AN EXHIBITION BY ANGLERS, FOR ANGLERS

FAMILY FISHING SHOW

On Thursday I was invited to attend the information night for the Family Fishing Show to discuss some of the attractions for the show with some of the industries finest like Steve Starling, Jo Starling, Scotty Lyons, Melanie Young, Todd Young and representatives from fisheries. Some of the things we discussed was "How can this show be a stand out from the rest of the exhibition shows?" This was quite simple, what did the people say?... There were some positive feedback from various social media sites as to what anglers wanted to see, and a fair few people have been let down in the past with other previous shows, the main element shows seemed to lack was not enough fishing stands and too much linked stalls to fishing like Boats, 4WD  and caravans. well that's because fishing exhibition shows these days are usually linked to these 4WD, camping and caravan shows. Melanie Young stated " Their is around 3.5 million registered anglers in Australia and we as anglers don't 4WD and camp with the thought of doing some fishing. We go fishing with the thought of doing some camping and four wheel driving." This show has all in mind for fishing. Pricing for most exhibitions is an issue, usually so high that after a family enters there has been 100 dollars plus spent before entering the doors, the best part about this show is the tickets are $15, $5 for kids over 5 years old a family of four is $25 and ladies for free, very affordable for a family day out.

There is nothing worse than attending an exhibition with your kids when they start to get bored, well that has been thought of and The Fishing Show has organised accredited day care workers to look after children for 1.5 hours for FREE!!! I will tell you there is no where, at any exhibition you will find free childcare. Bringing your wife along to show? Well there is also something for her too,  keeping her off your back, There is a Ladies only area, your wife can get pampered with a massage, manicure with free tasting of some of the finest wines from the Hunter Valley.

A Skeeter/Evinrude boat and trailer package as a door giveaway makes it all very exiting, no other exhibition gives away such a huge prize, I think so far you would realize that this show is something different from others, designed by Pro Anglers for Anglers. Virtual fishing games and a V8 simulator that is actually a car, Australian casting indoor championships featured at the show. Young Guns Fishing clinics for all ages available, casting accuracy clinics available in a casting pool for anyone that wants to work on their casting abilities with accredited Australian casting champions.

Some of you already probably have seen the T.V show "The Hook and the Cook" a T.V show based on Scotty Lyons being the Hook, Scotty shows you how to catch the species of fish, what bait and lures to use, how to present it to the fish with techniques, how to rig up your rod for that species and how to clean the fish. The Cook is Paul Breheny, a Master Chef from  Derbyshire U.K. Paul shows the viewers how to cook the catch for a mouth watering feast. Both the "Hook and the Cook' will be doing cooking demonstrations at the show.

The location is Parramatta Park being a central location for all in Sydney. No need to worry about trying to get past hundreds of tourists in darling harbour as many other exhibitions have held their shows, Parramatta park is big enough to walk around the show with the 50,000 square metre site. and 9,000 square metres will be indoor. The event will be held over two days on the 5th and 6th of April 2014 from 9am to 6pm Saturday and Sunday.

PRO ANGLERS

There will be various well known Pro Anglers doing talks and demonstrations at the show. Steve "Starlo" Starling will be doing a talk on stage as well as wife "Jo Starling doing a talk for women in fishing as well as for the men. Paul Carter, Australia's finest Egi (Squid) specialist having a talk to Anglers about his effectiveness on Egi (Squid) fishing. Kevin Van Dam is a tournament Angler that has won a total of more than 5 million dollars, and taking out four Bassmaster titles and seven Toyota Tundra Angler of the year titles. As a professional Bass Angler Kevin is one of the best in the world, and Kevin will be a representative at the show. 

