Bonito’s Best – The All-New 620CC – By Rob Taylor
Growing up in the 80s as a super keen fishing kid from northern NSW, I gorged on VHS videos featuring the late Mal Florence’s exploits in some mystical place called North Queensland. Massive GT’s, brutal red bass and immense coral trout were wrestled out of crystal clear water against a backdrop of coral reefs so mesmerising they defied description. I knew then, even as a young kid, that I’d one day fish those reefs and chase those fish.
Nothing like a new hull slipping out of its mould. The all-new Bonito hull reveals her modern take on some classic lines.
Fast forward 40 odd years and I’m standing on the cast deck of the second ever Bonito 620CC throwing foot long stick baits at a rampaging pack of GTs 120kms offshore from Mackay. I’d made it to the Great Barrier Reef. There was plenty of planning and logistics that went down to make the move from NSW to Mackay with my wife and dog but given the sole motivation behind the move was fishing, the item I put most thought into was which boat? I’d just sold my trusty Bonito 560CC which has caught me everything from flathead in the Nambucca River to blue marlin way out past the 1000m line off Coffs Harbour. While I had every confidence in that little boat I knew I needed something bigger and faster for the long runs fishing the reefs off North Queensland dictate along with a number of other vital factors including range, speed, storage, safety, economy and fishability.
Knowing I needed to get it right first go, I looked into a range of boat builders but something kept drawing me back to Bonito, particularly given the Brisbane-based builder had just launched their flagship 660CC. I flicked off an email to Adam at Bonito and we chatted a few times over the phone before I pulled the trigger and ordered a 660. The brand has received a new lease on life since being taken over by Adam and his uncle, Mackay-based Greg Reynolds, and the pair have wasted little time revamping the line up and bringing new hulls to the Aussie market in lengths of 620, 660 and a behemoth 760 which is currently in development. All hulls can either be centre consoles or cuddy layout. With that range and modular options, Bonito must surely now offer one of the best boating line-ups in the country.
Even protracted fights on heavy gear are made easier with the design layout of this boat.
To shorten a long story, a couple of months later I’m standing in the doorway to the Bonito factory, Adam at my side and with the intention of checking out a pair of 660 hulls fresh from their moulds. Given every boat owner’s tendency to anthropomorphise their boats with a female gender, I felt like a cheater when I saw off to the side of the factory the first Bonito 620CC ever to be built. It was clearly a case of love at first sight and I changed my order on the spot which Adam patiently accommodated and a few days later the build of my dream boat was underway.
There was little reprieve for Adam though as I had a specific list of requirements I needed this boat to satisfy. I wanted at least 600kms of range to allow me to hit the outer reefs without jerry cans. I wanted plenty of storage as I’d be doing long range island camping trips. I wanted a cast deck the missus and I could sleep on. I wanted a dry and comfortable ride that allowed at least 33 knots of cruising speed and quick out of the hole for bar crossings on trips back home to NSW. Oh and it needed to have walk around fishability and tank-like toughness as I wasn’t planning to go easy on her. If that wasn’t enough for Adam to keep busy, I wanted it to be the best priced centre console in its class in the Australian market.
This is also a family sized boat that allows for a great day on the water everyone can enjoy.
I knew from day one I’d picked the right boat builder as Adam was always available for a chat, flexible to accommodate several design changes and patient and transparent enough to send me constant build updates with pictures and detailed explanations of the build process. A few months after I put in the order, I rolled out of the Bonito yard with the all new 620CC in tow and headed north to Mackay. I couldn’t contain the excitement though so the missus and I put the boat in at Urungan and shot up to Wathumba creek for a few nights camping with the dingos. Anchored in the quiet creek waters I got a full appreciation for the boat and an inkling of what she’d be capable of.
Featuring full fibreglass construction free from any timber and with the hull and deck glassed together for strength, this is truly one tough boat. At 6.2m from bow to transom and with a flared bow, deep vee and 22.5 deadrise this boat carries the hallmarks of another tried and tested hull, the Haines V19r. But don’t be fooled into thinking the boys at Bonito have simply rehashed an old Haines hull. No, the 620CC is an all new hull from the ground up and sets a new bar for Australian built centre consoles that, when taken as a whole, is hard to beat.
On the water the Bonito’s svelte lines belie a toughness that is well suited to Australian conditions.
