Classic Lures Tinaroo Evening Event Final Results & Story

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

Shimano Peter Faust BARRA Round 2- Final Results & Story

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

Daiwa Teemburra Dam Night Championship Results & Story 2007

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

Southern R3- Halco Monduran Morning Event

Southern R3- Halco Monduran Morning Event

Dates: 1st-2nd December, 2007.  Times: 4am to 11am each tournament day. Briefing: 7.30pm 30th November, Lake Monduran Holiday Village, MASA Shelter Shed. Entry Fee: $200 per team of two anglers. Presentation: 1pm, 2nd December, Lake Monduran Holiday Village, MASA Shelter Shed. Official Accommodation:Lake Monduran Holiday Village, (07) 4157 3881 Payout Schedule (Based on 40 boats)
o Each team entering gets a team kit including sponsors products.
1st $2000
2nd $1500
3rd $800
4th $400
5th $200
Go-So Big Barra – Prize Pack
Stocking Group Donation – $250   Plus random draw product prizes to be given to none prize winning teams.

Southern R2- Squidgies Awoonga Dam Evening Event

Southern R2- Squidgies Awoonga Dam Evening Event

Dates: 26th-27th November, 2007.  Times: 3pm to 10pm each tournament day. Briefing: 1pm, November at Lake Awoonga foreshore (adjacent to the Rangers’s Hut boatramp). Entry Fee: $200 per team of two anglers. Presentation: 9am, 28th October at (Location- TBA) Official Accommodation:Lake Awoonga Caravan Park (07) 4975 0155. Payout Schedule (Based on 40 boats)
o Each team entering gets a team kit including sponsors products.
1st $2000
2nd $1500
3rd $800
4th $400
5th $200
Go-So Big Barra – Prize Pack
Stocking Group Donation – $250   Plus random draw product prizes to be given to none prize winning teams.

Southern R1- Daiwa Awoonga Dam Night Championships

Southern R1- Daiwa Awoonga Dam Night Championships

Date: 24-25th, November 2007  Times: One session, 4pm to 8am – fish as much or as little as you like. Briefing: 2pm, 24th November at Lake Awoonga foreshore (adjacent to the Rangers’s Hut boatramp). Entry Fee: $100 per team. Presentation: 10am, 25th October at (Location- TBA) Official Accommodation: Lake Awoonga Caravan Park (07) 4975 0155. Payout Schedule (Based on 40 boats)
o Each team entering gets a team kit including sponsors products.
1st $1000
2nd $700
3rd $400
4th $200
5th $100
Go-So Big Barra – Prize Pack
Stocking Group Donation – $250   Plus random draw product prizes to be given to none prize winning teams.

Northern R3- Classic Lures Tinaroo Evening Event

Dates: 12th-13th October, 2007.  Times: 3pm to 10pm each tournament day. Briefing: 1pm, 12th October at Tinaroo Holiday Park Entry Fee: $200 per team of two anglers. Presentation: 9am, 14th October at Tinaroo Holiday Park. Official Accommodation:Tinaroo Holiday Park (07) 4095 8232 or www.ltholidaypark.com.au Payout Schedule (Based on 40 boats)
o Each team entering gets a team kit including sponsors products.
1st $2000
2nd $1500
3rd $800
4th $400
5th $200
Go-So Big Barra – Prize Pack
Stocking Group Donation – $250 Plus random draw product prizes to be given to none prize winning teams.

Lake Lenthall report

Plenty of fish are still being caught and released at Lake Lenthall even with the Lake being at 61% capacity and the water temp is approximately 25 degrees celcius.
Casting hardbody lures and soft plastics have been successful around the lillies with the odd fish still taking spinnerbaits down deep in various places around the Lake. Landbased fisherfolk using earth worms & some secret baits have recorded good catches of Eel tailed Catfish / Freshwater Jewfish, with fish up to 480 mm being taken in shallow water. Other notable landbased catches include a 670 mm Barra off the boat ramp by an 11 year old boy ( his very first Barra ) and Bass ranging from 280 mm to 460 mm from the foreshore around the recreational grounds. Paul Dolan from Fraser Coast Sport Fishing is having great success with clients taking both Bass & Barra on lure and fly. An ecstatic South Australian took a rare & very spectacular 590mm Saratoga on fly near the wall.

Easter weekend saw good numbers of boats on the water ( 38 vessels on Easter Sunday ) with most fisherfolk recording good catches of Bass. It is great to see so many people practicing catch and release, and with this we will see the Barra reach that elusive metre mark next summer. The unofficial Lake record stands at 940 mm by a Japanese client on a Fraser Coast Sport Fishing Charter. Other visitors to Lake have boasted of catching and releasing fish up to 910 mm, surely next summer we will see Lake Lenthall Barramundi reach the sportfish target 1 metre mark.

