Author: barra

Current BARRA rankings after 2013 Teemburra event.

Ranking	Previous	Angler	Points
1	3	Daniel Grech	206
2	1	Jon Millard	200
3	5	Craig Griffiths	199
4	2	Peter Price	198
5	23	Donovan Power	134
6	35	Trent Power	124
7	21	Colin Brett	119
8	9	Michael Weick	119
9	4	Scott McAuley	119
10	29	Ben Durkin	113
11	19	Karim De Ridder	113
12	32	Luke Katsaros	111
13	7	Keith Stanford	110
14	338	Trent Short	105
15	12	Brendon Barnett	103
16	10	Glen Smith	102
17	52	Dustin Sippel	91
18	16	Geoff Newby	90
19	53	Rick Napier	89
20		Ken Elliot	87
21	353	Willem Reichard	87
22	13	Elaine Sanderson	82
23	33	Shane Sanderson	74
24	15	Matt McArthur	73
25		Aaron Dial	69
26		Cameron Johnson	69
27	317	Stephen Lill	68
28		Martin Brennan	66
29		Ryce Bullimore	66
30		Rex Berry	64
31		Neil Wilson	56
32	6	Rob Wood	54
33	269	Nicholas Moore	52
34	281	Peter Behrens	52
35	17	Phil Lyons	51
36	20	Tom Wood	51
37		Daniel Hurt	49
38	22	Jamie Bein	49
39	212	Keegan Hayden	49
40	92	Ashley Sims	46
41		Georgette Elkins	46
42	30	Daryl Pead	40
43		Greg Thomas	40
44		Jono Clark	40
45	31	Steven Wright	39
46	14	Nathan Chapman	36
47	171	Grant Murray	34
48	351	Wayne Jones	34
49		Ben Wilcox	33
50	36	Stephen Pill	32
51	28	Matt McFarlane	26
52	39	Shane Clarke	26
53		Curtis Land	23
54		Glen Boys	23
55		Justin Land	23
56		Mark Lochwood	23
57	49	Jake Schwerin	21
58	11	Cy Taylor	20
59	8	Kerrin Taylor	19
60		Matthew Zahl	18
61	54	Clayton Walker	16
62		Clinton Honour	16
63		Adrian Osborne	15
64	55	Michael Webber	15
65	63	Ian Napier	14
66	64	Maurie Napeier	14
67	48	Quintin Maclean	13
68	65	John Schwerin	11
69	66	Kyle Broeendale	11
70	67	Scott Hurle	11
71	68	Todd Cormack	11
72	58	Darren Corr	10
73	62	Tamara Stanhope	10
74	72	Adrian Pegg	9

Australian Fishing Championship angler Cy Taylor continued his successful year by claiming a convincing victory at the 2008 Squidgy Awoonga Night Championship, November 23.  

Compiling a 5/5, 478cm bag for the event, Taylor was able to replicate his 2007 victory, easily accounting for his nearest competitor by 118cm.  

Due to a severe weather warning the tournament start was pushed back to allow safe conditions for competitors. So it was an early start for the 46 teams of competitors, setting off at 4am to ply the waters of Lake Awoonga.
Fishing with his brother, Kerrin Taylor, winner of the previous Peter Faust BARRA round, Cy Taylor targeted a flats area adjacent to the main basin, which was punctuated with standing scattered weed.  

Fishing in 3m of water Cy presented a 110 Squidgy Slick Rig Pro, alternating between Drop Bear and True Blue colours. The technique involved letting the lure sink into the weed, before slow rolling the lure free and slightly lifting the rod tip. The lure would then be left to sink into the weed before recommencing the same procedure.  

“Most of the hits came on the initial drop or halfway back to the boat”, explained Cy.  

Modifying the Squidgy Slick Rig, firstly by boiling them to make them swim looser, then adding a small treble to the underside as a stinger hook, gave the Taylor brothers confidence to secure the tough bites on offer.  

Cy took advantage of an early morning bite period, catching four of his five fish limit before 8am. Heading to a nearby point for no success, Cy returned to his original spot, capturing his fifth fish by 8.20am and completing his tournament limit.

