The Two Days Boat Hire Prize

Hi there,

Yes I won a very cool prize...

• I won a 2 days boat hire prize.
• In the FFF Seadogs fishing competition.
• It mad me very happy.

The the FFF forum as an annual fishing competition, called the FFF Seadogs, and it is a great competition every year.

I didn't do very good in it last year, but not long ago, I learnt that I had in fact won a door prize, and what a prize!

A two days boat hire from Hooked-up Boat Hire in Darwin.

And here is the voucher to prove it:

Hooked-up Boat Hire gift voucher.

Hooked-up Boat Hire is a family business, started in 2006 and is doing great today. With now six boats to choose from when deciding to go for a fish.

Often while fishing, I have seen their boat pass in front of me, and they always look clean and in great condition.

So I really can't wait to go and use this voucher, and then write all about it!

For once, I will be able to invite someone to go fishing, instead of being the one who always hope to be invited.

I am really impatient about it, I think that it would be a great two days of non stop fishing.

Sadly I still have to wait a little while for the weather to be a bit better.

And If we can get lucky get a few fish that would get me a bit higher on the overall scoreboard of this competition. I have done not too bad in the second round (Which is not finished yet, so I can still get relegated at the bottom of the leader). But the first round was terrible for me, with a big fat donut. I had not been able to find any time to fish the first round, and ended with a big zero for it...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Wallaby Rescue.

Hi there,

Yes today I am going to tell you the story of an Agile Wallaby rescue, in a blog that is usually mostly about fishing.
But bear with me, it has to do with fishing…

It started with a wrongly timed trip on the Adelaide River, near Darwin. A river known for its very large concentration of big salt water crocodiles, Crocodylus porosus.
Jim and I had gone fishing, hopping that the river would have started to drop, but drop it didn't.
In fact we should have been able to see it straight at the boat ramp. I had never seen the water so high on it, while going fishing:

Boat ramp on the Adelaide River.

We couldn't find any calm and clear water anywhere, except in a few little creek flowing in the Adelaide.

The causeway on Goat Island, was under water.

Jim estimated the water  to be flowing at around 15 km per hour. (9.3205679 miles per hour).

So we first started to slowly make our way back, still trying to flick our lures wherever we hopped to find a Barramundi.

When we saw the approaching storm, we decided that a quick run to the ramp was in order.

Storm coming on the river.

Jim went on full throttle, and the mix of rain and wind, made us feel rather cold, to say the least or to stay polite. I bowed my head, trying to protect myself with my hat while Jim was trying to see the floating logs, so no crash would happen.

When suddenly, he stopped and turned the boat around.

Raising my head I asked what was the matter? Jim pointed to a floating, moving thing in the water and said:"there is a possum or something swimming in there".

I looked, and saw the little head bobbing in the water. As soon as it realised that we had turned for him, he started to swam in earnest, in direction of the boat.

I first thought that I should take a photo of it swimming in the fast flowing waters. But remembering that we were basically where they do the jumping crocodiles show, I scooped it quickly in the net. Before it become someone's snack.

Jim pulled out a nice little joey from the fishing net:

Jim and the dripping wet Agile Wallaby.

This was a very nice little guy. Yet in Jim's arms, it soon went a bit feral, started to make funny noises, tried to scratch and bite.

Wallaby onboard.

Quick thinking was needed, I was laughing, so Jim did it, and he emptied a small cooler bag, and presented it to this little guy, who without too much persuasion dived in it head first.

Wallaby in the cooler bag.

It instantly calmed down, so much in fact that we started to worry that he might have suddenly died.

But when trying to pull him out, he showed in no uncertain ways that he was still very much alive.

So we decided to leave him in there until we would be back at the car.

What's in your bag?

And this photograph, is with no doubt the best advertising for Jack Daniel's, Territory style…

At the car Jim put him in a dry beach towel, where it fell asleep, exhausted little thing.

Cute as a button, a sleeping joey.

From there we took it to an animals refuge who in turn would hand it to the local prison. There as part of a program, the inmates will take care of it and put him back in good shape. After what it should be release in the wild.

As a bonus, here is a photo of yours truly, to show you that I was really there:

Holding a wallaby joey.

Thank you Jim for inviting me on this trip.

This is how an otherwise uneventful fishing trip, turned into one that is definitely a memorable one.

Even if once again, I came back home fish less…

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

The Wedding Lure.

Hi there,

It is not often that a fishing lure is found on a wedding table.
But when half of the party is coming from the family of one of the most famous Australian fishing lure designer's, no one should be surprised to see a few lures invited to the marriage banquet.