While every Bonito can be configured to suit any buyer’s needs, I went with an extended cast deck with a three-fold purpose catering for sleeping, storage and fishing. Wide walk around, non-slip gunwales surround the cast deck which add another level to fish from. From the signature Bonito engraved bowsprit we move down the boat to the deep anchor well which has more than enough capacity for a significant drum winch. The cast deck is next and for my boat I went with two separate storage sections, one of which doubles as a 50mm insulated mackerel box that a full grown fisho could sleep in, it’s that big. Commensurate with the all-new hull Bonito has developed an all-new console which is a serious work area that can take two 12-inch screens or, as in my case, a single 16-inch Simrad EVO 3 NSS16 with C-Maps. There’s three internal storage shelves and tubing heading for and aft allowing for ease of wiring in case new wiring is needed to add gauges, screens etc. Next we have a Relax’n T-Top, rocket launchers and seat box, all of which I can’t recommend highly enough. There’s two extra long glassed in internal side pockets on both sides allowing for yes, you guessed it, even more storage. Four recessed cleats and six rod holders line the top of the gunwales in another clear sign the boys at Bonito have left nothing out.
The reversible bench seat is a game changer for me as you can comfortably sit on it like you’re on the couch at home while doing a two hour run to the reef. It’s perched atop a huge, configurable dry storage box. We then move down to what is best described as one serious transom area that itself doubles as a rear casting platform featuring two storage areas you can stow yet more gear in and raised platforms for both the crank and electronics batteries. In the middle of these two storage areas is a neat live bait tank featuring a glass window to see the condemned. The boat is completed by two huge transom steps which neatly conceal Lenco trim tabs and feature a stainless step ladder for those lazy island days at anchor.
Deck and hull come together midway through the build.
The transom allows for twin or single power plants and I opted for a single 200hp Suzuki which clocks a stop speed of 43 knots but will comfortably push the hull along at 33 knots while spinning the stainless three blade at 5000 revs. At that rate I can get 170km for 100 litres which is an immense range for a boat of this size. Under the floor sits a gigantic 380 litre fuel tank meaning this boat can get me to the hardline and back and then some on one tank alone. If you want to outrun everyone, get the XT hull with a 300hp on the back and you’ve got yourself a 50 knot plus boat. More speed than you’ll ever use.
The boat’s real first test came following our return to Mackay when a promising wind window sent me into a planning spin with the aim to head out wide and jig a mark on C-maps some 140kms east of Mackay. This is a serious run in any boat but I’d previously slept in the 620 overnight solo in the lagoon of Credlin reef and made it to a secret blue hole ultra wide off Airlie so I had full confidence the hull would get me there and back with a box of fish. On the way out I anchored in the lee of the beautiful Scawfell Island and swagged it on the beach. At 4am the following day I was up and punching the 620 into an oncoming sea in pitch black. I haven’t touched much yet on the ride quality of this boat as I like to save the best till last.
The Bonito has a serious transom area for a boat of this size, with steps, optional ladder, non-slip cast areas, clear live bait tank and raised storage areas.
This is the driest centre console I’ve ever been in. Nothing comes close. My original plan was to get clears around the t-top which I did need on the 560 but with this new 620 clears would only serve to keep the cold out when snapper fishing down south as the boat is otherwise dry. The hull eats up chop, refuses to broach in following seas and I’m yet to hear it bang. I’ve crossed the Wooli bar in her and hit some solid waves getting out, none of which phased the boat. You can see footage of the spray deflection while underway on my YouTube fishing Channel Rob Taylor’s Hot Water and I encourage you to take a look as video says it far better. There’s a full boat review episode on the channel which will give you a visual sense of just how good this boat is.
Needless to say, I found that distant mark in 60m and ended up enjoying one of the wildest jigging sessions of my life. Every drop with an 80gm Nomad Buffalo saw either giant trout, nannygai or red emperor piling on and I was stuffed by midday after fighting fish all morning. I then drifted over some reef flats in 1.2m of water on the way back and got beaten up by some GTs but such is life and such is the versatility of the all new Bonito 620CC. When back at the ramp, a quick look at the gauges tells the story, 412km travelled over two days and well over a third of a tank of fuel left!
In testimony to the boat’s versatility, it’s a great platform to jig from allowing for fishos to chase bottom fish such as this solid trout.