  When the bite died off the Taylor brothers, fishing as Team Millerod/Shimano, targeted a shallow weedy point behind Dingo Island. Using the sounder the Taylor boys would search for structure in deep water before targeting it with their presentations. Returning to their original spot over the course of the tournament, only Cy’s partner Kerrin was able to catch any further fish. Heading back to the scoring tent Cy was confident he had done what he could to place himself in contention.  

“I could relax a little when I caught my fifth fish. Conditions out there were tough, especially with the wind becoming a factor. Returning with five fish over 90cm gave me confidence in being competitive at the end of the tournament” explained Cy.  

Cy Taylor used a Millerods Salty Barra rod teamed with a Shimano Curado E5 reel to present his lures. The reel was spooled with 20lb Fins braid and 80lb Black Magic leader.  

When queried on his lighter line choice Cy Taylor explained that the lighter braid was not only easier to cast further but gave improved feel with the finesse style of approach he used in competition. With the results speaking for themselves we may see more anglers adapting this approach in an effort to secure the tournament winning bites.  

Cy Taylor also took out the Squidgy Big Barra prize with his 101cm specimen caught on a Squidgy Slick Rig Pro.  

Matthew Mott, AFC angler and guide at dams including Awoonga and Monduran, secured the runners-up position with his, 5/5, 360cm limit.  

Targeting the steeper banks at the mouth of Iveragh Creek and the points between them, Mott used a super slow presentation of a Storm 4″ Shad in natural colour with green tail to secure his limit.  

Motts game plan was simple, “I just wanted to get my limit, regardless of size”.  

Using the wind to drift along the points and banks, Mott would identify potential fishing areas and use his electric motor to stealthily target these areas  

Identifying the slow retrieve as the key to gaining bites, Mott was aided by the slow ratio on his baitcast reel.  

“The Daiwa Crazy Cranker has a 4.9:1 ratio which works great for the slow style of presentation necessary to draw bites in these tough conditions”, explained Mott.  

Mott’s choice of tackle used to compile his bag included a G. Loomis MBR 785C IMX 6’6″ rod, teamed with a Daiwa Crazy Cranker baitcast reel, spooled with 50lb Berkley Fireline and 60lb Sunline FC Flurocarbon leader.  

The Daiwa Big Barra for the event went to Jon Millard, with the 116cm fish being caught at 1pm whilst fishing a timbered bay off the main basin. The fish was spotted sunning itself in shallow weed at the back of the bay and fell to a Storm suspending shad.  

“I sight cast to the barramundi twice. The first time I thought I had spooked it, but the second cast drew the strike. It went around timber before going to the air. I used a soft approach to eventually get it out and into the net”, explained Millard.  

The battle for champion team was simple for team Millerods/Shimano. With a 9/10, 829cm team bag, they outclassed their nearest competitor by 390cm.  

Issac Toivanen took out the Daiwa Cap prize collecting a great prize pack from Daiwa for being the first angler back to the tag board wearing his orange Daiwa Cap.  

The Daiwa BARRA Tour now travels to Lake Monduran for the final event of the tour, the Halco Lake Monduran 2 day Morning event. To enter of find out more information be at the 7.30pm Friday (28th November) night briefing at the MASA Shelter Shed at Lake Monduran Holiday Village or contact ABT on 07 3387 0888.
 