A show bag alley for the big kids will be a feature with huge items like hats and shirts available as a show bag to buy from some of the biggest brands. A Big Top festival style theme of this event is very cool, the marquee is huge and just adds to that experience at the show. This is going to be a huge event and the best thing about this show is.... It's by Anglers for Anglers, so many people have been disappointed when they attend some of these other shows with the intention to buy some gear, but there is limited amounts of gear on offer. This is not the case, there will be huge amounts of gear available for all. The event is something not only Anglers need, but also what the industry needs, more people need to indulge in the world of fishing especially kids,. Fishing is the total combination of hands on experience, outdoor, skill building and general understanding of nature at it's best.

INFORMATION  

Family Fishing Show

Saturday and Sunday 5th and 6th of April

Parramatta Park

Entry: $15, Kids over five $5, Family of four $25 and Ladies free

Onsite Daycare free for 1.5 hours

Ladies only area

Head Office: (02) 4925 6136

Mobile: 0432 615 015, 0422 728 046,  0413 032 217 

CRAFTSMANSHIP LIKE NO OTHER

MILLERODS 

As most angler's in Australia, and many around the world know that Ian Miller has a lot to do with the design of our rods here in this country. Rods that are specifically tested, designed, crafted and mastered here in Australia for our species and conditions. there is no doubt in saying that, "Ian is a master at rod designing and building".  Ian has built firstly a Bass rod for me, this Bass rod was selectively designed for skinny/tight water.

Six foot in length, 1-4 kg line rating, the blank being high modulus graphite makes this rod so extremely light but also gives the angler so much response, Titanium Fuji SIC guide trains, painted green Fuji skeleton reel seat and the famous custom camouflage green Control Freak handle.

I chose to outfit this stick with a Shimano Biomaster 1000 reel. anyone that owns a Millerod is well aware of the quality that comes with this craftsmanship is nothing but precision. I am lucky enough to be on the Millerods Pro Staff and I honestly believe that there is no other rod that comes close to the design and over all performance that Millerod Sticks have.

I had this Bass rod customized and had TheFishCure monogrammed on the blank of the rod.

This rod Ian built for me is such a versatile medium estuary rod, 3-6kg line rating, 6'9" in length, again with the high modulus graphite blank, alconite Fuji guide trains, Standard Fuji skeleton reel seat with the custom Control Freak handle in blue camouflage. These rods are so special and unique that Ian numbers every rod that leaves his hands.

I outfitted this stick with a Shimano Sustain 2500 and had Ian monogram my name on the blank.

This rod is so versatile, I have used this rod to catch Murray Cod, Silver Perch, Flathead, Bonito and Even huge Australian Salmon from the stones. Millerods are so light in weight it still amazes me, especially when I set a task at hand for myself to catch Australian Salmon with DUO Pressbait 85 lures (Slugs) from the stones on this light outfit. You can cast and cast and cast these rods over and over, it's incredible how light they are still after hours of slugging lures into the wash.

Millerods website will give you some insight to the options you have when having a rod built through Ian.
Click on the link here for the website. /MILLERODS

BASS BOAT BUILD

TINNIE TO BASS BOAT

I bought a tinnie around 12-18 months ago, I decided to build a front cast deck add a sounder and  an electric to create a Bass boat. Now I have really decided to go all out on the old faithful and build it into a sport Bass boat complete with latest sounders and electronics. here is the process so far.

This is the way I originally purchased the boat, it was painted with a brush and what looks like house paint. This became an absolute nightmare at later days, the paint was on their so thick it couldn't be sanded off and ultimately in the end I made the decision to book it in for sandblasting.

I originally had the plans to only build a front cast deck and began the build with 17mm ply wood, I shaped it out with cardboard and after I had my template all cut out I used it to cut out the deck with a jigsaw.

After the deck was shaped and fitted on top of the two front bench seats I braced the underneath with galvanized braces for extra strength and carpeted it with blue marine carpet. I then cut out the remainder of the wood I had left over from the sheet to fit the floor between the deck and the rear bench seat, then braced it with 4 by 4 planks for the floor support and then again carpeted it.

