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GARY HOWARD
WITH the increased interest in lure and sportfishing over the past five years or so, anglers from all around the country have joined what was once a small dedicated group of fishos that spend hours and hours casting lures at snags or trolling lures in search of fish.
With millions of native freshwater fingerlings introduced into our inland waterways, the job of finding these fish has become a lot easier. The dams, filled with food, have seen the stocked native fish flourish.
When sizeable fish can be found in good numbers without a lot of effort, anglers soon follow, hence a quickly growing sector in the fishing industry.
With this of course comes all the gear to go with it, including lures, rods and boats. The aluminium boat builders have long had the big slice of the action here with the various dinghies, punts and barra punts.
The market still grows as refinement of these rigs continues. Over the next 12 months you will start to see a few fibreglass rigs enter this sector of the market. A few will do well and secure a place in this style of boat.
Recently, Brisbane-based boat builders Cruise Craft released the first of their sport fishing rigs, after extensive water trials and fit-outs. Aptly named the Lure, this boat not only looks the part, she is a top little performer on the water.
While not directed solely at the freshwater market, the Lure has been designed to cater for that lure-casting and trolling market, whether it be around the estuaries, in a dam or areas of the bay.
At 4.72 metres the length is certainly there to handle a variety of fishing situations around the country with capacity to fish a couple of anglers without bother.
The first and most obvious thing that you will notice about this particular boat is how soft the ride is in a bit of a chop and the quietness of the hull as it powers over the water.
With the fibreglass rig being a little heavier than alloy you won’t be able to get away with the small motors that you can on an open tinny. In this case the maximum is a 70 horsepower and I don’t really think that you would be too happy with anything less than a 40hp. The optimum would be a 50 or 60 horsepower engine.
As far as a four-stroke outboard goes, the manufacturers suggest that a 50hp is as big as you want to go here due to the weight factor.
Our test boat was fitted with a 60hp Johnson which was more than adequate for this particular rig. The rig is well balanced with smooth and level acceleration.
Due to the main two seats being towards the aft of the boat along with a 90 litre underfloor fuel tank, there is quite a bit of weight aft. The boat comes standard with a small outboard foil which does the job of levelling the ride nicely so the rig is not heavy in the bum causing a bow high attitude.
No matter what dealer you buy the package from, Cruise Craft have already fitted the appropriate foil so there is no need for you to worry about trying to get the ride right.
One advantage fibreglass manufacturers have is that once they have spent the time and effort on getting the original mould right, they can reproduce good characteristics in the hull and the layout not attainable in alloy without a great deal of effort.
This is evident when you have a look at the shape of the hull on the Lure as there are generous outer chines for stability and reduced spray and planing strakes to aid in the performance.
What you end up with is a soft-riding hull that handles smartly out on the water.
As with most boats of a similar category, the features and options available are all basically the same; it is just the manner they are put together and their position in the boat that varies. Most are put together well, while a couple are still a bit on the ordinary side as far as layout goes.
As you would hope to see in a boat designed to do a fair bit of lure-casting there is a raised platform at the bow of boat to form a casting platform. Here you will find a removable pedestal seat, which has two other positions on the lower deck aside from the driver’s position. Hence there is the option to sit and cast or stand and cast.
A little something that Cruise Craft have done differently here is to have a cut-out section in this casting platform into which slides an 85-litre Baileys Ice Box. It is covered by a carpeted hinged lid forming part of the casting deck.
This is a very practical position for the ice box, not just for space-saving and practicality but for balancing the load. Storage is still found behind the ice box and there are two small side lockers where all sorts of gear can be stowed, or they can be easily converted into two tackle hatches.
The layout of the main deck is that of a side console. The three seating positions in this area all use the two demountable swivel seats that come with the boat standard.
There is the position behind the side console, a passenger position next to this and one centrally positioned forward on the lower deck, with a fourth position we mentioned earlier up on the casting platform.
No matter where you sit there is plenty of room to move around, and the rod holders in the gunwales have been placed in the right positions nearby.
The vast majority of the room available under the floor is taken up by the 90-litre fuel tank. This is a good-size tank and eliminates the need to carry any smaller tanks with you on a fishing trip. That is unless you plan to travel a long way. Even a big day out on the water should see you with plenty of fuel left.
Behind the tank there is a lift-up section in the floor where you can store a few more items - but none that you want to keep dry.
With the space in the esky and the hatches under the deck you don’t really need any more space. Foot room under the side console could see you slip an average-size tackle box in here and possibly under the transom area.
The transom has two live-bait wells in it, a cutting board across the motor well and an auxiliary bracket for the electric outboard if required.
A number of rod holders are positioned around the boat with the purchaser having the choice of where to put these.
As a first-up rig, Cruise Craft have done a very good job of putting this boat together. It has many good features both in ride and performance as well as lay out.
Priced in the low $20,000 region depending on how you option up the boat, the Lure is positioned well against its competitors in this field.
Test boat courtesy of Wynnum Marine (07) 3396 9777.