ALTHOUGH he’s not one to blow his own trumpet, Fisho writer Chris Cleaver is well known as being a freakishly talented angler, writer and photographer. His many articles, images and video clips reveal his angling passions – if it’s got fins, Chris will chase it!
Cleaver recently offloaded his trusty Edgewater centre console and ordered a bigger model, a 188C powered by an E-TEC 150. That new boat arrived last week.
What happened on its maiden fishing voyage will blow you away!
The new boat in all its glory…
Cleaver takes up the story:
“After what seemed like forever the new vessel arrived. Skeeter/Edgewater Boats Australia only took several days to have it fitted out with the Evinrude 150 and Simrad/Minn Kota electronics.
“Last Friday afternoon I had it on the back of the ute in transit to the river to get a taste of what my hard earned bucks had got me. I zipped about the river getting a feel for the boat’s attitude and playing with the new sounders. The thing ran like a dream and the trick electronics blew me away. I even had a quick cast after I sounded some fish and scored a fish.
“The initial water test had me satisfied. Saturday was to be the new boat’s official first fishing trip. But what for? Jews and reds were firmly on my mind. I couldn’t decide and rigged gear for both.
“Next morning I woke early and checked the weather outside – a strong westerly was imminent. Jews it was then, though instead of my local Georges River my mind was set on all or nothing. I decided to head north to the Hawkesbury.
“Reaching the ramp at the infamous Hawkesbury bridge I was surprised to see it devoid of cars, trailers and boats.
“I had a spot in mind, a long deep rock wall west of the ramp which had been the scene of many a monumental wipeout in bream comps using blades. I knew these mystery fish were big jew.
“I began casting a large Squidgy, bouncing it back to the boat with a rhythm I know very well. A good 15 minutes passed without much action, though I’m used to it as that is jew fishing. I was just happy to be back on the water and was loving the new rig. I went to commence another lift and noticed some weight so instinctively struck and loaded up on some serious weight.
“Fifty minutes of nail-biting battle had me a nervous wreck.
“The first glimpse finally came into view as the fish slowly rose to the surface. I jockeyed the net around its head, cradled the body and hauled it over the gunwale.
“Stoked! A new PB jewfish of 128cm! Twenty plus kilos caught on 8lb braid and 10lb leader.
What a way to christen the new rig – 128cm of hard fighting jewie on a softie!
“I contemplated heading home, but for some reason decided to keep fishing.
“Five casts later the plastic was slammed by what I was convinced was another beast. It reacted to the strike with a blistering run that had me flat out on the electric giving chase.
“After the fight passed the hour mark, I started to suspect this fish was even bigger than the first. Fifteen minutes later I saw colour. When it surfaced I baulked at how I was going to manage landing it solo. The fish had fought itself to a stand still – it was bloody huge!
“Truth be told, I was completely shocked by this catch. I’ve chased jewies for the best part of 20 years and at 141cms and 30kgs, this was a fish well beyond my dreams.
“To catch it on the maiden voyage of my new boat was icing on the cake!”
Pretty awesome stuff, hey? For the record, Chris caught the big fish on 10lb braid and 12lb leader. It’s currently getting cast into a mould that will take pride of place on Chris’s wall. The ear bones – aka otoliths – will be donated to NSW Fisheries and much valuable data about the fish’s age will be obtained.
But wait, there’s more! Cleaver’s second fish was a beast of 144cms, yeehah!
No doubt Cleaver will be scaling (get it…?) new fishing heights if his first outing in the new Edgewater is anything to go by…
Cleaver’s new Edgewater features twin nine-inch Simrad NSS9 Evo II sounders with Structure Scan, an 80lb Minn Kota bow mount electric and it rides on a dual axle Easytow trailer.
We’ll publish a full rundown in an upcoming edition of Fishing World. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more amazing catches as soon as the redoubtable Cleaver gets used to his new rig!
