Cy Taylor showed his intent for the 2009 Daiwa BARRA Tour with victory in the opening round of the series, the Engel Teemburra Evening Event, 20/21st November.
The first round of the four event series, Taylor lead the charge, compiling a 10/10, 732cm limit to relegate first time podium finisher Willem Reichard, 9/10, 633cm to second place.
Victory for Taylor comes off the back of a success AFC campaign only a month prior, with the Teemburra champ teamed with his brother Kerrin and fishing a mid depth, main basin pattern to score his fish.
“We targeted fish we found with our sounder hanging on deep banks and points near the main basin”, explained Taylor.
Using his beloved Squidgy Slick Rig 110s in Drop Bear and Green Grunter colours Taylor would position his boat in four metres of water then cast up into the shallows (2 metres) then slow roll the plastic back, pausing it occasionally to allow it to sink back towards the bottom.
“It was important to keep the lure close to the bottom and keep it moving to intercept the barra as they moved up along the edge”, explained Taylor.
With the team catching 16 out of their 18 fish after dark Taylor was open in his assessment of the bite pattern of the event.
“It was hard to find numbers and sized fish during the daylight hours, once the sun went down things definitely turned on and the fished moved up out of the deep and started to feed”.
Jumping off two metre plus fish for the tournament Taylor’s victory could have been even more comprehensive had all the fish stuck.
The tackle he used to catch his winning fish included a Millerod Salty Barra rod, Shimano Core reel, spooled with Fins 20lb and 80lb Black Magic leader.
Adding to his $1250 cash earnings for the win Taylor topped up his bank balance with an additional bonus courtesy of the 1st placed $362 Pro Bonus payout. Claiming the champion team title at the event the pair will once again set the bench mark for team performance on the 2009 tour.
Securing the runner-up position at the event was 24 year old Feedlot Worker Willem Reichard.
Fishing with last year’s runner-up Jason Crofts for Team Gulpin Xraps, Reichard fished the Teemburra Creek arm of the dam, focusing on wind blown points at the back of timbered bays.
“Fishing windblow and deeper than usual locations was crucial for success”, explained Reichard.
With their boat in 15-20 feet Reichard would cast his Rapala Xrap (purple/ gold colour) towards the edge working it back through 15-20 feet strike zone with a three-twitch-pause retrieve.
“We were using 10 and 8 cm Xraps that would dive to about eight feet and it was on the pause as the lure sat motionless before the next twitch that most of the fish would hit the lure”, explained Reichard.
“A deeper pattern than usual is something that many of us found during the tournament, and it seemed to be important for finding quality and quantity”, explained Reichard.
Dropping ten fish on day one and seven on day two the pair’s catch sheet could have read even more impressive than their fourth placing fourteen.
The tackle Reichard used to present his money winning Xraps included a 10-17lb Samurai Reaction rod, Shimano Cronach MG50 reel, spooled with 20lb Berkley Tracer Braid and 40lb Black Magic fluorocarbon leader.
“We went light with 20lb mainline so we could get maximum depth and action with our lures”, explained Willem.
His best result to date on the Daiwa BARRA Tour Reichard is excited about the rest of the tour.
“It’ll be great to fish hard for a couple of weeks and experience the fishing out barra dams have to offer”, explained the Teemburra Dam runner-up.
The Daiwa Big Barra for the event went to two prize winning anglers, with Shimano BARRA Pro Alan McNamara catching two 92cm fish on day two and Spencer Troxell landing and equal sized fish on day one.
The quality and quantity of fish during the event set new records for the venue, with the field landing 231 fish for the tournament, eclipsing last year’s 201. The average length of fish show a similar improvement, jumping from last year’s 54.27 cm to 67.90cm. With a $250 Stocking Donation made to the MAFSA all bodes well for further growth and barra numbers for the future.
The next stop on the Daiwa BARRA Tour sees the series head north for the Sunline Peter Faust Morning Event, 24/25th November. For event information and entry visit www.australianbarra.com.au or contact ABT (07) 3387 0888.
