by The Captain | Jun 7, 2021 | Articles, Captain's ships
The Edencraft crew have brought the classic 565 originally developed by John Haines Sr back to life. Naturally, The Captain has scored the first ride in Aussie waters and has brought his checklist to Eden (where else?) on the NSW South Coast. Our salty inspection crew...
by The Captain | Apr 15, 2021 | Articles, The craftsman
Mark Brayne got his hands on a rebuilt V17L, then gave it a modern refurb in the back end and bolted on the good gear. Now it’s the perfect lightweight, trailerable game-fishing machine. Tell us more about this top-secret work you do. I can’t actually say what I do...
by The Captain | Sep 26, 2020 | Articles, Captain's ships
The Captain heads to Mackay, North Queensland, to take a ride in Ryan Turner’s seriously pimped-out brand new Svensson NQ Fisher Maxi 7500. When The Captain stumbles up to the Mackay boat ramp at 5am, Ryan Turner is showing less enthusiasm than you’d expect from...
by The Captain | Jan 31, 2020 | Adventures, Articles, Secret destinations
The Captain’s crew head to the Montebello Islands with a bunch of hotshot fishos aboard a flotilla of epic rigs. Brace yourself to be knee-deep in GTs, sailfish and spangled emperor scales. Every fisherman has heard tales of the bountiful waters of the...
by The Captain | Jan 17, 2020 | Articles, Captain's ships
The Captain couldn’t pass up the chance to spend a day on the water with a bloke who loves boats, loves fishing — and who happens to answer to the nickname of “Legend”. Garry “Legend” Harman is a friendly, knockabout bloke. He’s a part-time concreter, a stay-at-home...
by The Captain | Dec 15, 2019 | Articles, Captain's ships
In a Captain-first — actually, it’s probably a world-first, as nobody else would be so daft — we pit a brand spankin’ new Surtees 540 workmate worth $65K against a 93cm remote-controlled speedboat worth $900. Ladies and gentlemen, start your Fitbit. RC...
by The Captain | Dec 15, 2019 | Adventures, Articles
The Captain’s crew is in Garibaldi, Oregon, on the US Pacific Northwest coast — on a trio of Stabicrafts. Huge mountain ranges covered in tall timber peer over the rugged coastline. Icy rivers meander out to bays where creaking timber trawlers and newer steel ones are...
by The Captain | Sep 25, 2019 | Articles, Captain's ships
Anyone can slide a pilchard onto a paternoster rig and pull hard on a snapper, but not many can lay claim to catching snapper on topwater stick baits. Mike Bonnici can. It’s time for The Captain’s crew to find out how this renowned surface slayer rolls. Yep, it’s time...
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 admin | Jun 8, 2019 | Adventures, Articles
The Captain’s crew head back to the Great Barrier Reef with a new mission: to catch the first giant black marlin of the 2018 season. We’re aboard Hellraiser II and equipped with a new special weapon. This is one of the first game boats to be fitted with a thru-hull...
by admin | Nov 27, 2018 | Articles
There’s been a fair bit going on at Edencraft — what’s the drum, Josie? Well, we moved to Moolap, Victoria, a little over 12 months ago. The new 2ha property is divided into four workspaces — the office, the lay-up shed/moulding shop, the joining shed...
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 | Jun 20, 2017 | Articles, How to
In this installment of Insane Installs, we caress the helm of Jason Wilhelm’s Edgewater 245CC and pop our eyeballs on his insane Simrad fit-out. And it would be rude not to have a crack at a blue marlin while we’re at it. Back in the day, Jason Wilhelm was a renowned...
by The Captain | Mar 22, 2017 | Articles, How to
Mike Bonnici is a glazier by trade, but on weekends he cruises the high seas in pursuit of marlin, tuna and topwater kings. His saltwater sled is a Sea Devil 620 and its reputation is almost as lofty as Mike’s you’d be seriously hard-pressed to find a fisho in Sydney...
by The Captain | Feb 28, 2017 | Adventures, Articles, Captain's ships
Why we do it. This is the test the public demanded. More so than the manufacturers, anyway. Which is why we never told them about it. Any of them. To prove our point, when the first Facebook post dropped, The Captain’s mobile lit up with phone calls with a Victorian...
by The Captain | Dec 8, 2016 | Articles, How to
SYDNEY, NSW STYLE: I’m part of the Band of Brothers Fishing crew. We’re primarily game-fisherman who mix it up in the off-season chasing reds and kings. Our passion, however, certainly lies in catching billfish. BOAT: I own a Seaswirl Striper 2007 2101...
by The Captain | Dec 8, 2016 | Articles, How to
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...
by The Captain | Nov 16, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
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...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Adventures, Articles
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;...
by The Captain | Nov 8, 2016 | Articles
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...
by The Captain | Nov 8, 2016 | Articles
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...
by The Captain | Nov 8, 2016 | Articles
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...
by The Captain | Nov 4, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
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...
by The Captain | Jul 8, 2016 | Articles, How to
NATHAN BAJADA, CENTRAL COAST, NSW STYLE: I’m mad-keen on game-fishing with my wife, Amanda, and daughter, Chloe. Don’t be fooled, they’re a formidable crew! We also dabble on the snapper and kingfish grounds, and don’t mind a deep drop from time to time. The wife...
by The Captain | Jul 8, 2016 | Articles, How to
DEAN SILVESTER, BRISBANE, QLD STYLE: I love all sorts of fishing. Over the years I’ve entered in bass, bream and barramundi tournaments. My main focus of late has been Australian bass – I’d probably say I’m a good bass-buster. BOAT My boat is an SX 180 Skeeter, an...
by The Captain | Jul 7, 2016 | Articles, How to
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....
by The Captain | Jul 2, 2016 | Articles, How to
Ever wondered why the gun fishermen treat their sounder like the Ark of the Covenant? It’s because it holds secrets that make the difference between a good day’s fishing and a great one. The Captain takes a peek inside, and discovers the top commandments practised...
by The Captain | Mar 17, 2016 | Articles, Tried and tested
The Captain has only ever used a paper sounder. So it came as a surprise that the new StructureScan 3D was able to show him a three-dimensional underwater view of the ocean floor – mind blown. For as long as I can remember, anytime I’ve taken a non-boatie friend out...
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