SELF DRIVE CHARTERS
With last weeks’ run of big kingies off Sydney widely known, I expected every man and his dog out there on Friday. The ol’ jaw hit the boat ramp when, on arrival at Roseville, only three trailers seen - in a parking area for one hundred plus:
Sure, it was midweek, but three or four years ago there would have been twenty or thirty there. In those days, when I asked blokes there how they were able to get a day off midweek, they had plenty of reasons. Some just asked the boss. Some took an RDO when fish were biting. But a lot were small businessmen, like myself, who gave themselves an early mark when the fish were on. It was common back then to see trailers at the boat ramp being towed by a Hi-Lux or van, with the signage being ‘Mick’s Landscaping’, or whatever. Owner operators. Weekends are still busy, but given that this year we’ve had so many bad weather weekends – with the good weather happening mid-week - there’s nowhere near as much fishing activity off Sydney now, as there was just a few years ago.
Which is weird, when you think about the increase in fish numbers. So many times when we’ve been out there this year the fish have been biting their heads off, but only four or five boats out at the Peak or wherever enjoying the action:
Kingfish, snapper, flathead, salmon, mako sharks, gemfish, the list goes on. Is it that fishos are working too hard? Or are short of funds, to get out there the way they used to? The jury’s still out on that one. But visiting Clifton Gardens wharf last Monday confirmed either’s a possibility. The wharf was packed with maybe 40 or more fishos, mid afternoon. Yes, it’s a good fishing spot, but produces nowhere near the results boat-based fishing will deliver. I can say that with total confidence because I’ve spent so many years myself fishing from Harbour wharves.
Musgrave Street, Balmoral wharf and (my favourite, which has been closed to fishing for 20+ years now) the jetty used for pumping seawater to Taronga aquarium. Back in the day I knew every rusty bolt on that one. Yes, we caught some good fish back then, but it was when we finally switched to a Quintrex centre console that real fishing adventures started. And that was proved even as recently as last week, when fishos on that wharf were thrashing the water to foam with their squid jigs for only occasional success, while we went across to South Head and pulled four giant calamari in less than 15 minutes. Anyway, the reason why doesn’t matter so much. Most fishos are land based, yet would find more success by fishing from a boat.
How to do it? Something I’ve been wondering for months. Yes, my business is dependent on blokes getting out there and doing it. But it’s more than that. When reports go up on the Facebook page or forums, the PMs and emails light up like a Christmas tree. Here’s a few examples from last week:
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Hi Andy i dont know if you remember me but ive got one of your downriggers and i was wondering if you can spare a day out on the water to show me how to use it and rig up for it eg and i got a mate that will like to purchase a downrigger aswell for his new boat so i ask him to cum and see how it works
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Good morning Andrew I was wondering if you could give me a price on your fishing trips. I will start putting some cash away for one.
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We are keen to go out with you guys, maybe in 2 weeks time. We've only ever caught kings on live bait under a float so are a bit naive about jigging techniques and the set up you need for them.
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And why wouldn’t you want to get out there into it? I’m happy to take anyone on board who wants to go – providing they can do so at short notice, that mid-week is okay, and they don’t get seasick. But it’s not that easy because, with the pressures of business, it’s getting harder and harder to get out there. Which is why I started looking around for alternative options for blokes who don’t have a boat or a lot of cash to spare but want to get out there and into it, or at least give offshore fishing a try. And judging from the email inbox there’s a lot of fishos in that category. Enter Ozboat Hire. I had seen their boats around:
Didn’t know much about them but then a helpful client gave me some good feedback, as they so often do. And the thought was that I should book the boat myself, assemble a crew and get out there for a run to see how it all worked. Paying full freight, so any review would be free of fear or favour.
That’s what we did last Monday. Proprietor Alex launched his centre cab at Ermington on the Parramatta River and came down the Harbour, picking up crew en route. Two met him at the ramp, I was picked up at Clifton Gardens, then Mick boarded at Watsons Bay. That level of flexibility alone was super helpful. Firstly, the boat. Here’s specs:
Custom made in WA - Alloy, 6mm bottoms and 4mm elsewhere
NSW Maritime Survey classes 2C and 4C (Offshore)
Full underfloor marine grade closed cell foam (positive floatation) - virtually unsinkable.
Self draining Decks
Humminbird GPS/ Plotter with Navionics Charts - 750m depth capability
Suzuki 4 Stroke 140Hp Main + Suzuki 15Hp Aux
Bait boards, burley buckets, 13 rod holders each boat , plumbed live bait tanks, outriggers, underfloor fish holds, etc.
As it turned out this centre cab was just about ideal for our purpose. Walkaround centre cabs ideal for winter jigging because you can shelter from the spray while travelling yet have full access around the boat while fishing:
Plenty of room under the console to keep your gear dry and – sometimes more important – out of the way of the action:
It does have a pod type outboard setup which is not my preference. For jigging I prefer a transom with stern quarters, where an angler who hooks up can get his rod tip well behind the propeller. But this arrangement doesn’t work too badly especially if, when a big one is hooked up, the skipper is on the wheel and turning the boat so it’s perpendicular to a hot running king, or whatever. But, to me anyway, there’s something way more important than the boat. That’s the skippers’ personality. And in this case you could hardly find a bloke more helpful or upbeat than Alex, the business owner. The big plus is that he has a charter operator’s certificate himself. Meaning that, if you’re a bit nervous about renting the boat and taking charge yourself, spend a bit extra and Alex will be your charter skipper for the day for a very reasonable price. As it turned out our day wasn’t successful fish wise. Only action we saw this chap fishing solo who boated this solid king using live yellowtail, for bait:
Our success was to come later in the week. But in a way that was good because I got to check out the boat extensively and compare it with both my own and others I’ve been fishing on recently. We did hook a couple of kings. One was undersized and the other took the line around the prop. Very impressed with Alex’s willingness to clamber out on the outboard leg and unhook the angler’s braid. I would have been ranting and raving but he took it all calmly, even when it happened twice:
Summing up. If you’ve been landbound or your boat isn’t capable of getting offshore, this is the way to go. The rates are very reasonable, way under most Sydney charter fees. Not only that but you can use the boat until 3 or 4.00PM, much longer than the period most Sydney charter operators call a day. If you haven’t done it before, my suggestion is keep watching the Facebook page and the forums for reports showing the fish are firing. Check the online forecast at Seabreeze or Willy Weather for a good day. Call Alex, check if a boats’ available, lock in a crew and get out there. Give me a buzz too because if we’re going on the same day we can share intel between boats. Don’t talk yourself out of it because this is a good season and when it’s hot, you’ve gotta go. If you’re nervous about driving the boat yourself, book Alex as the skipper for the first trip. He will show you exactly how to operate the boat and you’ll be confident to do it yourself next time around.
Get back to me with any questions or contact Alex directly on: 0404 132 468.
Cheers, Andrew