Month: October 2007

It came down to the last event and the last session of fishing to decide the Norther BARRA AOY Champion for 07.

Take a look inside to see who came out on top.

Place	Angler	Teem R1	Faust R2	Tinaroo R3	Total
1	Matt Coleman	99	93	85	277
2	Kerrin Taylor	84	95	97	276
3	Cy Taylor	81	99	96	276
4	Danny Anderson	85	90	85	260
5	Aaron Gilmour	95	69	85	249
6	Nathan Chapman	94	69	85	248
7	Elaine Sanderson	86	69	85	240
8	Katie Sanderson	69	84	85	238
9	Peter May	69	82	85	236
10	Cathy McNaught	69	69	85	223
11	Alan McNamara	100	100		200
12	Colin Slade	98	96		194
13	Brendon Horner	89	97		186
14	Les Reibelt	91	94		185
15	Matthew Wallace		83	98	181
16	Arthur Lovern	96	85		181
17	Len Schnieder	97	79		176
18	Peter Price	88	80		168
19	Quoc Thai Pham		81	85	166
20	Aaron Mogg	69	92		161
21	Jason Cameron	90	69		159
22	Trevor Burgess	69	88		157
23	Scott McAuley	69	86		155
24	Wes Blanch	82	69		151
25	Lyndon Anlezark	69	69		138
26	Robert Tombs	69	69		138
27	Nathan Ruth			100	100
28	Lance Richards			99	99
29	Lindsay Dobe		98		98
30	Coota Stevens			95	95
31	Willem Reichard	93			93
32	Russell Bilney	92			92
33	Ashley Cotter		91		91
34	Jack Erskine		89		89
35	Daniel McBey		87		87
36	Jason Crosts	87			87
37	Alissa Davis			85	85
38	Ben Leighton			85	85
39	Ian Leighton			85	85
40	Simon Monk			85	85
41	Vince Cassaniti			85	85
42	Daniel Grech	83			83
43	Dennis Schwerin	80			80
44	Kyle Hammer	79			79
45	Bev Palmer	69			69
45	Donovan Power	69			69
45	Enzo Minuzzo	69			69
45	Jade Hammer	69			69
45	Jeff Eales	69			69
45	John Schwerin	69			69
45	Matthew Collinge	69			69
45	Michael Schneider	69			69
45	Stephen Palmer	69			69
45	Trent Power	69			69

Ruth Rules at Tinaroo

Tropical thunderstorms and tough fishing was the order of the day at the final northern round of the Daiwa BARRA Tour, the Classic Lures Tinaroo 2-day Evening Event.

Mastering the bite the best and taping into all the local knowledge he had to secure victory was Cairns local, 21 year old Tackle Store Attendant Nathan Ruth (7/10, 388cm). Not to be overshadowed was Ruth’s team mate Lance Richards (7/10, 360cm), who fished hard on the final day to nearly steal victory from his partner.

Victory though belonged to Ruth who spent his tournament fishing a run of locations in the Yungaburra area of the lake.

“We hit a series of spots that ranged in depth from one through to five metres”, explained Ruth.

“Weedbeds, lilies and discouloured water were prominent features in these locations, as was the occasional bony bream flicking about”, he added.

With the boat anchored in one of his hot spots Ruth would work the area over with a multi-lure approach, swapping rods and presenting a different lure as the bite slowed and changed.

“While swapping lures kept the fish interested it was a rattling hard body that drew the best responses, especially in the dirty water”, explained Ruth.

The retrieve used when opting for the hard bodied approach was an aggressive twitch and pause presentation, stalling the lure to draw a strike and add another fish to his catch sheet. Once the bite died Ruth would lift anchor and move to another spot to continue his multi-lure approach.

The choice of tackle Ruth used to present his lures included a, G.Loomis CR722 rod, Shimano Curado reel, spooled with 30lb Nitlon braid, and 55lb twisted Schneider leader. While Ruth’s assortment of lures included soft plastics, fizzers, and jerkbaits, it was a Reidy’s B52 (colour- purple) that produced the bulk of the fish.

“The B52 was the money bait both days”, explained Ruth.

“And the hottest bite we found when they really produced was on day one when all the thunderstorms rolled through. It was action stations up until about 7.30pm when the storms had passed through”, he added.

For event runner-up Richards it was a similar approach to Ruth, with an over the top twitch and pause presentation delivering the bulk of the fish.

