by The Captain | Mar 21, 2017 | Articles, The craftsman
They’re old, slow, heavy andrequire constant tinkering to keep them ticking over. No, I’m not talking about the Captain’s Land Rover. These things make the Landy look like a lean-burn four-stroke. I’m talking about putt-putt marine engines. These cast-iron,...
by The Captain | Mar 21, 2017 | Articles, Captain's ships
Snapper slayer Tony McLeod is contemplating his next 6m rig. A call from the captain to test a Tournament 2000 Bluewater came at just the right time. CREW CALL Mick and I are your typical southern fishermen. We work in semi-important blue-collar jobs, drive Land...
by The Captain | Mar 14, 2017 | Articles, How to
The Captain’s “Seven Ways to Drop a Plop” guide – for when you’re far, far out at sea. You won’t read about this slippery subject in any coxswain course. Not even Al McGlashan has covered the “brown business” in any of his 736,586 useful fishing and boating articles....
by The Captain | Mar 14, 2017 | Articles, Project boat
The Captain’s crew takes two steps forward and 445 steps backward on the project boat rebuild. Nathan Laidlaw, master craftsman at Boat Box, seen below chopping like an ’80s rock star, gave The Captain’s crew a crash course in filling and fairing holes...
by The Captain | Mar 14, 2017 | Adventures, Articles
In the past five to 10 years, Australian saltwater fly fishing has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance. More and more, trout-only fly guys like me, as well as conventional anglers, are exploring the country’s many saltwater options. I was a slow starter in saltwater fly...
by The Captain | Mar 14, 2017 | Articles, The craftsman
The Seafarer Vagabond 6.2 was launched in 1996 following the success of the twin-rigged Seafarer Victory 5.9 (in production 1992-97). The early 6.2m hulls were initially put out in a centre-console configuration and granted the tough-guy moniker Venom 6.2....
by The Captain | Mar 14, 2017 | Articles, Captain's ships
Six-metre twin outboard rigs are The Captain’s kryptonite. So when we heard Mark Stav from JV Marine had bought himself a Seafarer Vagabond with twin 140 Suzukis, we almost lost our superpowers. Bluefin tuna fishing was the goal – and The Captain’s crew tried various...
by The Captain | Feb 10, 2017 | Articles, Captain's ships
Carves her own path on a hunt for monster king george whiting When The Captain’s crew first laid eyes on this neatly decked-out destroyer, we decided a little fishing mission was in order. Instead of following the herds of snapper slayers to the concrete ramps, we...
by The Captain | Jan 4, 2017 | Adventures, Articles
Andy McKinstray goes for a wild ride in PNG, bagging barra, bass and betel nut Words and images by Andy McKinstray Stepping off the plane at Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, the first thing that hits you in the face is a wave of humidity followed by...
by The Captain | Dec 8, 2016 | Articles, Rations and rum
Miguel loves it when The Captain’s crew tour, because he’s normally on the receiving end of a seafood bounty. This time we’d been to a seafood garden off Eden, New South Wales – Erick Hyland’s mussel farm to be precise. He’s not just handy at knocking up fibreglass...
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, Captain's ships
Back in 1977, when Richard Freeman bought his Shark Cat, Elvis Presley was still swinging his hips and Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS) had just found its way into the HZ Holden. Since then, Richard’s Cat has seen 31 pairs of outboards. He’s also bought a house and...
by The Captain | Dec 8, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
From the wilds of the Southern Ocean comes a new design that harks back to the classics. As we loaded a variety of rods onto the shiny new Stabicraft 2500 Ultracab, dirty grey clouds descended from the hills surrounding the local boat ramp. Cold, damp and...
by The Captain | Nov 28, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
The Captain goes north in search of silver scales and soft riding battleships. Trying to fish a new location is tough at the best of times. Trying to catch a mulloway in one day at a new location is a serious Hail Mary shit. Still, we had the gear and...
by The Captain | Nov 28, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
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...
by The Captain | Nov 28, 2016 | Adventures, Articles
Word and images by Joshua Hutchins Fly-fishing New Zealand’s scenic South Island is always a challenge – but mostly rewarding for Joshua Hutchins. He shares the inside word on one of his favourite destinations. The South Island of New Zealand is...
by The Captain | Nov 28, 2016 | Adventures, Articles
Every fisho worth his salt has a secret fishing spot where it seems like the fish never stop biting. The sun always sets on glassy waters while pelagics feverishly compete for the evening hatch. The esky is always full and cold, and sleep is only broken by the...
by The Captain | Nov 28, 2016 | Adventures, Articles
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...
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 16, 2016 | Articles, How to
Crayfish. They look prehistoric, but taste delicious – and they live in Paul Miller’s backyard on the Northern Beaches. Now, if Paul has one weakness it’s fresh Eden mussels. So we bribed him with a couple of dozen plump ones to reveal his 10 Commandments for cray...
by The Captain | Nov 16, 2016 | Articles, How to
When to slack off with Justin Duggan Don’t believe everything you hear; sometimes there’s nothing wrong with being soft, limp or flaccid, other times you need to be tight as a clam. Knowing when to be slack will often prove crucial to scoring the fish. I watch...
by The Captain | Nov 16, 2016 | Articles, How to
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....
by The Captain | Nov 16, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
The Captain finds the sweet spot in an entry level Sea Fox. The Captain has found a new ham-and-pineapple boat. Loved by all and fit for almost any occasion, the Sea Fox 186 Commander is the perfect Cape York crusader or perch predator. Sea Fox...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, Rations and rum
You don’t even have to go shopping for this simple snapper recipe. Just snag a red, raid the missus pantry for some basics, then start grinding on the mortar and pestle like you’re furiously hauling a 40kg black jew from a coral reef – in just 5M of water!...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, Rations and rum
Aaargh, rum. It’s been turning noble sailors into depraved pirates for centuries. The Captain dives behind the bar to uncover the secrets of this sweet seafaring spirit. Rum lore has it that the first distillation of rum began by accident on Caribbean sugar...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, Tried and tested
Outboards. Some like them big and fast, others like ’em compact, efficient and quiet. The Captain spends more time driving them than he does his LandRover. So here are some of The Captain’s favourite outboard engines – all recently tested on tour. ENGINE: Yamaha...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Adventures, Captain's ships
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...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
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...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, Captain's ships
Erick Hyland, mussel farmer and builder of muscle boats, is one of the fathers of Edencraft. The brood of boats he produced in the 1980s and ’90s is impressive, but his latest offspring, the Whitepointer 263, is next-level. In the late 1980s, Erick Hyland owned...
by The Captain | Nov 9, 2016 | Articles, How to
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...
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