Australian Barra Archive

Final Southern AOY Points

Place	Angler	Teemburra	Faust	Tinaroo	Awoonga NC	Awoonga	Monduran	Total	Sth
1	Jason Medcalf				92	92	94	278	278
2	Nigel Webster				98	94	84	276	276
3	Steve Morgan				93	85	90	268	268
4	Kerry Symes				95	96	71	262	262
5	Kerrin Taylor	82	100	100	79	99	80	540	258
5	Matthew Mott				96	84	78	258	258
7	Cy Taylor	82	99	99	86	89	82	537	257
8	John Schwerin				90	77	85	252	252
9	Steve Kanowski				78	74	98	250	250
10	Trevor Burgess	93	76		73	79	95	416	247
11	Scott McAuley	97	93	82	80	100	61	513	241
11	Ken Best				68	80	93	241	241
13	Dave Robinson				69	78	92	239	239
14	Pete Morgan				71	75	91	237	237
15	Tony Zantiotas				89	50	87	226	226
16	Matt Coleman	82	97		48	72	97	396	217
17	Craig Simmons				72	83	61	216	216
17	Jake Schwerin				100	55	61	216	216
17	John Schofield				48	68	100	216	216
20	Josh Batterson				64	69	79	212	212
21	Aaron Mogg				48	76	86	210	210
22	Mike Connolly				48	86	74	208	208
23	Gary Leather				70	47	90	207	207
24	David Young				87	57	61	205	205
25	Trevor Cassidy				48	90	61	199	199
26	Simon Barkhuizen				94	98		192	192
27	Daniel Buckley				48	82	61	191	191
28	Ken Berry				48	60	76	184	184
29	Jason Bird				85	95		180	180
30	Glyn Barkhuizen				82	93		175	175
31	Peter Price		92		83	91		266	174
31	Justin Fisher				48	65	61	174	174
33	Danny Anderson		76	93	84	87		340	171
34	Neil Campbell				48	50	61	159	159
34	Brad O’Sullivan				97	62		159	159
36	Adrian Lindsay				76	81		157	157
37	Jason Wilhelm	96	91		91	59		337	150
38	David Hodge				59	88		147	147
39	Gavin Dunne	100			48	36	61	245	145
39	Brendan Jones				48	36	61	145	145
39	Jesse Buckley				48	36	61	145	145
39	John Bridar				48	36	61	145	145
43	Scott Bromley					61	76	137	137
44	Chris Galligan				48		88	136	136
45	Stephen Brodie				81	53		134	134
46	Andrew Orley				61	67		128	128
47	Alf Gudgeon				64		61	125	125
48	Adam Meredith				64	58		122	122
48	Tim Carter				58	64		122	122
50	Colin Slade		76		68	52		196	120
51	Garry Fitzgerald				48	71		119	119
52	Justin Nye				48	70		118	118
53	Dale Sinclair				65	51		116	116
54	Steve Starling				48	66		114	114
55	Rod Sealy				77	36		113	113
56	Trent Brown				74	36		110	110
57	Ben Gudgeon				48		61	109	109
58	Rod Watt				68	36		104	104
59	Les Reibelt						99	99	99
59	Ben Platten				99			99	99
61	Andrew Duffy					36	61	97	97
61	Harry Watson					97		97	97
63	Arthur Lovern		89		60	36		185	96
63	Stephen Cheng						96	96	96
65	Corey Tarr				48	46		94	94
66	Karl Rembacher				88			88	88
67	Mark Daley				48	36		84	84
68	Gordon McDonald						83	83	83
69	Les Barber						81	81	81
70	Meg Estreich						78	78	78
71	Darren Pegg				76			76	76
72	Doug Kamph						73	73	73
72	Shane Anderson						73	73	73
72	Trent Short					73		73	73
75	Gabrielle McAuley					63		63	63
76	Adrian Kamph						61	61	61
76	Ben Currell						61	61	61
76	Chris Estreich						61	61	61
76	Greg Wipp						61	61	61
76	Paul Probert						61	61	61
76	Tania Reibelt						61	61	61
76	Trevor Nye						61	61	61
83	Ken Leisemann					57		57	57
84	Dean Davis					54		54	54
85	Barb Bromley					50		50	50
86	Andrew Rooney				48			48	48
86	Anthony Pegg				48			48	48
86	Frank Ohl				48			48	48
86	Gary Wode				48			48	48
86	Jason Sizeland				48			48	48
86	Julian Gascoine				48			48	48
86	Lee Hutchinson				48			48	48
86	Mick Shore				48			48	48
86	Peter Gray				48			48	48

