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 |