Place	Angler	TF	TL	Payouts
1	Cy Taylor	5	478	$800, Millerod Hi Roller, Shimano Curado reel, Prize Pack, Squidgy Big Barra Prize
2	Matt Mott	5	360	$500, Blue Acres Lamiglass rod, Prize Pack
3	Kerrin Taylor	4	351	$300,  Shimano Flight Series rod, Prize Pack
4	Glyn Barkhuizen	3	257	$200, Berkley Dropshot rod, Prize Pack
5	Heath Craven	2	181	$200, Berkley Dropshot rod, Prize Pack
6	John Schwerin	2	173	$100, Tackle Bag, Ugly fish sunglasses, Prize Pack
7	Roderick Walmsley	2	171	$100, Tackle Bag, Ugly fish sunglasses, Prize Pack
8	Matt Coleman	2	166	$100, Tackle Bag, Ugly fish sunglasses, Prize Pack
9	Peter Price	2	151	$100, Tackle Bag, Ugly fish sunglasses, Prize Pack
10	Jon Millard	1	116	$100, Tackle Bag, Xtools, Prize Pack, Daiwa Big Barra Prize
11	Aaron Gilmore	1	95	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
12	Mike Connolly	1	92	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
13	Jason Sizeland	1	92	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
14	Carl Rembacher	1	90	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
15	Trevor Burgess	1	90	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
16	David Reynolds	1	89	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
17	Jason Wilhelm	1	88	Tackle Bag, Prize Pack
18	Ken Brider	1	87	X Tools Pack
19	Jake Schwerin	1	86	X Tools Pack
20	Chris Nagiello	1	84	X Tools Pack
21	Michael Starkey	1	83
22	Matt Fraser	1	81
23	Sam Haig	1	80
24	Ken Best	1	79
25	Kerry Symes	1	79
26	Joshua Ballinger	1	78
27	Alan McNamara	1	75
28	Matthew Wallace	1	72
29	Scott Wilson	1	67
30	Daniel Grech	1	67
31	Trent Power	1	64
32	Rob Wood	1	62
33	Danny Anderson	1	60
34	Peter May	0	0
34	Dale Mullins	0	0
34	Greg Angel	0	0
34	Matthew Worboys	0	0
34	Michael Mole	0	0
34	Matt Branthwaite	0	0
34	Daniel Brown	0	0
34	Steven Bechly	0	0
34	Terry Alwood	0	0
34	Ken Berry	0	0
34	Ron Ballinger	0	0
34	Trent Short	0	0
34	Simon Barkhuizen	0	0
34	Jason Crofts	0	0
34	Isaac Toivanen	0	0	Daiwa Cap Prize Pack
34	Tim Carter	0	0
34	David Hodge	0	0
34	Craig Birkett	0	0
34	Michael Schneider	0	0
34	Wes Blanch	0	0
34	Len Schneider	0	0
34	Jim Schaefer	0	0
34	Shane Sanderson	0	0
34	Corey Tarr	0	0
34	Rod Watt	0	0
34	Les Reibelt	0	0
34	Aaron Mogg	0	0
34	Travis Davies	0	0
34	Ian Miller	0	0
34	Paul Starkey	0	0
34	Jock McPherson	0	0
34	Thomas Hayes	0	0
34	Jason Medcalf	0	0
34	Nigel Webster	0	0
34	Arthur Lovern	0	0
34	Trevor Cassidy	0	0
34	Stephen Tracey	0	0
34	Craig Simmons	0	0
34	David Simmons	0	0
34	Stuart Adcock	0	0
34	Edwena Adcock	0	0
34	Elaine Sanderson	0	0
34	Katie Sanderson	0	0
34	Scott McAuley	0	0
34	Paul McKay	0	0
34	Paul Humphreys	0	0
34	Ryan Humphreys	0	0
34	Tristan Taylor	0	0
34	Steve Thornhill	0	0
34	Brad Lovern	0	0
34	Gary Leather	0	0
34	Tim Mulhall	0	0
34	Jon Brider	0	0
34	Adam Meredith	0	0
34	David Whyman	0	0
34	Gary Boyd (USA)	0	0
34	Peter Morgan	0	0
34	Mike North (USA)	0	0
34	Dave Robinson	0	0

 

