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SOUNDER HOUNDS: DALE HAMILTON

SOUNDER HOUNDS: DALE HAMILTON

BROOME, WA   STYLE: It’s got to be sportsfishing! I’ve been fortunate enough to fish some of the atolls off the coast of my hometown of Broome. We target dogtooth, GTs, red bass, coral trout, wahoo, blue/black marlin and even sailfish. I also like heading into...
ALLOY ART

ALLOY ART

  Moda means “style” in Italian, but don’t let the gorgeous lines fool you, this Express model is full of function too, with a 600km range, the ability to sleep five adults and almost $80K of electronic equipment.     The Captain: Ahoy Shane, we’ve seen...
ISLAND POPPING

ISLAND POPPING

The Captain’s crew head north, to the warm waters of the Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef. They hunt game fish amidst incredible scenic beauty – and become stranded in a millionaires’ playground.     The water transformed from an olive green to a deep...
BAD BOY FOR LOVE

BAD BOY FOR LOVE

Mitchell Burge and his Bad Boy were made for each other… He’s an outspoken lad from Mt Colah with a reputation as a wrecking ball on the sea, having split five boats that The Captain knows of. Now he’s riding in his new Cootacraft – a name synonymous with boats built...
SOLO GAMEFISHING

SOLO GAMEFISHING

LURE TALK WITH PETER PAKULA “In solo game-fishing, there are no points, no trophies and no public acclaim.”   It’s normal in my business to dart out and test lures as soon as the prototypes are ready. On April 1st, 1992, the new Mosquito was ready to rock....
STERN-BURNIN’ BEASTIE

STERN-BURNIN’ BEASTIE

The Whittley SL22 isn’t usually considered an offshore weapon, but if it dumped the rear-facing seats and glassed a wave-breaker on, it damn well would be.     Alan Whittley, heir to the Whittley throne, rang and told us he had a Whittley ready for a fishing...
RED DAWN

RED DAWN

With barrels storming the west coast of Victoria, The Captain grabbed a Stabicraft 2050, a tub of soy sauce and hit the high seas.   If you’re looking for a story about ‘the fish of a lifetime’, then look away now. This is not one of those stories. This is a tale...
MARLIN MOJO

MARLIN MOJO

The Captain’s 10 Golden Rules for hooking more marlin. Jeez, I wish someone told us a bit earlier – like 10,000 litres of fuel earlier!   The Captain knows a fisherman who hooked (and lost) nine marlin before finally landing one. Such is the fighting prowess of...
FRENCH CONNECTION

FRENCH CONNECTION

  The Captain flexes the fibers of a family fisher, taking an Arvor 675 Sportsfish to the end of the earth in search of game-fishing gold.   With nothing but the dull glow of the anchor light to guide us, we pushed on into the black nothingness. Our...
BIG BORES GTS

BIG BORES GTS

Words and images by Joshua Hutchins   JOSHUA HUTCHINS packs his lucky board shorts, his favourite fly rod and and jumps onto a tiny plane. He’s headed for a little dot in the South Pacific, where giant GTs elbow eager bonefish aside in their rush to engulf...
THREAD LINES

THREAD LINES

Images: Andrew Mckinstray   The Captain jumps behind the sewing machine with Nick Richardson, owner of fishing threads brand, Tide Apparel.   Fishing fashion has come a long way. Gone are the days of heading to sea in a double-breasted navy peacoat with more...
NUCLEAR FALL OUT BOYS

NUCLEAR FALL OUT BOYS

Word and images Luke Ryan   Two mates, 12 days and some of WA’s most remote islands and reefs. But would there be any fish?   The West Australian coastline offers not only some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, but also the best sport fishing;...
SOUNDER HOUNDS: ROD FINDLAY

SOUNDER HOUNDS: ROD FINDLAY

ROD FINDLAY, SUTHERLAND SHIRE, NSW   STYLE: Definitely bluewater – from kings to tuna and switch-baiting marlin – I’ve been a member of Broken Bay gamefishing club since I was seven!     BOAT: We run two. The first is Murrifin, a custom 39ft...
SOUNDER HOUNDS: LUKE RYAN