“The majority of fish came from right up in the shallows near the waters edge”, explained Richards. “A twitch and pause really pressed their buttons and they couldn’t help themselves when it came to hitting the lure”, he added.

The go-to lure for Richards, like Ruth, was a rattle-heavy bibbed minnow, with a purple Classic Lures F18 his number one choice. When it came to presenting it Richards used a Shimano Raider rod, Shimano Curado reel, spooled with 9kg Fins braid, and 45lb Schneider leader.

Like most tournament anglers Richards had a tale of the one that got away, with Saturday night offering the fish that would deliver victory. Finding its freedom in the only piece of timber on the bank, it was definitely a case of the one that got away.

Tinaroo as expected produced its share of big fish, with the Go-So Big Barra title going to a 117cm specimen caught by Matthew Wallace on day two. Tempted by a 7” Storm Wild Eye Suspending Minnow (colour- grey ghost), the prize winning fish nailed the lure on the third cast at a weedy point in the upper reaches of the lake near Yungaburra. The second metre plus fish of the night for Wallace, it was due reward following his first night when he dropped three similar sized fish.

“I was just glad to finally boat a decent fish after losing those three the night before. If had done so I might have had a shot at winning the event”, he added.

The battle for the title of the Northern BARRA Angler of the Year came down to the wire, with one point separating the top three places. Matt Coleman (277/300 points) claimed his first AOY title, relegating defending Northern AOY champ Kerrin Taylor and Cy Taylor to second and third place, respectively.

The event drew a close to the northern leg of the tour, with attention now turning to Lake Awoonga and the opening round of the southern tour. The Daiwa Awoonga Night Championships, November 24/25th will kick start the second half of the tour, for entry forms and rules visit australianbarra.com.au, or contact ABT (07) 3268 7958.

BARRA Tour Dates

Southern Tour
R4 Daiwa Awoonga Night Championships- Nov 24/25
R5 Squidgy Awoonga Evening Event- Nov 26/27
R6 Halco Monduran Morning Event – Dec 1/2

Classic Lures Lake Tinaroo Evening Event Indivdual Results

Place	Angler	TF	TL	Payout
1	Nathan Ruth	7	388	$700 + Millerod & Shimano Curado reel & Prize Pack
2	Lance Richards	7	360	$400 + Blue Acres rod & Shimano Cruxis reel & Prize Pack
3	Matthew Wallace	3	284	$200 + Daiwa TD Advantage rod & reel & Prize Pack
4	Kerrin Taylor	1	87	Angler DXC rod & Tica Reel & Prize Pack
5	Cy Taylor	1	82	Shimano Catana rod & Tica Reel & Prize Pack
6	Coota Stevens	1	38	Uglyfish Eyewear & Prize Pack
7	Matt Coleman	0	0
7	Alissa Davis	0	0
7	Quoc Thai Pham	0	0
7	Danny Anderson	0	0
7	Aaron Gilmour	0	0
7	Nathan Chapman	0	0
7	Peter May	0	0
7	Cathy McNaught	0	0
7	Vince Cassaniti	0	0
7	Simon Monk	0	0
7	Ben Leighton	0	0
7	Ian Leighton	0	0
7	Elaine Sanderson	0	0
7	Katie Sanderson	0	0
		Total Fish	Total Length
		20	1239
		Av Length
		61.95

Classic Lures Lake Tinaroo Evening Event Teams Results

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Ocean Blue Boats Team 2	14	748
2	Barraboss	3	284
3	Millerods/ Shimano	2	169
4	G.Loomis	1	38
5	Activeangler.net	0	0
6	Happy Chappy’s	0	0
7	Mundi-itis	0	0
8	Ocean Blue Boats Team 1	0	0
9	Reidy’s Rats	0	0
10	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	0	0

McNamara Rules the Roost at Faust Muswelbrook resident and BARRA Tour regular Alan McNamara became the first angler to win three BARRA events by claiming the second round of the 2007 Daiwa BARRA Tour, on Proserpine’s infamous Peter Faust Dam.
Continuing his winning ways from the Teemburra event two days earlier, McNamara showed his form on multiple venues, (8/10, 597cm), to narrowly claim victory over 2nd placed young-gun Cy Taylor, (8/10, 562cm).