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Millerods/Shimano	9	829
2	Squidgy – Evacool	6	439
3	Mako Sunglasses	3	263
4	Activeangler.net	3	261
5	Jackall	3	261
6	Fish Catching Machines	3	259
7	Gamakatsu	3	257
8	Shitty Tinny	2	182
9	Little Stiffy	2	180
10	Shimano/Etec	2	163
11	Dam Da Barra	2	156
12	Reidys Lures	2	151
13	Team Berkley Hollowbelly Boys	1	90
14	Team Nitro	1	89
15	Team Tennessee	1	87
16	Team Megabass	1	83
17	Berkley/Nitro	1	81
18	Far Kens	1	79
19	Fishaway Fishing Tours	1	78
20	Own A Barra	1	67
21	Team Reef Marine	1	67
22	Team Gin Gin Hotel	1	62
23	G Loomis-Luckycraft	1	60
24	Bad Heads	0	0
24	Boyne Boys	0	0
24	Budget	0	0
24	Egrell Rodz/Foxies Barra Havoc	0	0
24	Gulpin Xraps	0	0
24	Halco	0	0
24	INDT	0	0
24	Koolabung	0	0
24	Leftovers	0	0
24	Logan River Marine	0	0
24	McBarra	0	0
24	Millerods/QFM	0	0
24	Old Parts	0	0
24	Pure Berkley/Halco	0	0
24	Rum Pigs	0	0
24	Squidgie x 2	0	0
24	Stuuz Rodz	0	0
24	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	0	0
24	Team Humphreys	0	0
24	Team Rovex	0	0
24	The Tackle Warehouse	0	0
24	Worldwide Grumpy Old Men	0	0
24	Worldwide Grumpy Old Men B	0	0

The northern leg of the Daiwa BARRA Tour has been run and won, and the outcome of the southern and overall titles will be known soon. Congratulations to the Northern BARRA AOY winner Jason Crofts with 197/200 points, Jason scores a fantastic trophy, Engel Fridge and is now the hot favourite going into the southern rounds.

Read on for the full results of the northern AOY.
Northern BARRA AOY

Place	Angler	R1- Teem	R2- Faust	Total
1	Jason Crofts	99	98	197
2	Kerrin Taylor	90	100	190
3	Elaine Sanderson	93	92	185
4	Alan McNamara	96	87	183
5	Trent Power	89	93	182
6	Michael Schneider	98	81	179
7	Daniel Grech	79	96	175
8	Brad Lovern	81	94	175
9	Danny Anderson	91	83	174
10	Jon Millard	76	97	173
11	Jason Wilhelm	100	71	171
12	Len Schneider	75	95	170
13	Arthur Lovern	80	90	170
14	Cy Taylor	70	99	169
15	Wes Blanch	83	86	169
16	Simon Barkhuizen	84	85	169
17	Trent Short	95	71	166
18	Trevor Burgess	94	71	165
19	Glyn Barkhuizen	92	71	163
20	Craig Birkett	88	71	159
21	Isaac Toivanen	87	71	158
22	Scott McAuley	86	71	157
23	Mike Connolly	85	71	156
24	Roderick Walmsley	82	71	153
25	Dave Robinson	78	71	149
26	Matt Coleman	77	71	148
27	Katie Sanderson	54	89	143
28	Matt McArthur	72	71	143
29	Dale Mullins	71	71	142
30	Mark Thompson	69	71	140
31	Colin Slade	55	82	137
32	Peter Price	66	71	137
33	Steven Bechly	65	71	136
34	Peter May	63	71	134
35	Mick Lumby	62	71	133
36	Peter Morgan	61	71	132
37	Chris Gipps	60	71	131
39	Trevor Cassidy	42	88	130
38	Chris Nagiello	59	71	130
40	Aaron Gilmore	58	71	129
41	Matthew Wallace	57	71	128
42	Jason Cameron	56	71	127
43	Mike North (USA)	52	71	123
43	Aaron Mogg	42	71	113
43	Gary Boyd (USA)	42	71	113
43	Les Reibelt	42	71	113
43	Mick Campbell	42	71	113
43	Spencer Troxell	42	71	113
49	Keegan Hayden	97	0	97
67	Michael Myers	0	91	91
68	Paul Anderson	0	84	84
50	Dean Coghill	74	0	74
51	Enzo Minuzzo	73	0	73
52	Chris Anderson	0	71	71
52	Hayden Kelly	0	71	71
52	Philip Bevan	0	71	71
52	Robert Swanston	0	71	71
52	Ryan Tully	0	71	71
52	Tim Warren	0	71	71
58	Matthew Pratt	68	0	68
59	Greg Birkett	67	0	67
60	Phil Lyons	64	0	64
61	Rob Mason	53	0	53
62	Ben Cole	42	0	42
62	Cassandra Cameron	42	0	42
62	Craig Stone	42	0	42
62	Dean Silvester	42	0	42
62	Jock Craig	42	0	42
62	Kyle Hammer	42	0	42
62	Luke Hammer	42	0	42
62	Matt Martin	42	0	42
62	Michael Webster	42	0	42

