How it all began
   

Our CEO

PATRICK VAN HEERDEN
  

Life’s too short for a bad day’s fishing!

I started fishing at the age of four and clearly remember that first time and catching my first fish on the east coast of South Africa. Fishing started off as rock and surf and at the age of 16, I was hanging around the local boat ramp at Warner Beach, South Africa and was invited to go deep-sea fishing for the first time. My deep-sea fishing adventure started off as mainly reef fishing (bottom fishing) as well as basic game fishing focused on Spanish mackerel and Mahi-Mahi.

As anyone who has experienced it will tell you, there’s just nothing like a big game fish tearing line off a reel. From calmness and serenity to bursting excitement and maxed-out adrenaline! The thrill and excitement of a blue marlin strike and it rocketing out of the water are moments that you remember for a lifetime. That’s why I have such a passion for getting people onto their first billfish. We decided that if we can increase the chances of catching game fish on a trip out, we want to give that opportunity to everyone, because “Life’s too short for a bad day’s fishing!”

We started thinking about the area that a boat can cover towing a lure spread and/or teasers. This coverage area is just a thin veneer in the ocean, and you really are limited to the area from which you can attract game fish. What if we could increase that coverage area, or area of effectiveness, to attract a game fish from out wide on both the port and starboard sides as well as enticing all those fish lurking deeper down. There were frustrating times when we had a few small blacks and some big blues swimming in the spread, following a lure but just not wanting to commit to a strike. I had heard of in-hull lights that many captains believed attracted big game fish. The concept is intriguing but the equipment is expensive to install and not everyone wants to compromise their hull. There are also many other inconveniences with in-hull lights, which is what led to the thinking behind, and the ultimate creation of Game Raiser.

A SMARTER WAY TO FISH

Our Story

Over time, we noticed that: 

• Many teasers rely on reflected light from mirrors, reflective tape, or rigged baits to attract big game fish to your boat.
• Based on the angle of reflection the effective volume of water covered by the teasers can be very limited.
• The efficiency of such teasers is drastically reduced in cloudy and low light conditions such as early morning and late afternoon.
• Game fishermen often spend thousands of hard-earned dollars in fuel alone to catch big game fish, and so we want to maximize the chances of great results for every trip.

The Idea

We decided to create the world’s first electronic teaser. We would use as many high intensity LED lights as possible that can be powered by a boat’s standard 12 or 24V power supply. An electronic teaser that could be towed by big game boats and trailer boats alike.

 To see if we were on the right track we approached Dr. Julian Pepperell from Pepperell Research, an Australian marine biologist and author, and a leading world authority on marlin, sailfish, tuna, and sharks.

Throughout his incredible career in marine science, Julian has undertaken numerous projects on the general biology, life history, movements and stock structure of pelagic fishes, including tunas, billfish and sharks. The majority of his work has been conducted in collaboration with the Australian government, Universities and state fisheries departments as well as with other fisheries agencies and universities around the globe. He is regarded as the father of the Australian Game Fish Tagging Program (operated by NSW Department of Primary Industry), which is the largest Game Fish Tagging project in the world - recently recording its 500,000th tagged fish. Julian has been the keynote speaker at numerous international fishery conferences and symposia over the last three decades and has acted in a leadership or advisory role in nearly every major workshop, symposium or conference on highly migratory fishes at a national and international level since 1988. Julian received the IGFA Conservation Award in 1999 and is also the recipient of the Rybovich Lifetime Conservation Award from The Billfish Foundation, is an Inductee into the Cairns Game Fishing Hall of Fame, and most recently, was inducted into the IGFA Fishing Hall Of Fame for his "significant contributions to recreational angling through a lifetime of scientific research on pelagic gamefish species". We therefore commissioned Julian to compile a comprehensive review and report on billfish vision which he titled “Seeing the Light – What do billfish see?”

This fascinating report showcased the incredible detail in the design and makeup of these fish and more specifically their eyesight and vision capabilities. Billfish eyes are among the largest eyes relative to body size of any fish. Eyes of that size must have evolved for good reason, and for a predator, the most obvious purpose is to detect their prey visually. Billfish are primarily sight-predators, which even applies to them at their smallest size. Billfish larvae just a few millimetres long have enormous eyes, signifying them as extremely efficient hunters of the plankton realm from the get-go. And so, once the design of the electronic teaser began, it was time to bring science and technology together under Julian's guidance.

Our mission 

Our mission is to raise more fish and increase the catch rate per boat whilst recording those exhilarating moments we get with a game fish on the line. Making and saving those great memories with friends and family. We want to make every trip count, which is really the best thing that we as fishing enthusiasts can do. 

Why choose GAME RAISER?

We can’t control the weather or the elements, where the fish are feeding, or even if they’re in the mood to feed! But we can increase our chances of catching more fish with the right gear! We spend $1000s on fuel and gear chasing big game fish and a trip home with 0-0-0 is not the result we want! 

Patent pending, the Game Raiser teaser is engineered with 39 high powered LEDs to increase the effective range covered by a teaser to attract gamefish. Reaching wider and deeper in your trolling or drift pattern. Attracting more fish, switching on those “not in the mood” fish and getting switched-on fish committed to the strike!

Detailed in design, the Game Raiser has been created to imitate the reflections and flashes radiated from a bait ball and feeding frenzies, based on the incredible science in the structure and functioning of the eye of marlin and other game fish.  

A multipurpose teaser, the Game Raiser has been designed as a trolled teaser, drift teaser, spearfishing teaser, tow camera, squid & bait fish night light as well as a mooring light! Adding the Game Raiser to your arsenal you are throwing all you can to increase your chances of success!