Not long ago, as I was packing up an office in which I worked for many years, I decided to send back to Rob Gaden two lures that he had graciously lent for an exhibition project I had worked on.
Messages were sent to Mr. Gaden, asking him where I should mail the lures.
His reply was that I could keep one of them for myself, and send him the other one.
That in itself was already a great present, thanks Rob.
But it doesn't stop there.
He told me to call his daughter and to give her the lure in Darwin, instead of sending it interstate.
So I called her...

A few days later, she came to pick up the lure, and had a present for me.
And what a present!

Her dad had asked her if she could give me one of the lures he had done for her wedding guest, the previous year.
This might seem not much to some of you, but to me, it was an absolutely great present.

Taryn had married Phil in July 2012, and her dad had a series of the famous Classic Barra +10 in a special colour, with a special packaging made for the occasion.
Want to see it?

The Wedding Lure.

The writing on the back of the lure says: Taryn & Phil - July 2012.

The back of the packaging says that it is to celebrate their marriage, has some short information about both of the families, and the exact date of the wedding.

I will be honest with you, when Taryn gave me the lure, it was such a surprise that I got some goose bump and the hairs of my arms started to stand straight. 

This to me was a very nice present, from a very personal moment in her life.

I now feel really privileged to have one in my collection, and you can be sure that this one will never be taken out of it's packaging.

Thank you Taryn and Rob, this will be a very precious addition to what my partner call my addiction.

I know some of you might say, that a lure is made for fishing and that I should try it, but I will not.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Jason's Leads

Hi there,

There are many good reasons to add a fishing lure to one’s collection.

It can be because the lure is rare, because it is a really good fishing lure, because it has a story attached to it or because it is a present from a good mate.

Well this lure is ticking the right case in about all of the above…

The lure is a Leads Lures, handmade in Queensland, Australia, by Terry Leadbeater. And yes it is made of timber. People, who love fishing lures, know both, how good these are at catching fish, and how hard it is to find them in the Territory. Despite still being produced today.

My first Leads Lures.

This lure has a story too.

Jason bought the lure around 1997, just north of Cairns.

Then went fishing land based from the rocks, when on his second cast…

Hooked and landed, his first ever meter plus Barramundi on this very lure!

The metery catcher.

Many keen anglers would keep the lure that caught them their first Barra over a meter long as a precious relic.  Some would even send it straight to the poolroom. But no, not him, who one day gave me a call saying: I am cleaning the shed, come around with a plastic bag, I have a few lures for you… And there I got my first two Leads (among many other lures); this was one of them.

For someone like me, still dreaming of catching my first metery. It made me wonder what I would do with the lure that will on day, help me to do it…

But more importantly you might have now guessed it, this was a present from a good friend, and this, makes the lure even more special to me.

Thanks mate.

I wanted to add a Leads Lures to my collection for so long.

Look at how beautiful it is:

Lure portrait.

Yes, I know, this lure never again will swim...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Thank You Rona Green.

Hi there,

Today as a cultural interlude, just a quick thank you to Rona Green.

Not long ago the great Australian artist Rona Green had a raffle on her blog and her Facebook page, I did enter the raffle, and did not win.
But she was very kind and sent me some little goodies, that made me very happy.
Thank you Rona!
That really made my day, because a few year ago, I was living in Melbourne.
Every day back then, I would walk past an art gallery that had some of her work in the window, and most day I would stop for a few minutes and alway enjoyed looking at them.
I would have loved to buy one, but I was not rich, and could not afford it, so to see her work again was great. (Thanks to Red Hand Prints for that.). And I now have a few little things from her...

So what did I received?
First a set of bookmarks:

Bookmarks and business card.

Then two catalogues of her works:

The two catalogues.

An open catalogue.

And some very cool fridge magnets and badges:

Magnets and badges.

The two white ones on the left are the fridge magnet, and the four coloured ones on the right are the badges.

The magnet will go on the home fridge, and the badges will be shared between the lady of the house, the little one and me.

Yes, it means that I will keep two of them and that they will have one of them each.

This is a great way for me to start collecting some of Rona Green's work, and was a great surprise, thanks again.

If you are interested to know more about her work, have a look at her web site:

ronagreen.com .

So, no fish and no Australian landscape in this post, as previously said, this was just a little cultural intermission.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

My First Pflueger.

Hi there, 

This is the short story of how I got my first Pflueger fishing lure.