Place	Team	Teemburra	Faust	Tinaroo	Awoonga NC	Awoonga	Monduran	Total	Sth
1	Team Halco-Berkley				98	98	94	290	290
2	Evacool-Squidgies				100	97	86	283	283
3	Millerods/Shimano	86	100	100	94	99	89	568	282
4	QFM-Evinrude				92	93	96	281	281
5	Fatman and Ribbon			84	97	96	82	359	275
6	Mundi	98	93		96	85	91	463	272
7	Slick Rigs				93	86	90	269	269
8	FCM				99	81	85	265	265
9	Nitro Tournament Rods				79	83	100	262	262
10	Far Kens				76	87	93	256	256
10	Team Tennessee				84	75	97	256	256
12	G.Loomis-Siglon				73	92	87	252	252
13	The Tackle Warehouse				83	78	84	245	245
14	The Assassins				62	84	98	244	244
15	Team Ecogear	100			85	73	71	329	229
16	Jet One				62	89	71	222	222
17	Tin of Gold				62	82	71	215	215
18	Charltons				95	100		195	195
19	Spotters Sunglasses				91	95		186	186
20	Ando’s Sportsfishers		81	95	88	88		352	176
20	One of These Days		96		86	90		272	176
22	Tackle World Bundaberg				78		95	173	173
22	Team Halco				82	91		173	173
24	Squidgy	97	94		89	79		359	168
25	Just Hafta Fish				90	72		162	162
26	Amen Brother					80	71	151	151
26	Sweetwater Fishing				74	77		151	151
28	Logan River Marine				76	71		147	147
29	Gudgeon				73		71	144	144
30	Team Hellfish				80	61		141	141
31	Pop Guns					61	71	1	132
32	McBarra						99	99	99
33	Jackall					94		94	94
34	Tropic Angler						92	92	92
35	Bundy Barra Bandits						88	88	88
36	Torment				87			87	87
37	Team Tassie						83	83	83
38	Lethal Leaders						81	81	81
38	Heavy Equipment Maintenance				81			81	81
40	Vindaloo				77			77	77
41	Broms					76		76	76
42	Team Rovex					75		75	75
43	2 Blokes in a Tinnie				62			62	62
44	All Torque				62			62	62
44	Brother in Arms				62			62	62
44	Scales & Skin				62			62	62

Lake Awoonga lived up to its name of being one of Australia’s premier impoundment barramundi fisheries for the two days of the Halco Evening BARRA Event with further records broken.
Lake Awoonga lived up to its name of being one of Australia’s premier impoundment barramundi fisheries for the two days of the Halco Evening BARRA Event with further records broken.

The Champion Angler Title was claimed by local veterinarian Scott McAuley with a new record 9/10, 856cm limit. Second was consistent performer Kerrin Taylor (8/10, 773cm) while Simon Barkhuizen (7/10, 706cm), Harry Watson (7/10, 643cm) and Kerry Symes, 8/10, 641cm completed the top five places.

The Champion Team Title went to the Barkhuizen brothers fishing for Team Charltons with 14/20 fish for 1238cm.

McAuley used a variety of arsenal to land his fish. For flicking Squidgy soft plastics he uses a G.Loomis 7ft GLX matched to a Daiwa HRF reel for long casting. For his timber work he uses a G.Loomis 756 matched to a Daiwa Blue Backer reel with 50 pound Jigman braid. Finally for taming those large impoundment barra he uses a 50 pound Live Fibre rod matched to a Daiwa Black Sheep reel and 30 pound twisted leaders.

Fishing the timber in the Ivoreagh arm McAuley chose to throw RMG Scorpions with sticky lead attached between the trees where he would wind them down then stop and pause, twitching the lure occasionally.

Catching four fish there on the first day he chose to return on the second day to find that the water temperature had dropped and there were no active fish. Deciding to move he checked Bath Tub Bay but continued to Tree bay with a few boats already working this area.

With the wind making conditions a little rougher McAuley moved once again to Riverstone Creek where he found bait jumping in the warmer water.

After having his favourite RMG Scorpion destroyed by a large fish, he swapped to a 14cm Rapala X-Rap on the heavy outfit.

“I basically poled the next seven fish in the boat over the hour, including the 108cm fish at 9.30pm” he said. “I then decided to leave them biting to get back in time” he continued.

Kerrin Taylor the Northern Tour BARRA Angler of the Year once again proved the goods with a second place finish. Working the Ian Miller Camofish Barra rods and Shimano Digital Calais reels he choose to upgrade to 50 pound Rapala Beast Master braid and 60 pound coated wire for this event.

The Millerods/Shimano team scored their 10/10 fish on the first day by sounding a steep weed edge where they anchored and cast their famous modified Squidgy Slick Rigs to the weed face.

Returning to the same spot on the second day only returned one fish before they decided to move to the weed points of the main basin. Here the Taylors found roaming barra on the sounder in 4 metres of water.

Kerrin explained, “We would gets hits for 10 minutes then have a 20 minute period of nothing before the fish returned again.”

The Go-So Big Barra prize was awarded to Mike Connolly for a 119cm fish caught on a 100mm Squidgy Slick Rig in black/gold colour. Mike explained that he likes to use them straight out of the pack fishing weed flats in 4-6 feet of water.

“I was ripping them through the weeds then letting them drop, where the barramundi would inhale them and result in good hookups” he said.

A new record 198 barramundi were caught, photographed and released, with the average size just over 80cm for the two days.

The final event moves to Lake Monduran for the Berkley Morning BARRA Event where the AOY points will be finalised.

If you would like to join in the fun for either the remainder of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour or want to start planning for next year, check out all the info at www.australianbarra.com.au.

