The first of the Hooker 6.7m centre consoles was built in 2004. Since then the hull has proved very popular with boaties, with 37 hand-laid shells produced from the mould to date.

The latest layout of the 6.7 Pro Fisherman, supplied by Boat Scene in Cairns, has a new top-deck mould, with the console located slightly forward of mid-ships, creating more fishing room at the back. The high sides, walk-round configuration and eye-catching lines make the Pro Fisherman perfect for the offshore sportfisher who also wants a boat that is equally at home around the resorts and impoundments having fun with the family. In today’s market, the ability of a boat to be multi-functional is becoming far more important.

Workmanship on the Pro Fisherman is, as always, top class, with all stainless steel fittings, inlaid grabrails and a superb finish. The fully self-draining hull and positive buoyancy, to 2C survey standard, makes the Hooker a boat that any angler will feel safe in, heading way offshore to chase the fish of a lifetime.

The Hooker came mounted on an all new Dunbier fully rolled and welded aluminium trailer, which is well worth a mention. All steel components (axles, springs and so on) are hot dip galvanized and it comes fitted with a Hydrastar Brake-A-Way braking system, waterproof LED tail lights, bearing protectors with grease caps and full multi-rollers, making for an easy to launch and retrieve trailer that will last the life of the boat. It weighs in at around 23% lighter than a standard Dunbier trailer, significantly reducing the towing weight.

A great addition to the new layout of the Pro Fisherman is a walk-through transom with a hinged gate, making boarding and alighting much easier for the less agile among us. The fold-down telescopic ladder on the port side feeds passengers straight onto the duck board and through the transom gate. The transom walk-through floor also doubles as a lid for a wet well.

Over the motor is a removable, fully-moulded bait station, with a storage compartment/small wash basin for holding knives, cutters, pliers and the like under the butcher’s board lid. The basin has a large diameter drain in the back corner, with a hose to run muck over the stern. There are also rod holders in the rear corners. On the starboard side there is a fully plumbed live bait tank at the stern, as well as a deck wash stored in the side pocket, making it easy to keep the boat spotless when you’re fishing hard.

The fully moulded centre console is a work of art, with everything right where you would expect to find it. The design, fitting of instrumentation and layout are simply superb. There is a wide flat dash across the full width of the console for storing all those nick-knacks readily at hand, while still being protected from the weather. Passenger grabrails on the rear centre and both sides of the console give plenty of options for the crew to hang on, while remaining protected by the screen and canopy.

The helm seat has a hinged backrest that allows the skipper to troll or fish facing backwards or forwards, and it also contains a large fully insulated esky. In front of the console is another fully insulated esky that doubles as a bench seat, with a padded lid and back rest. All up there are three built-in eskies, with another at the nose. At the foot of the seat is a large under-floor kill pen/wet well.

The all stainless canopy frame is large enough to provide protection from the blazing sun but small enough to allow comfortable walk-round rod fishing. A high quality soft canopy keeps the sun and rain off, and there is a four shot rocket launcher on the trailing edge, along with deck light, anchor light and twin fold down aerials.

The nose has two levels. There is a lower fully insulated esky/storage compartment which doubles as a seat, and the top level has twin self-draining anchor wells. I have always found this to be an excellent set up, as it allows both reef and sand/mud ground tackle to be carried ready to use, without the often difficult need to change anchors in a bouncing sea. A split cross bollard, with lock pin, means the anchor can be left on the bow roller when shifting between anchorages.

The Hooker, as tested, was fitted with a 200hp Suzuki four-stroke, which is the perfect power unit for the Pro Fisherman. It got the Hooker out of the hole in an instant, producing 34km/h (21mph, 18 knots) at 3000rpm, 43km/h (27mph, 23 knots) at 3500rpm, 51km/h (32mph, 28 knots) at 4000rpm, 58km/h (36mph, 31 knots) at 4500rpm, 64km/h (40mph, 35 knots) at 5000 rpm, 71km/h (44mph, 38 knots) at 5500rpm and hit 77km/h (48mph, 42 knots) doing 5800 rpm at W.O.T.

The Pro Fisherman handled like a dream, staying dry and eating the atrocious conditions, whipped up by a howling sou-easter interspersed with rain squalls. I had the feeling that I would be very safe having to come home from the reef in bad weather.

All up the 6.7m Pro Fisherman is the ideal all round bluewater boat that can accommodate the serious fisherman equally as well as the family wanting to have a safe, comfortable day outing, exploring the islands or reef.

For further information on Hooker Boats contact Boat Scene in Cairns on (07) 4033 8800 or check out the full range of Hookers at www.hookerboats.com