Some people collect postal stamps, motorbikes or airplanes…

I collect fishing lures. And sometimes in the world of lure collecting, a random act of kindness happens. I promise not to laugh anymore when I see a bumper sticker about it.

One day out of the blue I received a message from Damian (whom I had never met), a member of the FFF forum offering me my first Pflueger lure. On one condition: that I would keep it, and not resell it. To which I replied that this was actually part of my problem: I don’t sell any of my lures, I keep them all and room is starting to be scarce… So you guessed it, I said “Yes Please!” (Thank you Damian).

The lure is a Heavy Duty Mustang Minnow made in Akron, Ohio, U.S.A, circa 1939 by Pflueger. A company that started to make fishing lures in the late 1800s. Later on Pflueger was taken over by Shakespeare and made a lot of different fishing reels. From bait caster to spinning with some fly-fishing reel thrown in the mix.

Anyway back to the lure… this 5 inch long lure was designed for saltwater use and it features metal plates on the back and belly, like a bulletproof vest. The colour of the lure is #9540 also known as Sunfish Scale Finish and is in very good condition. It’s a real beauty.

And here it is:

Yes it came in the box.

Just teasing, ready or not, here it really comes:

Open box.

My first Pflueger.

Yes the eyes are pressed in the wooden body.

Armor plate on the belly.

From above.

With a view of the armour plate on the top of the lure.

Catalogue in the box.

Yes it even came with the Pflueger catalogue:

Front of the catalogue.

On the front you can see that the colour of this lure was made after the printing of the catalogue, so they had to get it on top.

Back of the catalogue.

How nice is that?

The whole shebang is there: box, lure and catalogue. All in very good condition considering the age of this lure.

And you can't appreciate it, but I can tell you that even the smell of it, when you open the box, is very pleasant. I was telling it to one of my work colleague when I was showing her the lure, and she said: "Ho my god, it reminds me of my grandpa!"...

Yes I do feel a bit privileged to now have this lure as part of what I affectionately call my little collection.

After doing a bit of research on this beautiful timber fishing lure I stood there contemplating it, when it hit me: This lure is older than my dad! 

I am not really sure that I will ever have another lure, as old as this one very soon...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

One New BarraGuru.

Hi there,

Yes I have been very lucky, I was offered one more BarraGuru fishing lure.
And once again, it is a very beautiful timber one.

How come I got this lure?
Well it is very simple, I was having a little chat with Tony B. the maker of the BarraGuru lures, and of course it is very easy to guess what we were discussing...
You are right, fishing lures, yes...
And as I was showing him one of his lures in a display, I told him that I really liked the colour and shape of this one, as for some obscure reasons it made me think of an old cafe racer. It was a yellow lure with a black head.
I don't know what chord it strung with Tony, but he smiled at me and said: "I will make you one like that".
This was music to my hears, and I thought that if I was lucky, in a few weeks, maybe months, I would be the happy recipient of a new great hand made fishing lure.
Well, bite me, but in the same week, (talk of a spoilt kid) Tony got this great lure delivered to me.
Thank you Tony.

Here it comes:

My second BarraGuru.

This one to me, will be the cafe racer of my little collection.

Don't ask why, but it remind me of these old motorbikes from the 1960's.

From above.

To me the head and bib look a bit like an ace of spades. And every time that I see an ace of spades, this old song from when I was a tad younger, came back in the back of my head... The song of course is called Ace of Spades by the band Motörhead... 

A tune that I really liked as a kid, which has stuck to some recess of my memory.

Signed under the tail.

Yes 2012 seems to be a very good vintage for the BarraGuru production.

The face.

This is a very well finished wooden fishing lure.

This one too, is made from the Red Cedar that had been stocked by Eric Moller, under his house for his own production. And was later given to Tony by Eric Moller grandson.

The wood this very lure is made from, was stocked in far North Queensland before being moved to Darwin in the Northern Territory, to finally being transform in a beautiful fishing lure.

The origin of the wood, combined with the great work from Tony, make this a very special object in itself.

Now, with this lure, I have decided to do a thing that I normally would never do with any of the lures from my collection...

I will actually try to catch a fish with it.

I would love to be able to give Tony a photograph of a fish caught with one of his lure.

It would be just one fish, and back to the display case.

I know that the lure, might be scratched, and may loose a bit of its original paintwork...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

The Rambling Expat On ABC Radio.

Hi there,

It was a real surprise to have a message from Mario from the excellent radio show Tales From The Tinny from the local ABC team.

