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 |