Targeting a large flooded weed bed in the middle reaches of the dam, McNamara utilized a technique he and team mate Brendon Horner cracked during the prefish. With the weedbed sitting in ten feet of water the pair focused their attention, working the hot zone, the three feet of clear water that sat above the flooded growth.

“We started by slow rolling Slick Rigs (110mm) over the tops of the weeds, and while we could get bumps, we couldn’t get a hook-up”, explained McNamara.

“So we swapped to a lift and drop jigging retrieve to give the fish more time to look at the plastic”, added McNamara.

The approach paid dividends with the technique delivering McNamara three fishing on day one and five on day two.

“It wasn’t always the most polished technique though”, explained Alan. “The lure was regularly buried in the weed, and rather than cranking the lure in to clear it of weed and making another cast, we’d just rip it out of the weed and continue the retrieve”, added McNamara.

The rough and ready approach was high-lighted by an hour of mayhem on the final morning, when the boys struck a red-hot bite between 7.30 and 8.30am.

“The bonies started flicking, the birds were working and the barra were just going off”, explained McNamara. “I landed six fish, dropped another four, and probably had an additional five hits, it was awesome”, he added.

The only angler to bag his limit on the final morning McNamara could take satisfaction in cracking the pattern the best and going two-from-two from the first two events of the BARRA Tour.

His choice of tackle used to begin his great start on the tour included his prize winning rod and reel from the first round at Teemburra, a 5’9” Millerods Jack Extract rod and Shimano Cruxis reel, spooled with 50lb Bionic Braid and a 80lb twisted Jinkai twisted leader.

While McNamara’s choice of lure was the ubiquitous Squidgy Slick Rig (colour- evil minnow), it was perhaps its’ modification that is most note-worthy.

“I cut the lead down so it was virtually not existent, leaving just enough weight to allow the plastic to be cast and swim correctly”, explained Al.

The cut-down was just what McNamara needed to keep the plastic above the weed.

Event runner-up Cy Taylor in contrasted opted for a surface presentation to catch his fish. Targeting the shallow margins in the upper reaches of the dam Taylor worked the area with a series of long searching casts and retrieves fished parallel to the weed line.

“Getting the lure close to the weed and working it through the maximum strike zone was the key”, explained Taylor. T

he tackle he used to present his topwater lure included a, Millerod Stiletto spin rod, 2500 Shimano Stella reel, spooled with 20lb Berkley Fireline (crystal), and 60lb Black Magic leader. His choice of lure was his go-to topwater lure, a Cultiva Tango Dancer. Retro-fitted with size one owner hooks, and double split rings, the after-market fit out of the lure provides added benefits over the standard model as Cy explains.

“Double split rings allow the hook points to hang a little lower on the lure, therefore increasing the hook-up rate, they also hopefully reduce the fish’s ability to twist the lure out of its’ mouth during the flight”.

With five fished dropped during the tournament and a mere 35cm deficit to event winner Alan McNamara, Taylor is sure to work and strive for an even higher strike rate when it comes to fishing topwater for barra.

Peter Faust lived up to its’ reputation produce multiple fish over the one metre mark, with the Go-So Big Barra prize falling to a 120cm specimen caught by Kerrin Taylor on day one. Suc*****bing to a Squidgy 110mm Slick Rig (colour- evil minnow), the monster came from a weed bed in the upper reaches of the dam and saw Kerrin chase the fish through the timber before being landed.

The next round sees the series move to the most northern stop on the tour for 2-day evening Classic Lures Tinaroo BARRA Round.

Entry forms and rules can be found at australianbarra.com.au, or can be obtained at the event briefing and registration at Tinaroo Holiday Park, Friday 12th October, 1.00pm.

Dates

Northern Tour
R1 Daiwa Teemburra Night Championships- Oct 6/7
R2 Shimano Peter Faust Morning Event- Oct 9/10
R3 Classic Lures Tinaroo Evening Event- Oct 12/13

Southern Tour
R4 Daiwa Awoonga Night Championships- Nov 24/25
R5 Squidgy Awoonga Evening Event- Nov 26/27
R6 Halco Monduran Morning Event – Dec 1/2

