ballistic? You can never tell. Lord of the lures Peter Pakula details the dos and don’ts of tracing. The angler and skipper have done their job by getting the leader within reach of the crew. Now for...
by The Captain | Sep 11, 2018 | Articles
Sailfish Catamarans are in birthday mode, celebrating 25 years of building the aluminium twin-hull champions that do the business for Aussie sportsfishers, divers and pleasure boaties. To mark that quarter century, and more than 440 vessels through the door, Sailfish...
by The Captain | Sep 11, 2018 | Articles
US MANUFACTURER PURSUIT BOATS INVADES THE SOUTH PACIFIC. Anyone with a bit of salt water in their blood knows that Pursuit Boats turn out some of the classiest luxury fishing vessels currently making a splash. Based in Fort Pierce, Florida, Pursuit’s award-winning...
by The Captain | Sep 11, 2018 | Articles, How to
The dreaded trailer failure can mess up your fishing trip and-much, much worse- your boat. Yet such a devastating towing trauma can be prevented with just a little forethought. Roll with me on this one… ROLLIN’ BY THE RIVER It’s a dark, moonless night and you’re...
by The Captain | Sep 11, 2018 | Articles, Rations and rum
Fishing is damn thirsty work. Slaving away in the sun, hauling massive sea creatures over the side, surrounded by salt water. By the time you winch that boat back up the ramp you’re parched as, bro. Fluids must be maintained. It’s time to have a beer or two. Whether...
by The Captain | Sep 10, 2018 | Articles
Staying sharp on the boat and in the galley means any seadog worth his (or her) salt should pack a practical blade There’s no argument that lifejackets save lives. But who’s heard an Old Salt’s advice that a sharp knife is a sailor’s best friend? Captain Blackbeard...
by The Captain | Sep 10, 2018 | Articles, How to
You need a new boat more than world peace — but not at the cost of war breaking out on the domestic front. Never fear the Captain is here… ATTENTION DADS: So you want a new 20ft (6m) fishing rig, but the missus says no. There are only two options: a. Divorce, or...
by The Captain | Sep 10, 2018 | Articles, The craftsman
The Captain gets an invite into the Cootacraft factory in Mallacoota, Victoria. It comes directly from the owner/builder known as Mark ” The mad Russian”. He’s also a hunter and expert marksman. What could possibly go wrong? The name Cootacraft...
by The Captain | Sep 10, 2018 | Adventures, Articles, Captain's ships
Chasing black marlin off the coast of Fraser Island on his trusty Yamaha Waverunner by day and night dodging dingoes and marauding mozzies by night, Ben Bylett discovered the blokes from Fishski Australia were even crazier fishos than him. When I tell people I fish...
by The Captain | Sep 10, 2018 | Adventures, Articles
Joshua Hutchins and his crew of mad anglers fly fish for Bonefish, GT’s and Triggerfish on the Pacific atoll of CXI- Christmas Island, Kiritimati When our eclectic group arrived in Fiji — ANZAC anglers converging from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and...
by The Captain | Jun 20, 2018 | Articles, Captain's ships
They’re young, smart and cool, and they represent a new breed of saltwater stylists. They’re the builders – and the owners – of a new wave of floating fortresses. Dickey Boats fits the bill on both fronts. The blue-water highway used to be ruled by dudes with beards...
by The Captain | Jun 20, 2018 | Articles, Captain's ships
The biggest, baddest console The Captain has ever tested in Australia! The Grady-White Canyon 376 is a bona fide heavyweight of centre consoles. It’s the biggest hull in the Grady-White range, tipping the scales at almost six tonne (without engines). The beam is wider...
by The Captain | Jun 20, 2018 | Articles, Captain's ships
A lot of people ask why we started The Captain. We usually tell them it’s because “We’re really passionate about fishing and boating” or “We love telling interesting stories about legends of the sea”. Now both those points might be true, but they’re not the real...
by The Captain | Jun 20, 2018 | Articles, Captain's ships
The Captain puffs out his chest and steps aboard the biggest console the Signature factory has ever built, powered by the largest motor Suzuki has ever built; two, in fact. We’re still not sure why John Haines built the 788SF. It’s the biggest console ever...
by The Captain | Jun 20, 2018 | Uncategorized
Earlier this year, the image of a strange craft popped up on The Captain’s newsfeed. It was narrow like an SUP, agile and fast like a PWC, yet kitted out for serious fishing. This thing stuck out like a pink Cosmopolitan cocktail among The Captain’s usual rum-fuelled...
by The Captain | Apr 24, 2018 | Articles, How to
Joel Ryan caught more fish last year than most of us could dream about catching in a lifetime. His 2017 hit list includes jumbo bluefin off Sydney, double digits of marlin and swordfish, and he’s even put Tait Missen, his good mate’s son, onto an Aussie junior record...
by The Captain | Apr 24, 2018 | Articles, How to
Most keen fishos own a good set of gaffs, but these days they seem to collect more rust than they do fish. So when the moment comes to sink the meat hooks into a sea monster, Peter Pakula reckons you’d better be well practised… If you want to be good with...
by The Captain | Apr 24, 2018 | Articles, How to
For Justin Duggan, predicting which colour of lure will be on the hook-up money on any given fishing day will never be an exact science. We all have a “nutty professor” angling mate. His laboratory is the deck of a boat. Bunsen burners and flasks are replaced...
by The Captain | Apr 24, 2018 | Articles
Davey Marine go the extra mile (about 50 miles, in fact) Davey Marine just went next-level with its customer service. Their blue-chip customers were invited down to Refuge Cove for a fully catered weekend of swell jumping and horsepower thumping. The rigs that...
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