Individual Results
| Place | Angler | F1 | L1 | F2 | L2 | TF | TL | Cash | Prizes |
| 1 | Cy Taylor | 5 | 352 | 5 | 380 | 10 | 732 | $1250 + $181 1st Pro | Daiwa Heartland rod & reel Prize Pack |
| 2 | Willem Reichard | 4 | 271 | 5 | 362 | 9 | 633 | $700 | Millerod Jack-X B Camo rod, Tica Caman & Prize Pack |
| 3 | Phill Lyons | 5 | 332 | 5 | 290 | 10 | 622 | $500 | Blue Acres Lamiglas rod & Prize Pack |
| 4 | Jarrod Dalton | 5 | 391 | 3 | 217 | 8 | 608 | $400 | Spotters Prize Pack & Prize Pack |
| 5 | Kerrin Taylor | 4 | 273 | 4 | 266 | 8 | 539 | $300 + $181 1st Pro | Berkley Drop Shot rod & Prize Pack |
| 6 | Alan McNamara | 2 | 164 | 5 | 365 | 7 | 529 | $200 | Berkley Prize Pack + Big Barra Prize Pack (92cm) |
| 7 | Jon Millard | 2 | 147 | 5 | 349 | 7 | 496 | Halco Prize Pack | |
| 8 | Kerry Symes | 5 | 341 | 2 | 154 | 7 | 495 | Prize Pack | |
| 9 | Patrick Morgan | 3 | 214 | 4 | 271 | 7 | 485 | Prize Pack | |
| 10 | Jason Wilhelm | 3 | 231 | 3 | 216 | 6 | 447 | Prize Pack | |
| 11 | Katie Sanderson | 2 | 131 | 5 | 312 | 7 | 443 | ||
| 12 | Dean Silvester | 3 | 189 | 4 | 251 | 7 | 440 | ||
| 13 | Chris Nagiello | 5 | 324 | 2 | 108 | 7 | 432 | ||
| 14 | Aaron Clifford | 4 | 237 | 3 | 195 | 7 | 432 | ||
| 15 | Elaine Sanderson | 1 | 56 | 5 | 354 | 6 | 410 | ||
| 16 | Matt McArthur | 4 | 255 | 2 | 149 | 6 | 404 | ||
| 17 | Spencer Troxell | 4 | 304 | 1 | 82 | 5 | 386 | Big Barra Prize Pack (92cm) | |
| 18 | Peter Price | 1 | 60 | 5 | 313 | 6 | 373 | ||
| 19 | Jason Crofts | 5 | 364 | 5 | 364 | ||||
| 20 | Mike Connolly | 2 | 162 | 3 | 193 | 5 | 355 | ||
| 21 | Daniel Grech | 3 | 192 | 2 | 155 | 5 | 347 | ||
| 22 | Tom Wood | 2 | 111 | 3 | 212 | 5 | 323 | ||
| 23 | Keegan Hayden | 4 | 318 | 4 | 318 | ||||
| 24 | Issac Toivanen | 4 | 250 | 1 | 57 | 5 | 307 | ||
| 25 | Matthew Murray | 3 | 207 | 1 | 59 | 4 | 266 | ||
| 26 | Matt Martin | 2 | 145 | 2 | 118 | 4 | 263 | ||
| 27 | Wes Blanch | 4 | 254 | 4 | 254 | ||||
| 28 | Len Schneider | 4 | 244 | 4 | 244 | ||||
| 29 | Geoff Newby | 4 | 243 | 4 | 243 | ||||
| 30 | Matt Coleman | 3 | 231 | 3 | 231 | ||||
| 31 | Jason Sutton | 1 | 70 | 2 | 146 | 3 | 216 | ||
| 32 | Michael Schneider | 2 | 131 | 1 | 75 | 3 | 206 | ||
| 33 | Trevor Burgess | 3 | 205 | 3 | 205 | ||||
| 34 | Geoff Busbridge | 2 | 127 | 1 | 78 | 3 | 205 | ||
| 35 | Nicholas Saward | 2 | 129 | 1 | 64 | 3 | 193 | ||
| 36 | Jock Craig | 3 | 191 | 3 | 191 | ||||
| 37 | Nicholas Moore | 2 | 131 | 1 | 60 | 3 | 191 | ||
| 38 | Chris Gipps | 3 | 181 | 3 | 181 | ||||
| 39 | Steve Bechly | 2 | 115 | 1 | 59 | 3 | 174 | ||
| 40 | Jeff Eales | 1 | 68 | 1 | 77 | 2 | 145 | ||
| 41 | Brett Busbridge | 1 | 69 | 1 | 74 | 2 | 143 | ||
| 42 | Craig Birkett | 2 | 135 | 2 | 135 | ||||
| 43 | Gary Boyd | 1 | 57 | 1 | 75 | 2 | 132 | ||
| 44 | Craig Griffiths | 2 | 131 | 2 | 131 | ||||
| 45 | Robert Mason | 1 | 76 | 1 | 76 | ||||
| 46 | Brook Ebzery | 1 | 75 | 1 | 75 | ||||
| 47 | Trent Power | 1 | 75 | 1 | 75 | ||||