Place	Team	Angler	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL
1	Fatman & Ribbon	Scott McAuley	4	386	5	470	9	856
2	Millerods-Shimano	Kerrin Taylor	5	496	3	277	8	773
3	Charltons	Simon Barkhuizan	3	295	4	411	7	706
4	Jackall	Harry Watson	2	178	5	465	7	643
5	Evakool-Squidgies	Kerry Symes	3	238	5	403	8	641
6	Spotters Sunglasses	Jason Bird	5	504	1	76	6	580
7	Team Halco 2	Nigel Webster	1	106	5	452	6	558
8	Charltons	Glyn Barkhuizen	3	219	4	313	7	532
9	Team Halco 2	Jason Medcalf	2	198	4	320	6	518
10	One of Those Days	Peter Price	3	220	3	294	6	514
11	Jet One	Trevor Cassidy	4	260	3	216	7	476
12	Millerods-Shimano	Cy Taylor	5	453			5	453
13	Team Halco	David Hodge	3	225	3	215	6	440
14	Ando Sportfish	Danny Anderson	3	241	2	190	5	431
15	G.Loomis	Mike Connolly	5	430			5	430
16	QFM	Steve Morgan	1	75	5	346	6	421
17	Evakool-Squidgies	Matthew Mott	5	337	1	74	6	411
18	Slick Rigs	Craig Simmons	2	169	3	224	5	393
19	Amen Brother	Daniel Buckley	5	323	1	63	6	386
20	Spotters Sunglasses	Adrian Lindsay	2	172	2	175	4	347
21	Far Kens	Ken Best	1	109	3	237	4	346
22	Mundi	Trevor Burgess	3	256	1	44	4	300
23	QFM	Dave Robinson	1	46	3	224	4	270
24	FCM	John Schwerin	2	145	1	100	3	245
25	The Assassins	Aaron Mogg			3	243	3	243
26	Nitro Tournament Rods	Pete Morgan	3	242			3	242
27	Team Tennessee	Steve Kanowski	2	211	5		7	211
28	Jackall	Trent Short			2	210	2	210
29	The Assassins	Matt Coleman	2	138	1	62	3	200
30	Sweetwater Fishing	Garry Fitzgerald	1	111	1	80	2	191
31	Tin of Gold	Justin Nye	2	189			2	189
32	G.Loomis	Josh Batterson	1	81	1	105	2	186
33	Nitro Tournament Rods	John Schofield			2	185	2	185
34	The Tackle Warehouse	Andrew Orley	1	99	1	82	2	181
35	Squidgy-Lowrance	Steve Starling			2	175	2	175
36	Tin of Gold	Justin Fisher	2	168			2	168
37	Team Halco	Tim Carter	2	167			2	167
38	Fatman & Ribbon	Gabrielle McAuley			2	162	2	162
39	Mundi	Brad O’Sullivan	2	161			2	161
40	Broms	Scott Bromley			2	155	2	155
41	Far Kens	Ken Berry	1	76	1	77	2	153
42	Squidgy-Lowrance	Jason Wilhelm	2	148			2	148
43	The Tackle Warehouse	Adam Meredith	1	114			1	114
44	Ecogear	David Young	1	110			1	110
45	Team Rovex	Ken Leisemann	1	110			1	110
46	FCM	Jake Schwerin			1	103	1	103
47	One of these days	Dean Davis			1	82	1	82
48	Just Hafta Fish	Stephen Brodie			1	81	1	81
49	Ando Sportfish	Colin Slade	1	80			1	80
50	Sweetwater Fishing	Dale Sinclair	1	73			1	73
51	Slick Rigs	Tony Zantiotas	1	72			1	72
52	Jet One	Neil Campbell	1	72			1	72
53	Broms	Barb Bromley			1	72	1	72
54	Team Rovex	Gary Leather			1	70	1	70
55	Logan River Marine	Corey Tarr			1	67	1	67
56	Team Tennessee	John Brider			1		1	0
56	Logan River Marine	Rod Watt					0	0
56	One of Those Days	Arthur Lovern					0	0
56	Team Hellfish	Trent Brown					0	0
56	Team Hellfish	Mark Daley					0	0
56	Ecogear	Gavin Dunne					0	0
56	Just Hafta Fish	Rod Sealy					0	0
63	Pop Guns	Brendan Jones		-20			0	-20
63	Pop Guns	Jesse Buckley		-20			0	-20
65	Amen Brother	Andrew Duffy		-40			0	-40
			101	8423	97	7600	198	16023
			Avg	83.3960396	Avg	78.35051546	Avg	80.92424242

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Charltons	14	1238
2	Millerods-Shimano	13	1226
3	Team Halco 2	12	1076
4	Evakool-Squidgies	14	1052
5	Fatman & Ribbon	11	1018
6	Spotters Sunglasses	10	927
7	Jackall	9	853
8	QFM	10	691
9	G.Loomis	7	616
10	Team Halco	8	607
11	One of these days	7	596
12	Jet One	8	548
13	Ando Sportfish	6	511
14	Far Kens	6	499
15	Slick Rigs	6	465
16	Mundi	6	461
17	The Assassins	6	443
18	Nitro Tournament Rods	5	427
19	Tin of Gold	4	357
20	FCM	4	348
21	Amen Brother	6	346
22	Squidgy-Lowrance	4	323
23	The Tackle Warehouse	3	295
24	Sweetwater Fishing	3	264
25	Broms	3	227
26	Team Tennessee	2	211
27	Team Rovex	2	180
28	Ecogear	1	110
29	Just Hafta Fish	1	81
30	Logan River Marine	1	67
31	Team Hellfish	0	0
32	Pop Guns	0	-40

It was perfect conditions for a record breaking weekend at Lake Awoonga for the first Event of the Daiwa BARRA Tour Southern Leg.
It was perfect conditions for a record breaking weekend at Lake Awoonga for the first Event of the Daiwa BARRA Tour Southern Leg.