SOUNDER HOUNDS: LUKE RYAN

LUKE RYAN, PERTH, WA  STYLE: I do a variety of fishing, from offshore jigging and heavy tackle to light breamin’.     BOAT: I have a Haines Hunter Patriot 680 with a Yamaha 225HP.     ELECTRONICS: Currently I have two Simrad NSS12 Evo2s. I run an...
SOUNDER HOUNDS: ANDREA TRAVERSO

SOUNDER HOUNDS: ANDREA TRAVERSO

ANDREA TRAVERSO, PORT HAVANNAH, VANUATU STYLE: We do all kinds of fishing in Vanuatu– heavy tackle, saltwater fly, light tackle and live baiting. My personal favourite, though, has got to be popping and jigging for GTs and dogtooth tuna.     BOAT: We run...
LORDS OF THE SWORDS

LORDS OF THE SWORDS

Richard Abela heads to Victoria’s north-east in search of a life-long sportfishing pursuit- daytime swordfish.   Thinking back to my grass roots as a blue-water sports fisherman, it’s not hard to recall where my obsession with the broadbill swordfish began....
THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND

THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND

The Captain discovers a cult classic that might just be the best-kept secret on the New South Wales coast – the Sea Devil.   Cult- A religious or social group with socially deviant beliefs and practices, known for small but dedicated fan base. Cults often acquire...
WAVE-BREAKERS

WAVE-BREAKERS

The Captain’s 10 Commandments (break them at your peril).   Wave-breaker arguments light up Facebook forums, typically started by pansies behind perspex. For those who have seen the light – and want to join the dark side by fitting a wave-breaker, be sure to...
SEVEN-HOUR TUNA TUSSLE

SEVEN-HOUR TUNA TUSSLE

Andrew Westlake caught a barrel on his first mission, using military-like planning and skill – not to mention endurance – in his seven-hour fight. His talents are matched by his great attitude and generous nature. Andrew Westlake is a thinking man’s fisherman....
SOUNDER HOUNDS: LEE RAYNER

SOUNDER HOUNDS: LEE RAYNER

LEE RAYNER, MELBOURNE, VIC STYLE : Any sort of fishing – bait, lure, fly, just so long as I’m catching fish. I do love chasing marlin and tuna, while at the other end of the scale there is something great about freezing your bum off chasing trout, especially big ones....
THE SUBLIME SEAFOX VIPER 220

THE SUBLIME SEAFOX VIPER 220

The Seafox left the other boats in its wake; on the water- and on the fishing scoreboard    A snotty 25-knot wind blew straight into Urangan Harbour, on the eastern side of Hervey Bay. We stuck the nose of the Sea Fox Viper out into the bay, glanced at each...
FROTHING ON FRASER

FROTHING ON FRASER

Fraser Island is full of salty drama. It was named after Eliza Fraser, who was shipwrecked off the coast in 1836. She took refuge on the island and, as the story goes, was captured by local Aborigines and made to work for scraps before eventually being rescued. The...
SHOOT LIKE A BOSS

SHOOT LIKE A BOSS

The Captain “lens” a few tips for taking the perfect pic on your next on-water adventure. You’ve just landed the fish of a lifetime. There’s only one thing left to do: take a photo that does the big girl justice. But it’s not as easy as it looks. You don’t...
WHICH BOATS CATCH MORE FISH

WHICH BOATS CATCH MORE FISH

The Captain has always wondered: does size matter or is it all about the motion of the ocean? Peter Pakula has an opinion on this.   The Captain: Does the size of your boat have any bearing on raising fish? Peter Pakula: More than likely. It’s pretty logical that...
MORNINGSTAR 460 ANGLER

MORNINGSTAR 460 ANGLER

There’s a rumour doing the rounds. It’s about an aluminium hull that has the big boys looking over their shoulder. They say it rides like a glass boat, looks like a glass boat, but can take punishment like a tinnie. It doesn’t have a name like...