Ill take this opportunity to remind everybody that access to the Lake is only permitted through the access gates, you can not access the water from any other point. Camping in any form at Lake Lenthall is not permitted. Construction & clearing works are still underway.

Currently we have a commercial Eel trapper working the Lake and to date ( 30 days ) he has trapped over 2000 kgs of Live Long finned Eel. They are exported live to China where they are a highly sort after delicacy. The Eels are believed to heavily target our Barramundi and Bass fingerlings.

The Fraser Coast Fish Stocking Association will be releasing 4000 Barramundi fingerlings into the Lake in the near future.

Cheers
James Matts – Ranger Lake Lenthall

Overall 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour AOY


Place Angler Teemburra Faust Tinaroo Awoonga NC Awoonga Monduran Total Best 4
1 Kerrin Taylor 82 100 100 79 99 80 540 381
2 Cy Taylor 82 99 99 86 89 82 537 373
3 Scott McAuley 97 93 82 80 100 61 513 372
4 Matt Coleman 82 97 48 72 97 396 348
5 Trevor Burgess 93 76 73 79 95 416 343
6 Danny Anderson 76 93 84 87 340 340
7 Jason Wilhelm 96 91 91 59 337 337
8 Gavin Dunne 100 48 36 61 245 245


Team Teemburra Faust Tinaroo Awoonga NC Awoonga Monduran Total Best 4
Millerods/Shimano 86 100 100 94 99 89 568 393
Mundi 98 93 96 85 91 463 378
Fatman and Ribbon 84 97 96 82 359 359
Squidgy 97 94 89 79 359 359
Ando’s Sportsfishers 81 95 88 88 352 352
Team Ecogear 100 85 73 71 329 329

Berkley Moduran 2 Day Event

Lake Monduran, the vast body of water scattered with timber, just North of Bundaberg, was the final venue for the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour.
Lake Monduran, the vast body of water scattered with timber, just North of Bundaberg, was the final venue for the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour.

And it was the newly crowned ‘Barra Vampire’, in John Schofield that took out the Champion Angler Title with 6/10, 548cm. With the assistance of his partner in crime ‘Lord’ Peter Morgan scoring a couple of fish himself on Day 2, the pair was also successful in taking out the Champion Team Title for Nitro Tournament Rods.

Schofield fished the creek, adjacent to the dam wall, opposite the concrete boat ramp, targeting areas tight on the bank with a lot of brush timber. His hotspot for the weekend was a shelf, off a point in 10-12 feet of water that went for approximately 30-40 yards.

Equipped with a Nitro Extreme Tournament Barra Rod matched to a Shimano Chronarch spooled with 50pd Scientific Angler ultra thin fly line backing and finished with a length of twisted 80pd Black Magic leader. Schofield worked various Jonesy’s lures in the Nifty and Rhino range, finding the Rhino’s acquainting for more fish as they are a deeper diving lure. The colours of choice being brown and white and grey and white.

“I would give the lure 10 winds to get it down, then general twitches punctuated with pauses. Finding the fish would hit on the pause” he explained.

Second place went to Les Reibelt with 6/10, 490cm, Third (Steve Kanowski, 5/10, 411cm), Fourth (Matt Coleman, 4/10, 295cm) and Fifth (Stephen Cheng, 3/10, 240cm).

Reibelt, a Process Operator from Beerwah has been fishing Monduran for three years. He used an Egrell B58 rod matched to a Daiwa CVZ 203 reel spooled with 60pd Fins braid and 150pd doubled Penn Power Pro braid as leader. Using the same Arafura barra lure for the whole weekend was the key to Reibelt’s success.

“It was more a confidence thing”, he explained. “At one stage, a barra snapped the 60pd braid and stole the lure. Then I found it rising to the surface. I replaced the back treble, put on two split rings, and continued to catch fish on it” he said.

The Go-So Big Barra and Berkley Bonus went to John Schwerin with a 114cm horse caught on day 2 on a Big B52 lure.

“It didn’t fight much. It went for a run then I got it next to the boat; the young fella was holding the net up in the air expecting the barra to jump in! We eventually netted it and it sorted the men out from the boys” he joked.

A $200 stocking donation was made to M.A.S.A for the continued stocking of barramundi into Lake Monduran. Over the weekend 60 fish were photographed and released at an average size of 81.86cm.

With the final event now completed, the Southern and Overall Barra AOY winners were announced. Jason Medcalf narrowly beat his partner Nigel Webster for the Individual Southern Angler of the Year Title with the guys taking out the Southern Team Championship for Team Halco/Berkley. With the Northern AOY already under his belt, the young Barra gun in Kerrin Taylor narrowly beat his twin brother Cy by one point for the Overall Daiwa BARRA Tour AOY Champion. The boys also taking out the Overall Team AOY Trophy for team Millerods-Shimano.

