3.7 Tarpon

I’ve been asked a number of times over the years about the little skiff I’m running, so here it is, the 3.7 Tarpon 

Specs, straight up:

3.7m

42kg

15hp

Fibreglass / Kevlar composite

These skiffs first popped up on the Australian boat market when I was much younger. They grabbed my attention straight away, even though at the time I didn’t really want a boat, I was more than content fishing the rocks. 

Years rolled by, four boats came and went, and then one popped up on Gumtree. Thirty years on, these things are hard to find in good condition, and of course this one was in Brisbane, some 900km away. But you do what you have to do. The next day we made the journey.

That was seven years ago now.

Since then, this little skiff has performed exactly as it should. Lightweight, flies with a 15hp, and floats in next to nothing over the flats. For tight water fishing, I still reckon it’s one of the best small-boat platforms going.

It’s not without its limits. Open water with chop, or the wake from a tug boat, will see water come over the bow. But pick your days and even a 15km run up a dam is doable and safe.

Over those seven years, plenty of things have come and gone. Gear sold, swapped, upgraded, always chasing something bigger, better, or simpler. Everything on this rig has come from Marketplace or swaps. Nothing is brand new, and that suits me just fine.

For a small fishing rig, she’s just right for my style of fishing.

Not everyone’s cup of tea — but no boat ever is. 

Cut Back Thumping Wake

 Small by nature, but big on presence. This cut-back wakebait design keeps everything clean and simple, while the thumping tail does the heavy lifting,  pushing water, sending out the right sonics, vibration, and surface disturbance to get noticed.

Built specifically for surface fishing, tuned for feel and feedback, and made to be fished slow, this is a lure that comes alive at minimal speed. No excess, no fluff,  just the fundamentals done right.

A simple wakebait, but far from subtle

Cut Back Rat

 Small by topwater rat bait standards, but still holding onto the key features that matter. This compact surface lure is designed to keep things minimal without giving up action.

Weighing in at just 15g, this lightweight topwater lure lands softly on the water, perfect for tight spots and spooky fish. Once it starts moving, though, it pushes water and creates a solid surface presence well beyond its size.

A simple lure design, but still big on surface action

Another Wake-Up Call

 Well,  the kind you want.

Another lure doing what it was built to do,  telling stories from the water. This time it was a message from Adam, which went something along the lines of:

“Finally got a chance to cast your lures around. Loved it,  and so did 20-odd Murray Cod”

220mm Wakebait with the added Thumper tail

That’s always a welcome wake-up call. Real fish, real rivers, and handmade timber lures doing their job exactly as intended. Whether it’s a wakebait or swimbait, there’s no better feedback than time spent on the water and fish willing to commit.

These moments are a reminder of why I keep building, tweaking, and testing custom cod lures,  not for the bench, but for days like that.

Stories like this never get old.

It would be rude not to

Following on from the cut-back wakebaits currently being built, it made sense to also put together a paddler-style surface lure. Same minimalist thinking, same focus on action and balance, just a different way of pushing water.

These two paddler prototypes wiggle and paddle every bit as well as their up-market cousins, proving once again that simple lure design still works when the fundamentals are right.

With new handmade timber lures, fresh ideas, and plenty of testing ahead, 2026 is already shaping up to look a lot better than last year.

Here’s to keeping it simple and chasing a more simple life 

2026 Support your local Artisan

As we look ahead to 2026, plenty of people will be planning and contemplating a New Year’s resolution. Here’s one worth considering, support your local artisan.

Whether it’s fishing-related or not, back the little guys and girls. The makers, builders, and creators having a crack and putting themselves out there.

What started out looking like this (first lure made and mates purchased them)

Quickly became these below 

Thinking back to when I started making lures some 30 odd years ago, it was close mates who first jumped on board and bought lures. Without that early support, I most definitely wouldn’t still be in the handmade lure game today. And it wasn’t about the money, it was the feedback, encouragement, and ideas.

“Have you tried this?”

“Have you thought about that?”

Blast from the past. These were sold through a local tackle store 

That kind of support is what carried me through the early days, and honestly, not much has changed since.

Last year on Instagram there was a post by Jewfish that encouraged people to list their favourite makers, or simply name the garage builders they knew. Something like that is a great starting point if you’re interested in finding and supporting local artisans.

Link attached 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-5C3VXyKTI/?igsh=eHExbTJpemptZWY0

So if a mate is starting something, support them, encourage them, and help drive them to keep at it and get better.

It matters more than you think.