The most northern stop of the 2008 Daiwa BARRA Tour produced tough and frustrating fishing for the 28 gathered teams at the Shimano Peter Faust 2-Day Morning Event, 18/19th November.

While hot conditions and light winds provided seemingly ideal conditions, inactive and a hard to define bite pattern saw only 53 fish grace the competitors’ Shimano Brag Mats for the 14 hours of angling.

Leading the charge and adding another 1-2 finish to their growing tournament resume was Kerrin (7/10, 461cm) and Cy Taylor (5/10, 346cm) who saved their best to last, delivering a full five fish limit catch card to the score tent on the second and final morning of competition.
The only anglers to catch their limit for the tournament the pair fished a previously undiscovered location, unearthing a weed lined point that extended out into one of Faust’s many hidden timber laden bays.  

“It was a new spot that we found, and it had all the ingredients for success, weed, timber, bait and most importantly active fish”, explained Kerrin.  

With about three metres of water covering the point the pair bunkered down for the session, tieing off on a series of trees and working the area over with Squidgy Slick Rigs.  

“We down sized from a 110 to a 100 Slick Rigs and alternated between retrieves before we cracked the pattern and found the one that worked”, explained Cy.  

The gun approach proved to be one of the simplest and easiest to apply, casting the Slick Rig tight to the weed edge and slow rolling it back to the boat. The lure itself wasn’t as clear cut, with the True Blue coloured soft plastic modified with the addition of a single treble-armed stinger hook.  

When quizzed post victory on their choice and use of the lure the boys were forthcoming with their train of thought.  

“We fished a 110 Slick Rig on day one and while we got a lot of hits we couldn’t managed to get the fish to take the lure well enough to get the hook-ups and the fish in the boat”, explained Kerrin.  

“So we down sized to the smaller 100 on day two and started catching fish”, added Cy.  

The tackle used by the AFC angling pair included a 6’4″ Millerods Hi Roller rod, Shimano Calais DC reel, spooled with 20lb Fins line, and 80lb Black Magic leader.  

With the northern leg of the Daiwa BARRA Tour now complete the pair are on a high and feeling confident heading into the three southern events, especially following a successful AFC campaign on the two southern waterways only a month prior.  

“We spent quite a bit of time fishing Awoonga and Monduran and feel we have good insight into what might be in store for us when we hit the two dams. So hopefully we can hit the ground running and continue the good form we had at Faust”, explained the barra brothers.  

The Daiwa Big Barra title as expected when the tour travels to Faust eclipse the magic metre mark, with Bowen angler Michael Myers claiming the prize with his 120cm specimen.  

“I picked up the fish just after 7am when it ate a Squidgy 110 Slick Rig in about 90 feet of water”, explained Myers.  

The capture was text book, with Myers sounding the fish in deep water then dropping the plastic down to it, where it surprisingly ate it.  

“There were plenty of suspended fish near the dam wall, all of them, bar this one showed no interest in what we had to offer”, added Myers.  

The prize winning fish took the lure about six feet from the surface, intercepting the lure as it free fell towards the bottom.  

“The fish were suspended about 20 feet down and this guy must have followed the lure to the surface on a previous retrieve and had been sitting their waiting for it to come by again”, explained Myers.  

The next round of the Daiwa BARRA Tour sees the series travel south to Lake Awoonga for the Squidgies Awoonga Night Championship, 22/23rd November.

