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 |