NEIL PATRICK

Hall of Fame Inductee – 2015

Award presented by Jim Harnwell

In 1995, not long after I started working at Fishing World, Neil Patrick in Fremantle, WA, called me to welcome me to the tackle industry. I still recall feeling pretty chuffed to get a personal call from one of the big players in the Aussie tackle sector in only my first few weeks at the magazine.

I was a young and wet-behind-the-ears editor, feeling my way into a new world of personalities, egos and tackle business rivalries. Neil’s phone call was a major boost to my confidence. He wouldn’t even remember it, but his taking the time to welcome a young nobody to the industry says a lot about Neil’s personality and ethics.

It’s often been said that the little things that make the difference. In this case, I’d argue pretty strongly that Neil’s being friendly and welcoming to a nonentity who’d just started work at a little fishing magazine on the other side of the country goes a long way towards explaining why he commands such international respect, admiration and regard.

Over the years, I have gotten to know Neil and his son Ben pretty well. It was always good to catch up with them at the annual AFTA shows and see the latest innovations in Aussie lure design and construction. I had the pleasure of going on several fishing trips with the Halco crew, including a memorable mothership expedition to Exmouth and other trips out from Perth around Rottnest Island.

These trips were great fun, filled with plenty of fish and lots of laughs. However, I soon learnt to avoid drinking too many of Neil’s G&Ts—they are lethal!

Halco was and is a very loyal supporter of Fishing World magazine and the Australian fishing media. As the years passed and I took on more responsibilities with Yaffa Media, I always appreciated Neil and Ben’s professional and ethical approach to business dealings. 

Finding out more about Halco’s origins from Neil was also an eye-opener. Many younger members of the tackle industry may not realise that Halco was founded in 1950 when Hal Cooper, an engineer by profession, started producing metal slices and spinners. Neil purchased the company in 1980 and expanded the product range to include hard bodies like the Laser Pro, Combat and Tremblers while continuing the production of Twisties, Streakers, Sliced, Wobblers and Barra Spoons.

Neil also acquired the RMG range of native and barra style lures, adding such favourites as Scorpions, Poltergeists and Rellic-Docs to the line-up. The RMG acquisition was followed up with a similar buy-out of the Tilsan brand. These high-quality wooden lures added a further dimension to the Halco line-up.

It’s fair to say that when Neil started developing the Halco brand, companies based in Europe and America dominated the mass lure market. Under Neil’s guidance, and undoubtedly aided by his corporate experience in the shipping industry, Halco was the first Aussie lure company to take the big boys on at their own game. Neil’s work in building a solid business foundation has since allowed Ben, who took over the company in 2001, further to expand Halco’s presence into the global arena. The company now exports products to more than 70 countries – not bad for an outfit with such humble beginnings.

Halco still produces the classic metal lures first developed by Hal Cooper over 65 years ago. Proven favourites such as the Laser Pros and Scorpions have been tweaked and improved, and Ben Patrick, along with his long-time colleague Tim Carter, has also developed an array of new and innovative lures, including the Roosta popper range, Hammas, Skim Sticks and Max bibless minnows.

Although he’s now officially retired, Neil remains chairman of the Halco Tackle Company and, doubtless, provides Ben and Tim with valuable advice and guidance.

Like many in the Australian tackle industry, Neil Patrick is an avid fisherman. He’s probably best known for his exploits in the game fishing arena, having fished with his friend and mentor Sir Garrick Agnew in the pioneering days of the WA marlin scene. As a point of interest, Neil was the first angler to tag and release a blue marlin at Perth’s famous Rottnest Trench.

Neil’s preferred fishing involves trolling lures on stand-up 80lb tackle for big marlin. He’s fished up and down WA’s immense coastline aboard his trusty Randell 46, Safari II, and at most of the international billfish hot spots.

Perhaps Neil’s most significant achievement in game fishing was the capture and successful release of a black marlin estimated at 1200-1400lbs at the Tropic Star Lodge in Panama. Acclaimed marine biologist, artist and photographer Guy Harvey took a famous image of this huge fish launching itself clear of the water. The sheer size of the fish is jaw-dropping. This marlin would almost certainly been a new 50lb word record, but Neil chose to release it. The fish was satellite-tagged by Guy Harvey and is recorded as swimming 1200 miles in the two months following its release.

As well as being a passionate angler, Neil has been closely involved with fishing conservation and has fought for angler rights for many years. According to his profile on the IGFA website, he “served as president of the Perth Game Fishing Club from 1981 to 1985, and in 1986, he was voted president of the Game Fishing Association of Australia. Neil’s desire to see marlin and other pelagic species remain viable and sustainable earned him the position of Recreational Representative for the West Coast Tuna Management Advisory Committee, where he fought to recognise the value of the recreational offshore pelagic fishery against the commercial sector. His concern for the Indian Ocean’s marlin and other pelagic species stocks has led him to attend several Indian Ocean Tuna Commission meetings where he voiced the concerns and opinions of recreational fishermen”. Neil is an IGFA Trustee and is also Co-Chairman of the IGFA’s Fisheries Conservation Committee. In 2013, he was elected as the founding Chairman of Keep Australia Fishing, with the mission to engage Australia’s recreational fishing community to protect, promote and further develop recreational fishing opportunities.

Few anglers in Australia or internationally can claim such an impressive record of selfless dedication to the recreational cause. It’s little wonder that in 2015, Neil became only the fifth person to be inducted into the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) Hall of Fame.

Even more impressively, Neil was also inducted into the IGFA Hall of Fame in 2015, becoming one of only five Australians accorded this singular honour.

On behalf of AFTA, I’d like to thank Neil Patrick for all he has done for our industry, including taking the time 20 years ago to call a young editor and make his day.