For more information or to enter, contact Marcel from ABT on 0427 32 64 64, or attended the 2.30pm tournament briefing on the Awoonga foreshore near the ranger’s hut Saturday 22nd November.      

Place	Angler	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL	Payout
1	Kerrin Taylor	2	122	5	339	7	461	$1,200, Blue Acres Lamiglass rod, Shimano Curado reel, & Prize Pack
2	Cy Taylor			5	346	5	346	$650, Shimano Fireblood rod, Shimano Saragosa reel, & Prize Pack
3	Jason Crofts	2	107	4	201	6	308	$450, G.Loomis rod, Shimano Saragosa reel, & Prize Pack
4	Jon Millard	2	112	3	195	5	307	$350, Shimano T Curve Rod, Berkley Tec Tools Set, & Prize Pack
5	Len Schneider	1	43	3	181	4	224	$250, Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
6	Daniel Grech			4	203	4	203	$250, Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
7	Brad Lovern	2	107	2	80	4	187	$150, Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
8	Trent Power	1	64	1	67	2	131	Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
9	Elaine Sanderson			2	126	2	126	Prize Pack
10	Michael Myers			1	120	1	120	Prize Pack + Daiwa Big Barra Prize
11	Arthur Lovern	2	116			2	116	Prize Pack
12	Katie Sanderson	1	58	1	58	2	116	Prize Pack
13	Trevor Cassidy	1	116			1	116	Prize Pack
14	Alan McNamara	1	102			1	102
15	Wes Blanch			1	64	1	64
16	Simon Barkhuizen			1	63	1	63
17	Paul Anderson			1	61	1	61
18	Danny Anderson			1	58	1	58
19	Colin Slade	1	44			1	44
20	Michael Schneider	1	41			1	41
21	Aaron Gilmore					0	0
22	Aaron Mogg					0	0
23	Chris Anderson					0	0
24	Chris Gipps					0	0
25	Chris Nagiello					0	0
26	Craig Birkett					0	0
27	Dale Mullins					0	0
28	Dave Robinson					0	0
29	Gary Boyd (USA)					0	0
30	Glyn Barkhuizen					0	0
31	Hayden Kelly					0	0
32	Isaac Toivanen					0	0
33	Jason Cameron					0	0
34	Jason Wilhelm					0	0
35	Les Reibelt					0	0
36	Mark Thompson					0	0
37	Matt Coleman					0	0
38	Matt McArthur					0	0
39	Matthew Wallace					0	0
40	Mick Campbell					0	0
41	Mick Lumby					0	0
42	Mike Connolly					0	0
43	Mike North (USA)					0	0
44	Peter May					0	0
45	Peter Morgan					0	0
46	Peter Price					0	0
47	Philip Bevan					0	0
48	Robert Swanston					0	0
49	Roderick Walmsley					0	0
50	Ryan Tully					0	0
51	Scott McAuley					0	0
52	Spencer Troxell					0	0
53	Steven Bechly					0	0
54	Tim Warren					0	0
55	Trent Short					0	0
56	Trevor Burgess					0	0
		F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL
		17	1032	35	2162	52	3194
			60.7		61.8		61.42

Barra Guide Jason Wilhelm kick started the 2008 Daiwa BARRA Tour in grand style, claiming his second career victory at the Classic Lures Teemburra Dam 2-Day Evening Event, 14/15, November.  

Compiling a 9/10, 543cm bag for the two day event, Wilhelm showed that quantity rather than quality was the key to success at the event, racking up a string of conservatively sized fish to secure victory.  

Fishing the points in the main basin and the adjacent shallow bays and edges Wilhelm utilized a super shallow and ultra light presentation to catch his fish.
“We cracked the pattern during the Thursday prefish and found the barra sitting tight up in the shallows (1-2 feet) with what seemed barely enough water to cover their backs”, explained Wilhelm.  

Focusing on the discouloured and muddy edges Wilhelm presented a modified, weight reduced, Evil Minnow coloured 110 Squidgy Slick Rig Pro, casting the offering tight to the edge before beginning an ultra slow retrieve out from the bank.  