Up the Creek With a Paddle

 With the busiest time of the year upon us, the Christmas / New Year period, it was still a genuine surprise to find a small piece of solitude tucked away up the creek. I’ve been fishing this tight water for close to 30 years now, usually slipping in three or four times a year when the opportunity presents itself.

Over the past three days I’ve been pushing right up into the tight, narrow sections and snag-choked water, and haven’t seen another soul (other then my son who tagged along on one of the days) It’s a good reminder that there are still quiet creeks and backwater systems out there if you’re willing to paddle a little further.

What this place lacks in size, it more than makes up for in numbers. Each session produced between 10 to 20 bream landed in a short 1to 2hr session, and that’s after actively pulling the lure away from the smaller fish. Around most snags, small packs of bream could be seen tracking and following the lure right to the SUP

We did lose a couple of better fish after parting ways, and yes, three lures were sacrificed to these little brutes. That’s creek fishing. Tight quarters, sharp structure, and the price you pay for fishing properly in close.

All signs point to one thing, it’s time to produce more of these slim, jerkbait-style lures, purpose-built for creek bream fishing, tight water, and close-quarters casting.

Some places are still yours, if you’re willing to go looking.

The New Gold Standard

Midway through the year I started playing around with some gold leaf flake finishes on a few handmade timber lures. At the time, I wasn’t overly convinced. They looked good on the bench, but I wasn’t sure how they’d translate in the water.

Today changed that.

Oh my.

The conditions must have lined up,  moon, sun, stars, and whatever else controls these things, because the result was outstanding. The water carried just a touch of colour but was still clear, and the gold flash from the lure could be seen from a surprising distance. Exactly the kind of visual presence you want from a custom lure.

The number of fish definitely outweighed the size of the fish, but even then, oh my once again. The response was instant and consistent, proving this gold flake colour has serious potential in real world fishing conditions.

This finish has well and truly set a new benchmark. I’ll definitely be looking at producing more timber lures in this gold leaf colour combination moving forward.

#GoldLeaf

#TimberLures

#HandmadeLures

#CustomLures

#Swimbait

#SurfaceFishing

#AustralianFishing

#LureTesting

#OnTheWater

Tis the Season

It is the season.

I was a little slow on the uptake this year, with only two Christmas-themed lures heading out to a couple of good bass fishing mates. These were simple, festive takes on my usual handmade timber bass lures, built more for fun than fanfare.

Thinking about it now, it’s been many years since I last made Christmas-themed fishing lures. Those early attempts were a visual fail, questionable colour runs, but they were a clear winner in action. The fish didn’t care, and that’s always been the point.

Cracking EP by Cleaver

Seasonal lures are a reminder that lure design doesn’t always need to be serious. Sometimes it’s just about sharing a laugh, testing an idea, and putting a working custom lure in the hands of good people.

Maybe next year I’ll get myself sorted and start early, but then again, that’s part of the tradition too.

By the way. 

Merry Christmas 

Scratches Tell the Story

 After what’s been a pretty rough week in Australian history, and that’s all I’m saying, not getting into politics here. It was genuinely good to receive a warm and fuzzy message that reminded me why I do this.

Zac sent through an image with a short message along the lines of “All scratched up… another story to tell.” The photo showed the handmade timber lure still hanging from the Murray Cod’s mouth, battle scars and all.

My reply was simple: “Scratches are my love language.”

Not long after, another image came through, Zac cradling a true river monster, a proper wild Australian native fish, taken on a custom swimbait that had clearly done its job.

Those scratches, teeth marks, and worn timber are exactly what these lures are built for. Each mark tells a story of a cast made, a swimbait rolling through the water column and a cod that committed.

These moments, real fish, real rivers, real stories, were exactly what I needed this week.

Super size, Up scale

Why not?

When a cut-back, minimalist bass size wakebait starts to really excite you, the next logical step is to up scale the design for Murray Cod. Same fundamentals. Same clean lines. Just more timber, more presence, and more authority in the water.

This up sized cod wakebait keeps everything that worked in the smaller version, but adds a serious dose of attitude with the Thump Tail. The result is a lure that thumps hard, pushes water, and announces itself long before it reaches the strike zone,  exactly what a big surface cod lure should do.

Rigged with a single 3/0 hook on a double split ring, sits low in the water, right where a hook needs to be. In theory, it’s positioned perfectly to maintain a clean wake, solid roll, and consistent surface presence at slow speeds.

Now it’s time to take it off the bench and into the real world. A couple more need to be built so they can be properly tested,  cast, cranked, bumped, and fished the way a handmade timber cod lure should be.

Simple ideas. Scaled up.

Now for the real-world test.