A record field of 72 anglers gathered for the Ecogear Night Championship Event and 15 year old Jake Schwerin showed exactly how to do it. Blitzing the record Go-So Big Barra landing a 125cm brute and a new record 5 fish bag of 514cm.

The Toowoomba Grammar student has taken a week off to fish the Tour with his father in team FCM. Fishing Futter Creek, Schwerin landed 14 barramundi in the boat throughout the night. For his efforts, he takes home $1000, a Millerods Camofish Barra Boof Stik, Shimano Cruxis reel and various other prizes.

Followed in second place winning $500, a Daiwa Team Advantage rod, Daiwa Millionaire SW203 reel and TD sensor braid was Ben Platten with 5/5, 485cm. Third (Nigel Webster, 5/5, 459cm), fourth (Brad O’Sullivan, 5/5, 455cm), fifth (Matthew Mott, 5/5, 423cm) taking out the remaining places winning cash and prizes including Angler DCX and Ian Miller Raider Barra Mauler rods.

With the previous ABT Big Barra record mark set at 118cm, Schwerin caught 2 fish of 120cm and 125cm on slow rolled Squidgy Slick Rigs.

His father John, as proud as punch commented, “Getting those two big ones was unbelievable! The biggest I’ve seen! It blew me out of the boat! Magic!”

“I tried to follow the contour of the weed whilst slow rolling the lure” Jake explained.

His rod of choice was a G.Loomis GL3 matched to a Daiwa CVZ spooled with 50pd Whiplash braid and 80pd Penn 10X leader. Tying a double in the braid to a single length of leader attached to a 130mm Slick Rig with a Gamakatsu stinger hook.

Second placed and local Tackle World Gladstone worker Ben Platten used a hard body approach to score his 5 fish. Catching two fish early in the timber of the Ivoreagh arm on a Rapala Barra Magnum, he later changed to shallower suspending baits such as the Rapala X-Rap and Owner Rippin Minnow for fishing at night in the weedbeds in the main basin.

The Champion Team went to Evakool-Squidgies with Matthew Mott and Kerry Symes scoring the only 10 fish limit for a total length of 830cm.

A record 105 barramundi were caught and released during the Ecogear Night Championship with an average of 81.95cm per fish.

With all anglers getting a much needed sleep, the next event is the Halco Lake Awoonga Evening Event commencing 3pm Monday November 6.

If you would like to join in the fun for either the remainder of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour or want to start planning for next year, check out all the info at www.australianbarra.com.au.

Place	Team	Angler	F1	L1
1	FCM	Jake Schwerin	5	514
2	Fatman and Ribbon	Ben Platten	5	485
3	Team Halco 2	Nigel Webster	5	459
4	Mundi	Brad O’Sullivan	5	455
5	Evacool-Squidgies	Matthew Mott	5	423
6	Evacool-Squidgies	Kerry Symes	5	407
7	Charltons	Simon Barkhuizen	5	372
8	QFM-Evinrude	Steve Morgan	5	359
9	Team Halco 2	Jason Medcalf	4	330
10	Squidgy-Lowrance	Jason Wilhelm	4	309
11	FCM	John Schwerin	4	295
12	Slick Rigs	Tony Zantiotas	4	269
13	Torment	Karl Rembacher	3	265
14	Team Ecogear	David Young	4	237
15	Millerods-Shimano	Cy Taylor	3	235
16	Spotters Sunglasses	Jason Bird	2	205
17	Ando Sportfish	Danny Anderson	2	194
18	One of These Days	Peter Price	2	184
19	Charltons	Glyn Barkhuizen	2	168
20	Just Hafta Fish	Stephen Brodie	2	165
21	Fatman and Ribbon	Scott McAuley	2	163
22	Millerods-Shimano	Kerrin Taylor	2	162
23	Team Tennessee	Steve Kanowski	2	158
24	Just Hafta Fish	Rod Sealy	2	148
25	Heavy Equipment Maintenance	Darren Pegg	2	114
26	Spotters Sunglasses	Adrian Lindsay	1	114
27	Team Hellfish	Trent Brown	1	112
28	Mundi	Trevor Burgess	1	110
29	Slick Rigs	Craig Simmons	2	109
30	Nitro Tournament Rods	Pete Morgan	1	100
31	Tackle World Bundaberg	Gary Leather	1	99
32	Vindaloo	Dave Robinson	1	81
33	Logan River Marine	Rod Watt	1	80
34	Far Kens	Ken Best	1	80
35	Ando Sportfish	Colin Slade	1	80
36	Sweetwater Fishing	Dale Sinclair	1	78
37	The Tackle Warehouse	Adam Meredith	1	75
38	G.Loomis-Siglon	Josh Batterson	1	75
39	Gudgeon	Alf Gudgeon	1	75
40	The Tackle Warehouse	Andrew Orley	1	73
41	One of These Days	Arthur Lovern	1	70
42	Team Halco	David Hodge	1	66
43	Team Halco	Tim Carter	1	53
44	Logan River Marine	Corey Tarr
44	QFM-Evinrude	Julian Gascoine
44	Heavy Equipment Maintenance	Anthony Pegg
44	Far Kens	Ken Berry
44	The Assassins	Aaron Mogg
44	The Assassins	Matt Coleman
44	2 Blokes in a Tinnie	Lee Hutchinson
44	2 Blokes in a Tinnie	Mick Shore
44	Team Hellfish	Mark Daley
44	Nitro Tournament Rods	John Schofield
44	Team Ecogear	Gavin Dunne
44	All Torque	Frank Ohl
44	All Torque	Peter Gray
44	Torment	Jason Sizeland
44	G.Loomis-Siglon	Mike Connolly
44	Vindaloo	Brendan Jones
44	Brother in Arms	Jesse Buckley
44	Brother in Arms	Daniel Buckley
44	Squidgy-Lowrance	Steve Starling
44	Team Tennessee	John Bridar
44	Jet One	Trevor Cassidy
44	Jet One	Neil Campbell
44	Tackle World Bundaberg	Chris Galligan
44	Tin of Gold	Justin Fisher
44	Tin of Gold	Justin Nye
44	Gudgeon	Ben Gudgeon
44	Scales & Skin	Gary Wode
44	Scales & Skin	Andrew Rooney
44	Sweetwater Fishing	Garry Fitzgerald
			105	8605
			Avg	81.95238095

