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Running the rough… breaking in the new Mirage
I recently made the switch from a Maverick Mirage 17 HPX-V to an 18 HPX-V and spent the last couple of weeks breaking in the motor on the 18 HPX-V. The 17 HPX-V definitely had a fun feel to it and just had this personality that can’t ever be duplicated by any other skiff on this planet. It definitely stands on its own. The 18 HPX-V is different in it’s own world and displays much more confidence and an ability to stand firm when conditions are at their toughest. These are two very different machines, both with the same mission in mind.
This is the time of year when fishing can be spotty with the fast warming water temperatures and limited light. I call it the season of uncertainty. The only thing certain about late summer is the tropical activity manifesting in our waters. Tropical systems brewing in the Atlantic and Gulf can turn even the calmest bay into a slaughter house of big chop within a single day… sometimes even within minutes. The last few weeks have brought forth some stormy weather and the 18 HPX has faced some of the nastiest conditions head on crossing some of the biggest chop that I have seen in Biscayne Bay and the Keys. The boat felt solid while running a big windy chop and leaping large swells birthed from large yachts. We’ve covered some great distances in the last few days on the water but when time came for a serious day of fishing, there was no dissapointment. The solid ride got us through the choppy water and the shallow draft got us to the bonefish as we can now pole accross the shallow bar rather then having to go around it. The fishing had been very spotty with short windows of shots. We made due with what we had and took advantage of the new abilities we were given to finally break in this new skiff in many aspects.
Versatility defined… Chucking flies at tailing bonefish in Islamorada, slinging muddlers at Tarpon in Flamingo, and dropping crabs in the path of Permit in Marathon in a single day burning less then 1/2 a tank of gas!
First slime on new boat!
stay tuned…
The end of one and beginning of next…… the INCUBATION.
All my life, I have always tried to seek out the best of the best and this comes especially true when choosing my next flats skiff. This will my my third skiff I own and my third product from Maverick Boat Company as well. Currently, Maverick Boats is building my next skiff… and for the first time, I was able to build one from scratch with every little nit pick detail that I desired. After a 12 year run fishing the shallows from Flamingo to Islamorada, I have finally spec’ed out everything I wanted in a skiff; both for guiding and for fun fishing days.
I learned to run a boat and fish the shallows at age 12 on a Hewes/Maverick Light Tackle 18 flats skiff (currently the Redfisher 18). It had a 2 tone commander blue and white hull with Yamaha 150HP Saltwater Series motor, lots of weight, and a fishy attitude. I tried to get into places where this big flats boat was pushed to it’s limits from big water Dolphin fishing to shallow water Redfishing. This was hardly a skiff, but a big water flats boat, which my buddies and I actually did end up still trying to pole. For many years, I first learned to fish Whitewater Bay before learning how to fish the flats out front in Florida Bay. Along the way, my buddy Capt. Frank had also taught me how to bonefish in Key Largo as well as introduce me to fly fishing. I did a lot of this in either Frank’s Hewes Bayfisher 18 or my Hewes Light Tackle 18. These bigger skiffs were adequate and got me where I needed to be dry and comfortably. I fished the hell out of my 18 Light Tackle from the day I bought it in 1998 until the day I sold it in 2004.
Hewes Light Tackle 18... my first boat!
Flamingo Redfish on DOA... 1999
Maverick HPX-V 17... 2006 to 2010.
Upper Keys Tarpon on Fly... 2010
Hull inside the plug
VARIS... Vacuum Aided Resin Infusion System
In the next few weeks, I will keep an updated blog on Saltyshores of the entire skiff building process that goes into a Maverick Mirage HPX from start to finish. Until next time…. stay tuned for the “Hatching”!!!
Dealing with changes… Winding down for Winter…
Sneak Preview of Hells Bay's new Skate
We were continually blessed with bluebird skies this past weekend. I walked outside in the morning to look at my boat and immediately noticed a difference… a slight chill was in the air, winds were out of the North, and dew had formed on the deck of my boat. This was a definite sign that things are changing as we transition from Fall to Winter patterns.
