Willy Lomas, better known online as William the Fisherman, has a gift for turning a solo fishing trip into compelling viewing. His most recent run out to Great Barrier Island delivers on every front: pre-dawn crossings, snapper sitting in barely a metre of water, a boat wedged in a creek as the tide empties out, and the kind of beachside chaos that makes for great storytelling, all captured from the deck of his aluminium rig, Bustups.
A lifelong boatie who grew up fishing the Manukau Harbour before heading to the Far North, Willy has built a following around his softbaiting skills and his knack for working tight wash zones with a GoPro rolling. He is now one of the more recognisable faces in the small-boat fishing space, and this Great Barrier mission is a solid example of why.
The trip starts at 2:30am with a solo crossing to the island. Willy tucks Bustups into a hidden lagoon and makes camp ashore, with his mate Logan joining him later. Bustups is a 4.85m aluminium rig built for exactly this kind of work, fitted with a raised transom, walk-through windscreen, and a hull that handles shallow, rocky ground without drama. The outboard brings Lean Burn ECOmo technology, BLASTâ„¢ low-speed torque, and a 17A alternator to keep the Garmin running throughout.
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That electronics setup earns its keep early, helping Willy and Logan read the bottom and locate fish holding in less than a metre of water. Working shallow guts and rocky ledges with his preferred softbait and jighead combination, Willy pulls some solid snapper, including one that takes the lure on the drop and another that tests his braid hard before coming to the boat.
Not everything runs smoothly, which is half the appeal. Bustups ends up wedged in a creek as the tide falls away, leaving Willy to wait on water surges to work her free. Later, a midnight anchor drama has him thigh-deep in the tide wearing nothing but his jocks, manhandling the boat back off the beach. A fuel run to Port Fitzroy turns into its own saga when a lack of signal and empty funds leaves the boys without gas.
None of it dents the mood. Meals come off a Cobb Grill beside an open fire, snapper and wraps eaten with tomatoes straight from the garden. Willy shares a discount code, bustup, for 10% off a Cobb Grill. The evening winds down with a surfboard paddle out to Bustups sitting at anchor, the kind of low-fi ending that suits the whole trip perfectly.
The recipe is straightforward: a well-sorted hull, a reliable outboard, decent electronics, the right rods, and enough patience to ride out the moments when things go sideways. Willy Lomas and Bustups make the case that a modest budget is no barrier to a genuinely memorable island adventure.
