With miles of pristine coastline, rivers and lakes it's no wonder fishing is one of New Zealand's most popular recreational pastimes. In a country full of folk who love to fish, it’s not surprising that the benchmark and expectations of a fishing boat are set pretty high. So, with the tough New Zealand fishing critic in mind, where better to design and build a boat than right here at home in New Zealand by a team of passionate fishermen and engineers.

Surtees are New Zealand’s top-selling plate aluminium boat built by highly trained staff. Surtees boats have proven to be incredibly popular and are recognised by fishermen all over the world for their quality, safety, stability and practical features.

Surtees, built to fish.

ET Talks about Surtees

The Surtees 650 Game Fisher is the perfect fishing trailer boat incorporating a massive rear deck and comfortable front cabin with a load of great storage.
At first glance the fishability of the boat is evident. The 650 has huge deck space to accommodate four anglers bottom fishing or a bunch of anglers chasing Tuna, Mahi Mahi, Marlin and Swordfish.A live bait tank sits below the walk in entry point and with long side pockets.
The bait table with its tackle draws and three welded rod holders sits at the back of the 650. Below this two deep cycle Century Batteries are wired up to power the vessel.
My front dash has twin Garmin electronic fish finders attached ensuring we are never guessing about the depth our location and what fish species are around our boat. Another Garmin unit sits on the rear bait table allowing anglers to keep an eye on what’s going on in all directions.
With Garmin Auto Pilot and Radar this 650 Surtees has the works and is safe in all appropriate sea conditions.
The ride is amazing and is enhanced with the Honda 200 horse power powering the boat along. These motors are fuel efficient, quiet and start first time every time in my experience. With a 250 litre fuel tank the Surtees 650 Game Fisher can travel far and wide on the hunt for Sportfish.
A 72 litre National Luna fridge freezer combo sits under the passenger seat and is powered by a Battery box containing a 120AH Century Deep Cycle Battery. The Century is in turn powered and recharged daily by two 100 KW KT Solar panels mounted on the boats Hard Top.
Up on the roof the Surtees 650 has 8 rod holders to keep all my Shimano gear safe and sound while underway.
An attachable roof shade extension piece provides more cover for hot and wet days and packs away easily when not in use.
The front cabin has a cushioned bed and Toilet so overnight trips are possible.
Loads of storage is available in the front cabin and we utilise this area a lot when filming each show.
A large water tight window allows easy access to the anchor well.
I have a Lone Star Anchor Winch to deploy and retrieve our heavy anchor and chain. This system is fantastic and the Lone Star winch is a priceless product we couldn’t do without.
Reelax out riggers and tuna tubes enable us to quickly turn this boat into a true game fisher. Marlin, Tuna, Sailfish, Wahoo and Mahi Mahi are species that this 650 handles easily.
To top this boat off we were able to fit 6 Revolution 360 rod holders along the wide rear sides. These 360 rod holders allow anglers to position their rods on three different angles allowing lures to be spread to ensure no tangled lines.
On the road the Surtees 650 Game Fisher rolls along on a Dunbier Trailer. I do tens of thousands of kilometres each Series so it’s vital to have a trailer that suits the vessel and is strong.
I love the Surtees Game Fisher Series of trailerboats. My 650 has caught me a ton of great fish and safely taken me to some amazing locations.
I am looking forward to filming and fishing in these great Surtees boats for years to come.