I joined my buddies Tony and Juanki the first day of fishing as we took out Tony’s new Hells Bay skiff. This new skiff in our arsenal will change the way we fish as well as give us that edge we need when having to pole down a school of speeding bonefish. Today’s mission was to break in the new skiff so we decided we should take the day of fishing more seriously (yeah right). Our seriousness on the water extends only to the point in the day where we start busting each other’s chops. It is always a gauranteed fun day on the water amongst this company. We started out our day with a first shot at a quadruplet of very big bonefish. Tony makes the perfect presentation and gets the eat, only to loose the fish while clearing line. The day was then filled with more exciting moments from, hooking and loosing big bonefish, poling down wads of fish, missing some bites, loosing balance and making a watery entries, and finally breaking in the skiff with Tony’s new signature move… the Islamorada bonefish toss and plunge. There was never a dull moment out on the water this day. I look forward to our next day on the water…
The next day on the water was a definite eye opener. Tim and I decided to take my Mirage out today for a change. Have you ever heard the superstition about your day being over after catching the fish on your first shot of the day? Well, besides only having less then half the bonefish shots as the previous day, both Tim and I caught a bonefish on each of our first shots. This sealed the deal for us as we delt with loosing fish, mising bites, and having to work harder to find fish. These are days you learn a bunch about the bonefishery…especially when you have a bonefish guru (Tim) on the boat with you. Winter is definitely on it’s way. Skies are becoming less cloudy, the water levels are slowly dropping, the air is becoming drier and cooler, fish are starting to get into a transitional phase, and bonefish are getting FAT. Life is good indeed…
Let’s change the pace up a little the next week… until next time…
Wet Test: 2009 Maverick HPX-V 18
During one of my days down in the Keys. Charlie Johnson of Maverick Boat Co. contacted me and we arranged a short wet test for the new 18 HPX-V. Tony and I met Charlie at the ramp and we proceeded to head out into the midst of brewing thunderstorms to test the capabilites of the 18 HPX-V in real life less then favorable conditions. Upon stepping onto the boat, my first impressions were “Wow, this boat is stable”. The 18 isn’t nearly as tippy as the 17 HPX-V given that the 18 is 6 inches wider, making it much more stable. There was a considerable amount of deck room… the boat had a big boat feel while claiming the capabilities of a poling skiff. The creature comforts were great and I especially liked the deeper cockpit and large storage compartments. I wasn’t too fond of the new console but I can see where some would like it. That would be a personal preference though, but I would probably have a tournament console from a 17HPX-V installed on there. Maverick can cator to your custom needs as far as rigging the boat. The 18 HPX-V we tested today had a Yamaha F150 outboard on it… a true powerhouse motor on this skiff I was going to be poling. I had heard claims of how great this larger HPX poles and of it’s shallow water capabilites even with a 150 horse motor… I was skeptical at first.
We motored out of the channel and I eased on the throttle. 150 horses planted into the water and sent us moving at a good clip into downtown Islamorada. We ran around the basins from one area to another and the 18 handled all chop from big cruising yachts to T-strom wind brewed whitecaps without any problem.. we stayed dry and comfortable in less then favorable conditions. It is tough to find another technical skiff/boat with this type of ride quality… the 18 combined a soft dry ride with big water capability while retaining it’s ability to be poled on the flats. We hit the ocean side and I was able to hold the 18 into the current, pole up-wind, pole through rollers, and all conditions simulating what one would encounter during an average day of tarpon fishing on the ocean. After the tarpon test was passed, it was time to make a move to some shallower flats. We popped back in the backcountry and I was poling on a bonefish flat in no time. We heard the pushpole and flyrods buzzing so it was time to pole off and I was able to pole teh 18 off of this flat with barely anymore effort then I would with my 17HPX. The 18 also spun real well and the main difference between this boat and the 17 while poled is the speed at which you will be able to pole it. You can probably pole the 17 a little faster, given its lighter weight and less displacement. I now do beleive though that the 18HPX-V will for fact float shallower then the 17 HPX-V. I can’t wait to see what an F115 will do on this boat draftwise. Even with a F150 on the ass end, the boat was able to get as shallow as my 17 HPX-V with a F90.
Fun factor…
One of the best parts about having a big motor on a poling skiff was after being chased off of a bonefish flat we decided to move far away from the storms and without second thought, we were on the next flat many miles away in no time. The absolute best part was after poling off of a flat near another poling skiff running, we chased down that skiff, sneaking behind them, pinning the throttle, and blowing right by leaving a WTF impression on their faces. The 18 HPX-V claims over 60mph with the F150… I was able to get it up to the upper 50s without hessitation and though I knew I could squeeze more out of it even with 3 passangers, gas, and gear, I was personally hesistant to attempt to break the 60mph my first time on this skiff.
With a fairly shallow draft, big boat feel while retaining it’s technical skiff capabilities; the new 18 HPX-V is in a class all on it’s own. In fact, the last time I was this impressed with a boat was my first time on a 17 HPX-V…and I end up buying one 3 months after that.
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