| 48 | Ken Elliot | 1 | 74 | 1 | 74 | ||||
| 48 | Rob Wood | 1 | 74 | 1 | 74 | ||||
| 50 | Keith Day | 1 | 72 | 1 | 72 | ||||
| 51 | Kyle Hammer | 1 | 66 | 1 | 66 | ||||
| 52 | Greg Birkett | 1 | 66 | 1 | 66 | ||||
| 53 | Cam Pratt | 1 | 65 | 1 | 65 | ||||
| 54 | Arthur Lovern | 1 | 60 | 1 | 60 | ||||
| 55 | Aaron Mogg | 1 | 58 | 1 | 58 | ||||
| 56 | Enzo Minuzzo | 1 | 56 | 1 | 56 | ||||
| 57 | Donovan Power | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 58 | Jade Hammer | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 59 | Joshua Meale | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 60 | Les Reibelt | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 61 | Mike North | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 62 | Norm Crouch | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 63 | Peter Morgan | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 64 | Robert Ebzery | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 117 | 7982 | 114 | 7704 | 231 | 15686 | ||||
| 68.2 | 67.5789 | 67.9 |
Teams Results
| Place | Team | Angler 1 | Angler 2 | Total |
| 1 | Shimano/Millerods | Cy Taylor | Kerrin Taylor | 1271 |
| 2 | Engel | Jarrod Dalton | Patrick Morgan | 1093 |
| 3 | Gamakatsu/Mako | Dean Silvester | Phill Lyons | 1062 |
| 4 | Gulpin Xraps | Willem Reichard | Jason Crofts | 997 |
| 5 | Shimano/Etec | Jason Wilhelm | Alan McNamara | 976 |
| 6 | Tackle Warehouse Ladies | Elaine Sanderson | Katie Sanderson | 853 |
| 7 | Evinrude E-TEC HO | Mike Connolly | Kerry Symes | 850 |
| 8 | J.T. Reel Repairs | Daniel Grech | Jon Millard | 843 |
| 9 | McArthur Customs | Matt McArthur | Spencer Troxell | 790 |
| 10 | Predator | Matt Martin | Aaron Clifford | 695 |
| 11 | Berkley | Trevor Burgess | Chris Nagiello | 637 |
| 12 | The Likely Lads | Geoff Newby | Keegan Hayden | 561 |
| 13 | Koolabung Lures | Wes Blanch | Len Schneider | 498 |
| 14 | We’re On | Jason Sutton | Matthew Murray | 482 |
| 15 | Reidy’s Lures | Peter Price | Arthur Lovern | 433 |
| 16 | Compleat Angler | Matt Coleman | Jeff Eales | 376 |
| 17 | The Compleat Anglers | Issac Toivan | Cam Pratt | 372 |
| 18 | Egrell Rod Designs | Steve Bechly | Chris Gipps | 355 |
| 19 | Flatt Chatt | Geoff Busbridge | Brett Bu2bridge | 348 |
| 20 | In The Zone | Robert Mason | Jock Craig | 267 |
| 21 | The ULUA Boys | Ken Elliot | Nicholas Moore | 265 |
| 22 | SMP | Michael Schneider | Enzo Minuzzo | 262 |
| 23 | QFM 2 | Gary Boyd | Keith Day | 204 |
| 24 | INDT | Craig Birkett | Greg Birkett | 201 |
| 25 | Scruby Shaggers | Nicholas Saward | Joshua Meale | 193 |
| 26 | Creek 2 Coast/ Rapala | Craig Griffiths | Norm Crouch | 131 |
| 27 | Gin Gin Hotel | Rob Wood | Tom Wood | 111 |
| 28 | Power | Trent Power | Donovan Power | 75 |
| 29 | Teaser | Brook Ebzery | Robert Ebzery | 75 |
| 30 | The Boof Heads | Kyle Hammer | Jade Hammer | 66 |
| 31 | McBarra | Les Reibelt | Aaron Mogg | 58 |
| 32 | QFM 1 | Peter Morgan | Mike North | 0 |