“The two foot zone out front the edge was the hot zone, and this is where most of the fish came from”, explained Wilhelm.  

“Most of the hits came with in the first two cranks of the handle. If we didn’t get a hit we’d quickly wind the lure back in and make another cast”, added the Teemburra champ.  

While the bites were consistent through out the session it was after dark and during the moments when the moon popped its’ head out from behind the cloud that Wilhelm and team mate, 2007 Teemburra victor Alan McNamara saw a define spike in activity.  

“They turned on late in the session when the moon came out and lit up the place”, explained Wilhelm.  

“It was like flicking a switch at times the change was that noticeable”, added Jason.  

The tackle used to present his tournament winning lures included a 7’6″ Millerods Beast Buster Toad rod, Shimano Fireblood 400 reel, spooled with 30lb Nitlon PE and 80lb Jinkai leader.  

The lure itself was the ever-popular Squidgy Slick Rig, with the lighter Pro versions streamlined even more with a shaving of lead off the internal weight and a hot bath to make them swim a little looser.  

“Boiling them in hot water is something that we’ve just started to do”, explained Wilhelm.  

“It softens the plastic and allows the Slick Rig to swim, roll and shake its tail on the slowest of dead slow retrieves”, added Wilhelm.  

Post victory Wilhelm was ecstatic with his start to the tour and the goals he set him self for the two week barra junket.  

“After a busy and stressful six months with guiding and less that ideal tournament results I just wanted to kick back and have fun fishing the tour with my mates”, explained Wilhelm.  

The change in mindset paid dividends with the Awoonga and Monduran barra guide leading the race for the 2/2, Northern BARRA Angler of the Year title as it hits the road and heads to Peter Faust for the second and final northern round of the tour.  

Snapping at Wilhelm’s heal in second place was Mackay local and BCF Assistant Manager Jason Crofts, 8/10, 509cm.  

Fishing the Teemburra Creek area of the dam, Crofts like Wilhelm keyed-in on the muddy, wind influenced banks as the areas to target, focusing on and getting best results from the points and their leading edges.  

“The left bank of Teemburra Creek was exposed to the wind and it was here that we scored our fish using a weedless, shallow (1-3 feet) plastic presentation”, explained Crofts.  

 Using a Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad rigged on a 7/0 worm hook Croft casts his offering tight to the waters’ edge before retrieving it back to the boat with a combination of slow rolling and lift, drop n’ shake retrieves.  

As his primary spots suffered under tournament pressure Crofts adjusted tact and refocused his attention on secondary locations that most anglers couldn’t access in their larger boats.  

“We hit the ugly and hard to get to pockets and bays that get overlooking by many angles”, explained Crofts.  

The approach paid off with Crofts and team mate Isaac Toivanen catching fish continually throughout the session.  

His choice of tackle used to compile his bag included a 6-10kg St Croix rod, Daiwa 7:1 Zillion reel, spooled with 30lb Berkley Tracer Braid, and 60lb Black Magic Tuff Trace.  

The Daiwa Big Barra for the event fell to BARRA Tour regular and AFC angler Cy Taylor, with the young gun catching the 92cm, prize winning fish just after sunset on the second day.  

“We dropped ten fish before dark, then the big fish nailed the lure and thankfully made its’ way into the landing net”, explained Taylor.  

The battle for bragging rights on the team front was a laissez faire with Jason Wilhelm and Alan McNamara from Team Shimano/ E-Tec outclassing the other teams by nearly 200cm.  

Elaine Sanderson claimed the Classic Lures Bonus prizes picking up the lure tray of Classic Lures with her 61cm day one specimen, while Keegan Hayden secured the Daiwa Bonus Prize as the first angler back to the tag board on day one wearing his orange Daiwa Cap.  

The next round of the Daiwa BARRA Tour sees the series travel north to Proserpine for the Shimano   Peter Faust 2-day Morning Event. To enter or find out more information be at the 7.30pm Monday (17th November) night briefing at Proserpine Bait and Tackle or contacting Simon Goldsmith from ABT on 0416 068 386.  