With the suspense now building for that trip of a lifetime aboard the Eclipse Charter boat in Weipa, all entries into the Daiwa BARRA tour were shuffled. To his disbelief it was Gary Leather that had his named drawn out and is now still coming down to earth with the good fortune that has bestowed him.

From the staff at ABT we would like to thank all anglers, sponsors and people involved with the venues for making the 2006 Daiwa BARRA tour a most memorable adventure and look forward to catching up with everyone at another ABT Tournament in the near future.


Place Team Angler F1 L1 F2 L2 TF TL
1 Nitro Tournament Rods John Schofield 3 267 3 281 6 548
2 McBarra Les Reibelt 1 106 5 384 6 490
3 Team Tennessee Steve Kanowski 5 411 5 411
4 The Assassins Matt Coleman 2 158 2 137 4 295
5 Tropic Angler Stephen Cheng 3 240 3 240
6 Mundi Trevor Burgess 3 231 3 231
7 Team Berkley Jason Medcalf 2 194 2 194
8 Far Kens Ken Best 2 116 1 74 3 190
9 QFM Dave Robinson 2 184 2 184
10 Nitro Tournament Rods Pete Morgan 2 178 2 178
11 QFM Steve Morgan 2 174 2 174
12 Tackle World Bundaberg Gary Leather 1 87 1 87 2 174
13 Tackle World Bundaberg Chris Galligan 2 173 2 173
14 Slick Rigs Tony Zantiotas 1 88 1 72 2 160
15 The Assassins Aaron Mogg 1 88 1 69 2 157
16 FCM John Schwerin 1 114 1 114
17 Team Berkley Nigel Webster 1 90 1 90
18 The Tackle Warehouse Gordon McDonald 1 86 1 86
19 Millerods-Shimano Cy Taylor 1 84 1 84
20 Bundy Barra Bandits Les Barber 1 74 1 74
21 Millerods-Shimano Kerrin Taylor 1 73 1 73
22 G.Loomis Josh Batterson 1 72 1 72
23 Evakool-Squidgies Matthew Mott 1 69 1 69
24 Team Tassie Meg Estreich 1 69 1 69
25 Far Kens Ken Berry 1 68 1 68
26 Fatman & Ribbon Scott Bromley 1 68 1 68
27 G.Loomis Mike Connolly 1 67 1 67
28 Bundy Barra Bandits Shane Anderson 1 66 1 66
29 Lethal Leaders Doug Kampf 1 66 1 66
30 Evakool-Squidgies Kerry Symes 1 47 1 47
31 Amen Brother Andrew Duffy 0 0
31 Amen Brother Daniel Buckley 0 0
31 Ecogear David Young 0 0
31 Ecogear Gavin Dunne 0 0
31 Fatman & Ribbon Scott McAuley 0 0
31 FCM Jake Schwerin 0 0
31 Gudgeon Alf Gudgeon 0 0
31 Gudgeon Ben Gudgeon 0 0
31 Jet One Neil Campbell 0 0
31 Jet One Trevor Cassidy 0 0
31 Lethal Leaders Adrian Kampf 0 0
31 McBarra Tania Reibelt 0 0
31 Mundi Greg Wipp 0 0
31 Pop Guns Brendan Jones 0 0
31 Pop Guns Jesse Buckley 0 0
31 Slick Rigs Craig Simmons 0 0
31 Team Tassie Chris Estreich 0 0
31 Team Tennessee John Brider 0 0
31 The Tackle Warehouse Ben Currell 0 0
31 Tin of Gold Justin Fisher 0 0
31 Tin of Gold Trevor Nye 0 0
31 Tropic Angler Paul Probert 0 0
24 1921 37 2991 61 4912
Avg 80.04166667 Avg 80.83783784 Avg 80.52459016


Place Team TF TL
1 Nitro Tournament Rods 8 726
2 McBarra 6 490
3 The Assassins 6 452
4 Team Tennessee 5 411
5 QFM 4 358
6 Tackle World Bundaberg 4 347
7 Team Berkley 3 284
8 Far Kens 4 258
9 Tropic Angler 3 240
10 Mundi 3 231
11 Slick Rigs 2 160
12 Millerods-Shimano 2 157
13 Bundy Barra Bandits 2 140
14 G.Loomis 2 139
15 Evakool-Squidgies 2 116
16 FCM 1 114
17 The Tackle Warehouse 1 86
18 Team Tassie 1 69
19 Fatman & Ribbon 1 68
20 Lethal Leaders 1 66
21 Amen Brother 0 0
22 Ecogear 0 0
23 Gudgeon 0 0
24 Jet One 0 0
25 Pop Guns 0 0
26 Tin of Gold 0 0