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Evacool-Squidgies	10	830
2	FCM	9	809
3	Team Halco 2	9	789
4	Fatman and Ribbon	7	648
5	Mundi	6	565
6	Charltons	7	540
7	Millerods-Shimano	5	397
8	Slick Rigs	6	378
9	QFM-Evinrude	5	359
10	Spotters Sunglasses	3	319
11	Just Hafta Fish	4	313
12	Squidgy-Lowrance	4	309
13	Ando Sportfish	3	274
14	Torment	3	265
15	One of These Days	3	254
16	Team Ecogear	4	237
17	Team Tennessee	2	158
18	The Tackle Warehouse	2	148
19	Team Halco	2	119
20	Heavy Equipment Maintenance	2	114
21	Team Hellfish	1	112
22	Nitro Tournament Rods	1	100
23	Tackle World Bundaberg	1	99
24	Vindaloo	1	81
25	Logan River Marine	1	80
26	Far Kens	1	80
27	Sweetwater Fishing	1	78
28	G.Loomis-Siglon	1	75
29	Gudgeon	1	75
30	The Assassins		0
30	2 Blokes in a Tinnie		0
30	All Torque		0
30	Brother in Arms		0
30	Jet One		0
30	Tin of Gold		0
30	Scales & Skin		0

Northern Division Daiwa Barra Tour AOY

Place	Angler	Teemburra	Faust	Tinaroo	Total
1	Kerrin Taylor	82	100	100	282
2	Cy Taylor	82	99	99	280
3	Scott McAuley	97	93	82	272
4	Mark Mercy	82	76	82	240
5	Jason Wilhelm	96	91		187
6	Alan McNamara	82	98		180
7	Kaj Busch	94	86		180
8	Matt Coleman	82	97		179
9	Michael Lumby	82	95		177
10	Jason Cameron	82	94		176
11	Dennis Roughan	98	76		174
12	Gavin Jarema	82	90		172
13	Danny Anderson		76	93	169
14	Luke Coleman	82	87		169
15	Trevor Burgess	93	76		169
16	Gavin Dunne	100			100
17	Andy Thomson	99			99
18	Ben Leighton			98	98
19	Warren Adams			97	97
19	Neville Gannon			97	97
21	Lindsay Dobe		96		96
22	Dan Bowater			95	95
23	Craig Dunne	95			95
24	Ian Leighton			94	94
25	David Milson			92	92
26	Peter Price		92		92
27	Rod Collings	92			92
28	Arthur Lovern		89		89
29	Michael Myers		88		88
30	Jeff Reid			82	82
30	Reuben Taylor			82	82
30	Allan Craperi			82	82
30	Joseph Wiliams			82	82
30	Vince Cassaniti			82	82
30	Boyd Hamlyn			82	82
30	Trevor Spry			82	82
30	Gavin Comino			82	82
30	James Coate			82	82
30	Bruce Kuhn			82	82
30	Warren Mulla			82	82
30	Theo Davis			82	82
30	Dave Powell			82	82
30	Coota Stevens			82	82
30	Glenn Campbell			82	82
30	Jack Campbell			82	82
30	Jason Muller			82	82
47	Tim Warren		76		76
47	Steve Cantamessa		76		76
47	Colin Slade		76		76

Place	Team	Teemburra	Faust	Tinaroo	Total
1	Millerods/Shimano	86	100	100	286
2	Isa Strike Zone	86	92	84	262
3	Lake Glenbawn	96	98		194
4	Squidgy	97	94		191
5	Mundi	98	93		191
6	Team Got None	86	99		185
7	Codseeker	86	97		183
8	Ando’s Sportsfishers		81	95	176
9	Team Ecogear	100			100
10	Black Cans			99	99
11	Squid Lips	99			99
12	Eyes and Ears			98	98
12	Quay Marine			98	98
14	Team Triumph			96	96
15	One of These Days		96		96
16	Penn		95		95
17	The B-52’s			94	94
18	Team Cow		91		91
19	The Hiltons			84	84
19	Ocean Blue			84	84
19	Snag Rats			84	84
19	Delishus Fishus			84	84
19	Fatman and Ribbon			84	84
19	Northern Angler			84	84

28 anglers gathered at Tinaroo Holiday Park cursing the weather gods for the final event of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour, the Shimano Lake Tinaroo 2-day Evening Event.
28 anglers gathered at Tinaroo Holiday Park cursing the weather gods for the final event of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour, the Shimano Lake Tinaroo 2-day Evening Event.

