How quickly time flies – We’ve now had our little Haines Signature 485 SF just over 12 months & clocked up over 250 faultless hours on the Suzuki 60
We have had some great fish come over the side in the last year – the 485SF truly is an amazingly versatile little hull. This was my 1st salty barra from the Mary
It has been an amazing year for long tail tuna with them being present just about all year from Roonies at the top of Fraser down to Inskipp at the bottom – Katrina with another one that fell to a snap back ..
We’ve also done our share of bread & butter fishing with plenty of good flatties, bream , whiting & school jew coming aboard as well …
We had a great snapper season with some BIG runs off shore when the weather permitted – fishing as far out as the Southern Gutters & Althea off Bundaberg ………
Did a bit of whale watching – with one special encounter while out with our daughter Eleasha
Did a bit of creek fishing when it started to warm up with Dr Ben Diggles …..
Managed a couple of quick trips up to Awonga before the rain started in October with the best fish going 110cm ……
Had a pretty tough summer with more rain than we have ever experienced – but still manged some wet trips up the island for more tuna & some good Goldie’s – Smile Wes
Awonga spilled for the first time since being raised in January 2011 – which created a unique opportunity to target some BIG barra in the Boyne river down stream. We did a flying visit in March to target them on fly with Katrina landing her best on fly at 98cm & my new PB now sitting at 124cm
The weather finally improved in March & the longtails have been thick up the Island – even managed to get the fly rod out again …
So how does it all perform? Beyond our expectation is the short answer with some great fish coming over the sides already. This hull has been described by many as being “The best, softest riding, driest, most predictable & above all, safest hull under 5 metres “and we can now endorse all of these comments – It really is that good!
Stability is fantastic & you can have two anglers up front without any trouble at all. The extra wide gunnels also make it easy to get around quickly on a fish when needed. The decks are uncluttered with enough storage to keep everything you’ll need for a day’s fishing organised & close at hand. The non-skid glass decks are fantastic for keeping clean. About the only hassle is removing the passenger pedestal seat to access the rod locker, but it’s still good insurance for carrying more rods than we ever really need!
Over all we couldn’t be happier with our 485SF / Suzuki 60 combo & suggest you check one out of your looking for an amazingly versatile & economical sport fisher that stacks up against anything on the market today – And it’s proudly Australian made!
Feel free to contact me directly if you would like any details on this amazingly versatile hull – Scotto