Shimano Peter Faust BARRA Round Individual Results

Place	Angler	TF	TL	Payout
1	Alan McNamara	8	597	$900 + Millerod & Shimano Curado reel & Prize Pack
2	Cy Taylor	8	562	$600 + Blue Acres rod & Shimano Cruxis reel & Prize Pack
3	Lindsay Dobe	7	459	$300 + Daiwa TD Advantage rod & reel & Prize Pack
4	Brendon Horner	4	268	$100 + Angler DXC rod & Tica Reel & Prize Pack
5	Colin Slade	4	236	Angler DXC rod & Tica Reel & Prize Pack
6	Les Reilbelt	2	191	Spotters Pack & Prize Pack
7	Kerrin Taylor	2	191	Uglyfish Eyewear & Prize Pack + Go-So Big Barra Pack (120cm)
8	Matt Coleman	3	186	Uglyfish Eyewear & Prize Pack
9	Aaron Mogg	2	163	Shimano Raider Rod
10	Ashley Cotter	2	134	Prize Pack
11	Danny Anderson	2	133
12	Jack Erskine	2	132
13	Trevor Burgess	1	112
13	Daniel McBey	1	81
15	Scott McAuley	1	73
16	Arthur Lovern	1	73
17	Katie Sanderson	1	63
18	Matthew Wallace	1	62
19	Peter May	1	61
20	Quoc Thai Pham	1	59
21	Peter Price	1	59
22	Len Schnieder	1	56
23	Jason Cameron	0	0
23	Robert Tombs	0	0
23	Lyndon Anlezark	0	0
23	Aaron Gilmour	0	0
23	Nathan Chapman	0	0
23	Cathy McNaught	0	0
23	Elaine Sanderson	0	0
23	Wes Blanch	0	0
		Total Fish	Total Length
		56	3951
		Av Length
		70.55357143

Shimano Peter Faust BARRA Round Teams Results

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Lost Bass Fishos	12	865
2	Millerods/ Shimano	10	753
3	Jack Erskiine Pro Fishing Team	9	591
4	G.Loomis	6	369
5	McBarra	4	354
6	Marital Bliss	3	215
7	Activeangler.net	3	186
8	Mundi	2	185
9	Reidy Lures	2	132
10	Barraboss	2	121
11	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	1	63
12	Mundi-itis	1	61
13	Team Koolabung	1	56
14	Happy Chappy’s	0	0
15	Barra Nomads	0	0

McNamara Tames Teemburra

A fickle early season bite greeted anglers for the opening round of the 2007 Daiwa BARRA Tour on Teemburra Dam, 6/7th October.

Twenty teams and forty anglers signed up for the all-night marathon Night Championship event, with victory going to Muswellbrook resident and BARRA Tour regular Alan McNamara, 5/5, 240cm, while Townsville barra addict Matt Coleman claimed the runners-up position, 3/5, 227cm.
Victory for McNamara was a relief and due reward for a week of analytical prefishing that saw him crack the inconsistent bite pattern.

“It was tough fishing all week”, explained McNamara.

“It was only after a lot of fishless sessions, and the elimination of a lot of habitat types and locations that we managed to establish some sought of pattern to the fishing”, he added.

This pattern saw McNamara target the shallow points and leading edges in the Middle Creek reaches of the dam.

“The presence of submerged grass and lilies were the dominate features on the locations that produced”, explained McNamara.

“The key was to get the lure close to the structure and the weeded edges were the fish were holding and feeding”, he added.

Targeting these vegetation lined edges McNamara down-sized his lure from his usual go-to 110mm plus options, instead using a 100mm Squidgy Slick Rig Light (colour- drop bear) to tempt his fish. Using a slow rolling retrieve McNamara found most of the hits forthcoming when the lure was, at the most, three cranks of the reel handle out from the edge.

“They were holding really right to the edge and you had to get the lure in the zone and in their face to get a response”, Al explained.

The tackle used by Alan to tempt his edge dwelling fish included a, Daiwa Procaster X, medium rated rod (6’6”), and a Daiwa Procaster reel, spooled with 30lb Bionic braid and finished off with 50lb Penn 10X leader.

Event runner-up Matt Coleman opted for a similar edge approach to fill out his catch sheet. Hitting weed and lily lined points and flats in the middle reaches of the dam Coleman fished a lightly worm-weighted 80mm Squidgy Slick Rig tail (colour- drop bear) rigged weedless on a 4/0 Gamakatsu worm hook.

“The fish were sitting along the weedline and on the apex of the points”, explained Coleman. “So it was here that I focused my attention, working the area over with a slow rolling, lift and drop retrieve”, he added.