Coming off an impressive win at Peter Faust, there was a lot of talk about the Taylor boys. They backed it up well, blitzing the Teams category for Millerods/Shimano with a total of 12 barramundi for 892cm, 611cm clear of the next team.

1st place winning a cheque for $600, a Millerod Camofish Barra Hi-Roller rod and Shimano Cruxis 200 reel was Kerrin Taylor wth 6/10, 448cm. Followed closely in second place winning $500, a Diawa Team Advantage rod, Daiwa Millionaire SW203 reel and TD sensor braid was Cy Taylor with 6/10, 444cm. Third (Ben Leighton 2/10, 215cm), fourth (Warren Adams 1/10, 116cm), fifth (Neville Gannon 1/10, 116cm) taking out the remaing places winning cash and prizes including G.Loomis, Angler and Ian Miller Raider Barra Mauler rods.

The Go-So Big Barra was a tie with Warren Adams and Neville Gannon both boating 116cm specimens. The Shimano Bonus prize including a Barra Mauler rod and Shimano Curado 200 DPV reel, however went to Adams who remembered to include the Shimano Calcutta reel he caught the barramundi on, in the photo.

Gannon explained he caught his fish in the second session using a Rapala X-Rap in silver colour, working it parallel to the weedbeds, using a hard erratic jerking retrieve. Adams, a repeat Big Barra winner from last year, caught his barra in the first session in the same spot as last year, a clearing area out from the timber. Working on the presumption that the fish do laps around and must visit the area as they come out from the timber, he ripped his modified 8ft Killalure Barra Bait painted white to once again tempt that large fish.

“I had only painted the lure white that morning and it still smelt of paint, not that it mattered to the barra” he joked.

The overall accolades went to the Shimano/Millerods team, impressing many locals and anglers with their performance. Choosing to anchor and fish a bay in 1 to 3 metres of water with a horizontal laydown under the water. This spot appealed to them as the wind was blowing in to the back of the bay and the water temperature was slightly warmer.

Casting their modified 100mm Squidgy Slick Rigs with rear trebles far into the rear of the bay and slow rolling it parallel to the underwater timber, many of their hits came quickly as they wound in the slack line and began to work the lure.

Pulling the aggressive fish from the snags proved to be difficult, losing 3 fish on the first session and 5 in the second.

“We would always get a bit of leader back when we lost a fish, meaning at least our knots were holding” the boys explained.

A $150 stocking donation went to the Tablelands Fish Stocking Association, a contribution for the future of the lake.

With the Northern leg of the Daiwa BARRA tour now complete, the Northern Angler of the Year Title went to Kerrin Taylor (282/300). The Northern Team of the Year also went to the Shimano/Millerods team (286/300). Putting them in a great position for the AOY, with the Southern leg still to be completed.

If you would like to join in the fun for either the remainder of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour or want to start planning for next year, check out all the info at www.australianbarra.com.au.

Place	Team	Angler	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL
1	Millerods-Shimano	Kerrin Taylor	5	363	1	85	6	448
2	Millerods-Shimano	Cy Taylor	5	358	1	86	6	444
3	Black Cans	Ben Leighton	2	215			2	215
4	Quay Marine	Warren Adams	1	116			1	116
5	Eyes and Ears	Neville Gannon			1	116	1	116
6	Team Triumph	Dan Bowater			1	70	1	70
7	Black Cans	Ian Leighton	1	66			1	66
8	Ando Sportsfish	Danny Anderson	1	65			1	65
9	The B-52’s	David Milson	1	58			1	58
10	The B-52’s	Jeff Reid					0	0
10	Isa Strike Zone	Mark Mercy					0	0
10	Isa Strike Zone	Reuben Taylor					0	0
10	The Hiltons	Allan Craperi					0	0
10	The Hiltons	Joseph Wiliams					0	0
10	Ocean Blue	Vince Cassaniti					0	0
10	Ocean Blue	Boyd Hamlyn					0	0
10	Snag Rats	Trevor Spry					0	0
10	Snag Rats	Gavin Comino					0	0
10	Delishus Fishus	James Coate					0	0
10	Delishus Fishus	Bruce Kuhn					0	0
10	Eyes and Ears	Warren Mulla					0	0
10	Team Triumph	Theo Davis					0	0
10	Quay Marine	Dave Powell					0	0
10	Fatman and Ribbon	Scott McAuley					0	0
10	Fatman and Ribbon	Jason Muller					0	0
10	Ando Sportsfish	Coota Stevens					0	0
10	Northern Angler	Glenn Campbell					0	0
10	Northern Angler	Jack Campbell					0	0
			16	1241	4	357	20	1598
			Avg	77.5625	Avg	89.25	Avg	79.9