Place	Angler	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL	Payout
1	Jason Wilhelm	4	219	5	324	9	543	$1,250, Daiwa Advantage reel, G.Loomis rod, & Prize Pack
2	Jason Crofts	3	169	5	340	8	509	$700, Shimano Fireblood rod, Shimano Curado reel, & Prize Pack
3	Michael Schneider	5	259	5	244	10	503	$500, Shimano T Curve rod, Shimano Curado reel, & Prize Pack
4	Keegan Hayden	3	165	5	337	8	502	$400, Shimano T Curve Rod, ABU Garcia reel, & Prize Pack + (Daiwa Bonus Pack)
5	Alan McNamara	5	342	2	124	7	466	$300, Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
6	Trent Short	3	171	5	277	8	448	$200, Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
7	Trevor Burgess	4	188	5	237	9	425	$100, Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack
8	Elaine Sanderson	5	279	2	118	7	397	Ugly Fish Eyewear, Prize Pack + (Classic Lures Bonus Pack- 61cm)
9	Glyn Barkhuizen	4	204	3	137	7	341	Berkley Pack
10	Danny Anderson	5	285	1	53	6	338	Berkley Pack
11	Kerrin Taylor	1	79	3	251	4	330	Daiwa  Pack
12	Trent Power	3	160	3	169	6	329	X Tools Pack
13	Craig Birkett	5	319			5	319	Prize Pack
14	Isaac Toivanen	3	196	2	119	5	315	Prize Pack
15	Scott McAuley	3	148	3	144	6	292	Prize Pack
16	Mike Connolly	2	159	3	132	5	291
17	Simon Barkhuizen	2	110	4	178	6	288
18	Wes Blanch		-10	5	272	5	262
19	Roderick Walmsley			4	253	4	253
20	Brad Lovern	3	147	2	100	5	247
21	Arthur Lovern	2	148	1	65	3	213
22	Daniel Grech	3	169	1	42	4	211
23	Dave Robinson	2	143	1	55	3	198
24	Matt Coleman	2	120	2	77	4	197
25	Jon Millard	3	150	1	43	4	193
26	Len Schneider		-10	4	193	4	183
27	Dean Coghill	3	182			3	182
28	Enzo Minuzzo	1	43	2	139	3	182
29	Matt McArthur	1	52	2	130	3	182
30	Dale Mullins	2	98	1	83	3	181
31	Cy Taylor	1	80	1	92	2	172	Daiwa TD Advantage rod & reel + Daiwa Prize Pack (92cm)
32	Mark Thompson	1	63	2	107	3	170
33	Matthew Pratt			3	166	3	166
34	Greg Birkett			2	163	2	163
35	Peter Price	3	160			3	160
36	Steven Bechly	3	156			3	156
37	Phil Lyons	3	143			3	143
38	Peter May	2	137			2	137
39	Mick Lumby	1	50	1	77	2	127
40	Peter Morgan			2	119	2	119
41	Chris Gipps	1	70	1	46	2	116
42	Chris Nagiello	1	54	1	54	2	108
43	Aaron Gilmore	1	42	1	56	2	98
44	Matthew Wallace			1	79	1	79
45	Jason Cameron			1	78	1	78
46	Colin Slade			1	58	1	58
47	Katie Sanderson	1	51			1	51
48	Rob Mason			1	44	1	44
49	Mike North (USA)			1	43	1	43
50	Craig Stone		-150			0	-150
50	Michael Webster		-150			0	-150
50	Ben Cole					0	0
50	Kyle Hammer		-150			0	-150
50	Luke Hammer		-150			0	-150
50	Spencer Troxell					0	0
50	Aaron Mogg					0	0
50	Les Reibelt					0	0
50	Cassandra Cameron					0	0
50	Dean Silvester					0	0
50	Mick Campbell					0	0
50	Trevor Cassidy					0	0
50	Jock Craig					0	0
50	Matt Martin					0	0
50	Gary Boyd (USA)					0	0
		100	5090	101	5818	201	10908
			50.9		57.6		54.27