He basically was asking me if he could do a quick interview with me, about my last fishing trip on the Adelaide River, and we did it.
Arrabmundi the very good skipper who had taken me aboard his boat for this very trip, had already talked to Mario and had told him to contact me.
This is the very simple way, on how I ended up on the radio.

Here is the link to it: The Rambling Expat on the Radio.
If you are very keen you can go through the two hours program, to hear what I say, and try to recognise my accent...
I'll give you a clue, my artist name is Pecheur, as this is my name on the FFF fishing forum.

This was a fun and unexpected experience.
Fun to do, because talking about fishing with passionate anglers is alway fun.
And I had fun listening to the program, as the guys who are doing it are real characters, in a very good way.

But yes, hearing myself, after over 15 years spent in Australia, is a bit of a shame job...
I sound like if I had just landed on the tarmac...
My shoes still full of dust from the old country...

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

My Blog In The Art Magazine.

Hi there,

Yes The Rambling Expat as been cited in an art magazine.
And not any art magazine, but the very good Art Monthly Australia, which as its name's point out, is an Australian magazine.
Could we deduce from this, that fishing is starting to be recognised as an integral part of the Australian culture?

Now why did they feel the need to write about the blog in the magazine?
Was it for my writing talent?
No.
Was it for my photographic talent?
No.
I think that it was because of a post I did last month about a fishing exhibition being prepared by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, often referred to as MAGNT.

So do you want a proof?
Here is a little photograph of the short piece in which the blog was cited:

Cool, no?

This was a simple, funny and very kind way for the editor to announce the upcoming exhibition. 

This is published in the "Sultry Summer Issue", for December 2011 to February 2012.

Here is a copy of one of the magazine cover for this issue:

One of two...

Yes I did write one of the magazine cover for this issue, and then captioned the image with "One of two"... Why? Simply because for this very issue, the editor choose to have two different cover for the magazine. Depending of your luck you could have this one or the other one when you buy the magazine.

What does the other cover look like?

Just go to the newsagent to find out, or check them out online, they have an electronic version of the magazine available.

And no, I do not get any royalties on the sales or subscriptions to the magazine.

Even if I have to say that yes, this is among the few magazines that I enjoy reading, so this is great.

It is true that after being cited in this magazine, I better have to lift my game in regards to fishing photography. And this worry me a bit, as when I am happily fishing, I do find it hard to focus on the image making thing too... 

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

A few more lures.

Hi there,

Just a few more lures that I recently received.
First is a lure from unknown maker, maybe Killalure, but not sure yet.
(Yes, if ever you were to know who made it, you are more than welcome to let me know).

From one side.

The other side.

From above.

And the belly.

So, do you know who made it?

All I know, is that it is made of timber and was given to me by Double Haul, who told me that it was an Australian one. And that he has caught  many Barramundi with it, to the 90cm size.

So this must be a good lure for sure.

The second one is a Reidy's, from Australia too:

From the side.

From above.

I am very happy with this one, as I already had one in this colour, but not in the same depth. I love to get all the variation on one colour, specially when the colour like for this one, is not in production anymore.

Thank you Double Haul.

Reidy's is one of my favourite lures, for the good reason that they are a local manufacturer from Darwin.

And then, here comes the 303...

The 303 is a lure that was made by the Australian Soldiers who were stationed in the Top End of Australia, during WWII. They didn't have any fishing lures, but they had some ammunition. So the shell casing of the 303 were used as lure for Barramundi fishing. I have seen some old black and white photographs of soldiers using these home made lures, and they had a great success rate, as fish catcher. 

I had been looking for a while for one of these lures since I had heard of them, but was not able to find one.

Till not long ago...

Well in fact, lets be honest, it is a replica, or should I say, they are replicas, because yes I got two of them!

But very well made with a focus on detail and authenticity.

The man who made them for me is Mr. Rex from the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Thank you very much Rex.

And here they comes!

One for the collection.

And one to use.

Yes two of them in one go...

How good is that?

Yes this and the two other lures in this post are some more pieces of Fishing Australiana for the little collection

In fact when Rex gave me the first one, he asked me when I was going to use it.

I of course replied that I was definitively not going to take the risk to lose this lure and that it was going to stay as far and away of any piece of water as possible.

So he quietly left and not long after, brought me a second one to fish with.

Now to say that I felt spoilt, would be a very slight understatement...

I was wrapped with joy!

So did I had the time to test it yet?

No not yet... And I am getting seriously impatient about trying it at one of my favourite land based spot.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.