Place	Team	Angler	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL
1	Millerods-Shimano	Kerrin Taylor	5	363	1	85	6	448
2	Millerods-Shimano	Cy Taylor	5	358	1	86	6	444
3	Black Cans	Ben Leighton	2	215			2	215
4	Quay Marine	Warren Adams	1	116			1	116
5	Eyes and Ears	Neville Gannon			1	116	1	116
6	Team Triumph	Dan Bowater			1	70	1	70
7	Black Cans	Ian Leighton	1	66			1	66
8	Ando Sportsfish	Danny Anderson	1	65			1	65
9	The B-52’s	David Milson	1	58			1	58
10	The B-52’s	Jeff Reid					0	0
10	Isa Strike Zone	Mark Mercy					0	0
10	Isa Strike Zone	Reuben Taylor					0	0
10	The Hiltons	Allan Craperi					0	0
10	The Hiltons	Joseph Wiliams					0	0
10	Ocean Blue	Vince Cassaniti					0	0
10	Ocean Blue	Boyd Hamlyn					0	0
10	Snag Rats	Trevor Spry					0	0
10	Snag Rats	Gavin Comino					0	0
10	Delishus Fishus	James Coate					0	0
10	Delishus Fishus	Bruce Kuhn					0	0
10	Eyes and Ears	Warren Mulla					0	0
10	Team Triumph	Theo Davis					0	0
10	Quay Marine	Dave Powell					0	0
10	Fatman and Ribbon	Scott McAuley					0	0
10	Fatman and Ribbon	Jason Muller					0	0
10	Ando Sportsfish	Coota Stevens					0	0
10	Northern Angler	Glenn Campbell					0	0
10	Northern Angler	Jack Campbell					0	0
			16	1241	4	357	20	1598
			Avg	77.5625	Avg	89.25	Avg	79.9

22 anglers gathered at Proserpine Bait and Tackle thinking of big things for the second event of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour, the Squidgy Peter Faust 2-day Morning Event.
22 anglers gathered at Proserpine Bait and Tackle thinking of big things for the second event of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour, the Squidgy Peter Faust 2-day Morning Event.

Windy conditions greeted anglers on both days, but it was the Taylor boys’ knowledge of the dam that won them the Championship Team Title for Millerods/Shimano. They outclassed the other teams with 9 fish for a total length of 855cm.

In first place was Kerrin Taylor, with 5 fish for 514cm. Using a Millerod Camofish Barra High Roller rod matched to a new Shimano Calais Digital reel, spooled with 30lb Penn Power Pro braid and straight through 80lb Maxima monofilament leader.

Taking second place was Cy Taylor, with 4 fish for 341cm. Who also uses the exact same gear thanks to a recent sponsorship deal.

The boys have spent many weekends prefishing the dam, trying different hours of the day to fish to gain further experience. In the overcast conditions, they have found the barramundi at the back of the weedbeds in shallow water. Targeting these with a Squidgy Slick Rig in the 110mm size, recently modified to include a stinger treble.

Kerrin explained the technique, “I first wind fast to keep it out of the weed, and then change to a steady slow retrieve.”

The change of wind direction on Day 2 did not change the boys’ plans to hit the same weedbeds.

“We have been talking to Jason Wilhelm lots about barra habits and how to target them”, they said. “It has helped our fishing heaps!”

The Go-So Big Barra prize and Bonus Squidgy Prize however went to Michael Lumby from Team Codseeker Lures. Scoring an impressive 118cm specimen early on the first day from the weed on a Squidgy Slick Rig.

“I was keeping off the weed in about 15 feet of water, and following the contour of the weed with the retrieve”, Lumby explained.

A $100 stocking donation was presented to Lindsay Dobe from the Peter Faust Stocking Group.

Dobe commented, “The recent purchase of the 35cm stockings has been working well and this money will definitely help to purchase more of these.”

27 barramundi were boated over the two days for a total length of 2475cm, making an impressive average size of 91.67cm.

The Daiwa BARRA tour now travels north for the Shimano Tinaroo 2-day Evening Event. With the briefing scheduled for 1pm Saturday 21/10 at the Tinaroo Holiday Park.

If you would like to join in the fun for either the remainder of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour or want to start planning for next year, check out all the info at www.australianbarra.com.au

Place	Team	Angler	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL
1	Millerods-Shimano	Kerrin Taylor	4	405	1	109	5	514
2	Millerods-Shimano	Cy Taylor	3	282	1	59	4	341
3	Lake Glenbawn	Alan McNamara	1	114	2	178	3	292
4	Team Got None	Matt Coleman	3	233			3	233
5	Penn	Lindsay Dobe			2	171	2	171
6	Codseeker	Michael Lumby	1	118			1	118
7	Codseeker	Jason Cameron			1	107	1	107
8	Mundi	Scott McAuley	1	106			1	106
9	One of These Days	Peter Price	1	104			1	104
10	Squidgy	Jason Wilhelm			1	103	1	103
11	Isa Strike Zone	Gavin Jarema	1	101			1	101
12	One of These Days	Arthur Lovern	1	93			1	93
13	Team Cow	Michael Myers			1	77	1	77
14	Team Got None	Luke Coleman			1	59	1	59
15	Squidgy	Kaj Busch	1	56			1	56
16	Team Cow	Tim Warren					0	0
16	Isa Strike Zone	Mark Mercy					0	0
16	Mundi	Trevor Burgess					0	0
16	Lake Glenbawn	Dennis Roughan					0	0
16	Penn	Steve Cantamessa					0	0
16	Ando’s Sportfishers	Colin Slade					0	0
16	Ando’s Sportfishers	Danny Anderson					0	0