I wired and installed a basic Lowrance Elite DSI (Down Scan) 5 inch sounder on a temporary box which done the job (For Now)

After adding the deck, floor and sounder I screwed down some seats in the rear and Installed a MinnKota cable steer electronic motor to the bow and took to the water for some Bass in the river.

Boat went well on the water and even found time to anchor up and have a BBQ breakfast on board. serenity at it's best.

Since the original build I began to think that this setup is just not doing it for me anymore, Having an annoying sentimental quality to this boat I decided to strip the boat and have it sandblasted to take off the ample amount of house paint the boat had endured from it's previous owner and build it all again, basically from scratch, only keeping the original front cast deck. stripped the carpet from the ply wood as the ugly blue was just horrible and re-carpeted it with a more natural light grey colour. adding an adjustable and swivel  front pedestal seat to the deck and moving the Lowrance DSI (downscan) unit to the front and installing the transducer to the electric (with the use of Lowrance's Trolling motor transducer bracket)

I had a box made up that I turned into a console for a sounder rod storage. battery compartment, switch housing and had a screen cut out of tinted perspex to keep the sounder reasonably dry from wash spray in which I then mounted the Go-Pro to the screen. then had the console painted from the original plastic colour to the teal colour the boat is being painted and then had the hassle with wiring the switches for on board lighting, live well and navigation lights.

Then came the live well, marking out the cut in the centre of the deck and cutting it out with a jigsaw, recessing the the hatch and screwing the tank the bottom of the cast deck.

Installing the filter pump for aeration and a bung plug for draining through the bottom of the boat, the live well was actually one of the easiest and less stressful tasks to the build.

Easy rod storage on the side of the console takes all those rods off the floor of the boat and thus has no chance of feet stepping around or even on the rods.

Matching the upholstery to the colour of the boat was a very cool effect but..... I have a feeling this seat wont be final pick as I am going to have a more comfortable and more stable seat installed.

                               A cool view from the front of the boat before the paint is being laid.

I then began the rear cast deck, same process was used in building the rear as I done with the front deck. fitted in and carpeted with the matching grey carpet and cut out the holes for the rear hatches for storage and fuel tank.

A low profile fuel tank was added the rear of the boat before laying down and fitting in the rear deck.

Storage hatch has plenty of room for lure boxes, camera gear and various gear. Under the rear cast deck is also a false carpeted elevated floor so the water flows under it keeping the storage compartments dry.

                                                 Left side view of the boat before paint is laid.

                                            Right side view of the boat before the paint is laid.

After the console had paint laid custom plastic capping outlined around the perspex screen to give it a better finish and go pro detachable mount installed on the screen. 

Running out of money and really over budget, I will be using my original MinnKota cable steer electric on the bow until the new year, after then I will be installing the new MinnKota Riptide Ipilot, with so much more hands free to concentrate on fishing.

Front cast deck light was hidden under the console and puts out just enough lights to illuminate the deck with any light escaping from the boat.

Lights were also installed into the rear hatches for nigh time fishing. my aim was to eliminate the use of head torches while nigh time fishing.

One of the best decisions I made on this build was to have the rods traditionally stored in rod holders mounted to the side of the console.

A photo of the pump in the live well before it was actually installed properly. 

I have chosen to run with Lowrance's new HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch sounder unit as all the features Lowrance has incorporated in this unit is incredible. 

Stay tuned for updates on this page to come as the rest of the boat is being built and paint laid. new engine, electric and sounder also still to be installed..... expensive build for a boat i can't part with with a really annoying reason. But a tinnie can be converted to a Bass tournament boat. 

NEW UPDATE

The install on the new Lowrance HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch begins. This unit comes with a built in structure scan unit as oppossed to the previous HDS models where you had to actually install the Structe Scan added unit for structure scan, with the new Gen 2 touch units you just need to run and install the LSS-2 structure transducer as well as the standard skimmer. 