The approach paid dividends with the kicker fish in his 3-fish limit being the event’s Go-So Big Barra. Tipping the brag mat at 78cm it was the fish Matt needed to stave off 3rd placed Colin Slade, a meare 3cm behind.

Coleman’s arsenal of tackle included a Shimano T-Curve, medium/ heavy rated rod, Shimano Cronarch reel, spooled with 60lb Japanese PE line, and 60lb Penn 10X leader.

The Champion team honours for the event was claimed by Coleman and his fellow team mate Jason Cameron, who compiled 327 cm to secure the title ahead of Team Lost Bass Fishos (318cm) comprised of event winner Alan McNamara and Brendon Horner.

The next round of The Tour sees the series head north to the big barra Mecca of Lake Proserpine for the Shimano Peter Faust 2-day Morning Event, 9-10th October.

Entry forms and rules can be found at australianbarra.com.au, or can be obtained at the event briefing and registration at Proserpine Bait and Tackle, Monday 8th October, 7.30pm.

Tour Dates

Northern Tour
R1 Daiwa Teemburra Night Championships- Oct 6/7
R2 Shimano Peter Faust Morning Event- Oct 9/10
R3 Classic Lures Tinaroo Evening Event- Oct 12/13

Southern Tour

R4 Daiwa Awoonga Night Championships- Nov 24/25
R5 Squidgies Awoonga Evening Event- Nov 26/27
R6 Halco Monduran Morning Event – Dec 1/2

Daiwa Teemburra Dam Night Championship Individual Results

Place	Angler	Total Fish	Total Length	Payout
1	Alan McNamara	5	240	$600 + Millerod & Shimano Cruxis reel & Prize Pack
2	Matt Coleman	3	227	$300 + Blue Acres rod & Tica reel & Prize Pack, Go-So Big Barra Pack
3	Colin Slade	3	224	$200 + Daiwa TD Advantage rod & reel & Prize Pack
4	Len Schnieder	2	138	$100 + Angler DXC rod & Prize Pack
5	Arthur Lovern	2	136	Uglyfish Eyewear & Prize Pack
6	Aaron Gilmour	2	130	Shimano Catana rod & Prize Pack
7	Nathan Chapman	3	110	Shimano Raider rod & Prize Pack
8	Willem Reichard	2	109	Prize Pack
9	Russell Bilney	2	106	Prize Pack
10	Les Reibelt	2	103	Prize Pack
11	Jason Cameron	2	100
12	Brendon Horner	2	78
13	Jason Crosts	2	75
13	Peter Price	1	75
15	Elaine Sanderson	1	74
16	Danny Anderson	1	73
17	Kerrin Taylor	1	72
18	Daniel Grech	1	70
19	Wes Blanch	1	68
20	Cy Taylor	1	61
21	Dennis Schwerin	1	40
22	Kyle Hammer	1	38
23	Aaron Mogg	0	0
23	Bev Palmer	0	0
23	Cathy McNaught	0	0
23	Donovan Power	0	0
23	Enzo Minuzzo	0	0
23	Jade Hammer	0	0
23	Jeff Eales	0	0
23	John Schwerin	0	0
23	Katie Sanderson	0	0
23	Lyndon Anlezark	0	0
23	Matthew Collinge	0	0
23	Michael Schneider	0	0
23	Peter May	0	0
23	Robert Tombs	0	0
23	Scott McAuley	0	0
23	Stephen Palmer	0	0
23	Trent Power	0	0
23	Trevor Burgess	0	0
		Total Fish	Total Length	Av Length
		41	2347	57.24390244

Daiwa Teemburra Dam Night Championship Team Results

Place	Team	Total Fish	Total Length
1	Activeangler.net	5	327
2	Lost Bass Fishos	7	318
3	G.Loomis	4	297
4	Happy Chappy’s	5	240
5	Reidy Lures	3	211
6	Koolabung	3	206
7	Gulping XRAPS	4	184
8	Millerods/ Shimano	2	133
9	Complete Angler	2	106
10	McBarra	2	103
11	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	1	74
12	Matt & Dan	1	70
13	Fish Catching Machines	1	40
14	The Hammertures	1	38
15	Barra Nomads	0	0
15	Coast to Creek Marine	0	0
15	Mundi	0	0
15	Mundi-itis	0	0
15	Power	0	0
15	Seaforth Bait & Tackle	0	0