The Lowrance Gen 2 Touch has a pack full of features. including Moon and Sun phases, tides, fuel management, Broadband scan, Broadband and Sonar overlay, Touch screen, Down Sonar scan, Weather rader, Chart plotter, Structure map, Side structure scan, Lowrance to Tablet data transfer via Wifi, Engine management, VHF compatible, Radio connectivity and IPod connectivity, Sonic hub. 

The new touch screen makes things so much easier, instead of using the left, right, up and down button to move the cursor on standard HDS models, you simply just touch and it's activated, very easy.

I mounted the new HDS on the console new to the onboard electronic's switches, My intentions in the new year is to have a standard HDS Gen 2 screen to replace the Elite model on the cast deck and data transfer structure scan from the HDS 7 Touch on the console via an Ethernet cable under the flooring directly to the back of the HDS unit on the cast deck. This will give me instant structure scan on the front HDS unit.

 

With paint still yet to be laid, still with a few minor things to add to the boat layout itself like install a new customized teal seat, Navigation and stern lights, New deep cycle 12 volt battery to run the cast deck lowrance unit and electric Minn Kota, custom side fly rod holders and floor hinges, 

Boat next week will be stripped and prepped with primer and few mods ready for paint in the shop, the colour I have chosen will be Aqua Teal in 2Pac paint and clear. Rub rails while also be installed on the sides of the boat to prevent scratches from wharfs and jetty's. 

Overall the boat layout is reasonably finished if I don't find other things to tweak with, it's quite a long process to do it all yourself and has cost me more money than I expected I wont lie to you. but as I see it at the moment it's been kinda fun and the boat layout has been customized for everything I want, not someone else s style of fishing.

The boat will also have some very cool boat decals from my sponsors very                                   special thanks to those companies cheers.

              A simple Pelican hard waterproof case will keep your camera gear dry from water.

I am getting quite eager to have it on the water, and im estimating it will be just before christmas. Hope to see some of you out the on the river sometime.

 I will make another blog entry on the boats progress in a week or so.

 The turn out this console housing has made to the boat's look and practicality is immense, the console itself has so many uses. A housing for the sounder and chart plotter unit with dry spray screen, rod mounts, boga grip holder, switch housing, battery compartment, storage and Go Pro mount.

After the paint was laid the process of bringing the whole boat together came.

flooring, rear and fromt cast deck fixed. Console, seat and minn kota electric all installed. then the fun wiring for the lights, live well, two sounders began.

Lowrance HDS Gen 2 touch sounder was installed on the console, skimmer transducer and LSS-2 structure transducer also installed to the transom of the boat. Lowrance HDI 5 insalled on the front cast deck with the transducer mounted on the Minn Kota. New outboard engine to come early this year.

Installing the new Lowrance Sonic Hub audio system to the boat just added to the wiring process. But I must say.... the sound that comes from this boat is quite clear and very cool.

Tweaking the things I needed to tweak before the few last things added.

had the trailer painted with Black, DUO Lures boat decal laid, and The boat name "The Fish Cure" (Of Course) laid on the side of the boat. as well as the custom registration "OZBASSN"

And  a memorial tribute to my late Grandfather who taught me to fish.

Couldn't wait for this day any longer..... Launched the boat in style off the river's beach.

I must admit with all the work and cash I put into this boat. It really was worth the time. 

The boat was very practical, electronics went well, boat was quite stable on the water.... but definitely time for that new outboard, and electric.

Looking forward to spending hours on this boat. Stay Tuned!!!

UPDATE!!!

SO....... I had decided to bolt on a 30hp outboard to the transom to give it much more power and plane a lot easier and quicker.

I also equipped the boat with the latest 55lb Watersnake Slider Pro remote electric and also a new Lowrance HDS Gen 2 5m Chart plotter bolted next to the HDS 7 Touch for an ease of location waypoint fishing.

Also new from Lowrance I have fitted the latest Go Free WiFi to enable fast data transfer and data transfer between units and a tablet.