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Millerods-Shimano	9	855
2	Team Got None	4	292
3	Lake Glenbawn	3	292
4	Codseeker	2	225
5	One of These Days	2	197
6	Penn	2	171
7	Squidgy	2	159
8	Mundi	1	106
9	Isa Strike Zone	1	101
10	Team Cow	1	77
11	Ando’s Sportsfishers	0

18 anglers set out at Teemburra Dam for the first of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour’s Championship events. The Classic Lures Night event is the first of three events held on this northern leg, with the Squidgy Peter Faust 2-day Morning Event and Shimano Tinaroo 2-day Evening Event to follow.
The 9 teams all gathered together at the Pinnacle Hotel to have their boats checked out, before hitting the water at 4pm, and fishing through until 8am the next morning. All returning to a warm breakfast and tales of the one that got away.

The Champion Team category proved a hotly contested title, with eventual winner Team Ecogear, comprised of Gavin and Craig Dunne claiming the title with their combined limit length of 367cm.

The Champion Anger title belonged to last year’s AOY Champ Gavin Dunne, the Ecogear Tackle representative from Brisbane with a 4/5, 295cm limit, which included the event’s Go-So Adventure Wear Big Barra, a lively 81cm specimen. He scored the prized Millerod Camofish Barra rod and a $300 cheque.

Second place was secured by Andy Thomsen, 2/5, 155cm, third (Dennis Roughan, 2/5, 145cm), fourth (Scott McAuley, 2/5 141cm), and fifth (Jason Wilhelm, 2/5 136cm), taking out the remaining places and cash and prizes including G.Loomis and Angler Rods.

Dunne commented on dropping 10 fish before 8pm when they retired for a sleep. Up at 4am again, they knew they had the right technique, it was a matter of landing a fish.

Locating fish on the sounder in 15 to 20 feet a slow lift hop of their Jackall Mask Vibe 60’s in Pearl Ayu and Gold Glitter tempted several barramundi.

“We were basically using bass techniques!”, Dunne commented. “Working a continuous 16 foot mark targeting leading edges and points, we cast ahead of the boat and work the lure back”.

Dunne’s gear included a Nories 6’10, 8-14 pound bait caster rod matched to a Daiwa Alphas 103 reel. Choosing to spool this with 9 kilo Yamatoyo Saltwater PE braid and 20 pound Yamatoyo Harris Flourocarbon leader.

Dunne noted the team’s success was using light drags and keeping the rods tips in the water whilst fighting to ensure the barramundi didn’t jump and perform the heart breaking head shake. Both brother’s do not often get to fish together and enjoyed the time together on the water.

A $100 stocking donation was handed to the Mackay Area Fish Stocking Association who proudly announced the dam was due to receive another 20,000 barramundi fingerlings by Christmas.

A total of 26 fish were caught and released with a total length of 1920cms, and an average of 73.85cms, up from last year’s average of 72.12cm. All statistics recorded by the anglers provide a valuable insight into the Teemburra Dam’s growth as an awesome fishery.

After a well earned sleep, the next leg of the Daiwa BARRA Tour sees the tour travel to Peter Faust Dam, for the Squidgy Peter Faust 2-day Morning Event.

If you would like to join in the fun for either the remainder of the 2006 Daiwa BARRA Tour or want to start planning for next year, check out all the info at www.australianbarra.com.au.

Individual Results

Place	Angler	Team	F1	L1	TF	TL
1	Gavin Dunne	Team Ecogear	4	295	4	295
2	Andy Thomson	Squid Lips	2	155	2	155
3	Dennis Roughan	Lake Glenbawn	2	145	2	145
4	Scott McAuley	Mundi	2	141	2	141
5	Jason Wilhelm	Squidgy	2	136	2	136
6	Craig Dunne	Team Ecogear	1	72	1	72
7	Kaj Busch	Squidgy	1	72	1	72
8	Trevor Burgess	Mundi	1	71	1	71
9	Rod Collings	Squid Lips	1	70	1	70
10	Kerrin Taylor	Millerods/Shimano	5	399	Disq	Disq
10	Cy Taylor	Millerods/Shimano	5	364	Disq	Disq
10	Mark Mercy	Isa Strike Zone	0		0	0
10	Gavin Jarema	Isa Strike Zone	0		0	0
10	Jason Cameron	Codseeker	0		0	0
10	Michael Lumby	Codseeker	0		0	0
10	Matt Coleman	Team Got None	0		0	0
10	Luke Coleman	Team Got None	0		0	0
10	Alan McNamara	Lake Glenbawn	0		0	0

Team Results

Place	Team	TF	TL
1	Team Ecogear	5	367
2	Squid Lips	3	225
3	Mundi	3	212
4	Squidgy	3	208
5	Lake Glenbawn	2	145
6	Millerods/Shimano	0	0
6	Isa Strike Zone	0	0
6	Codseeker	0	0
6	Team Got None	0	0

In our over exploited and increasingly urbanized environments experiencing quality and what is perhaps best described as mind blowing fishing can be a hard thing to come by. Looking further a field to more remote and less populated locations is what is increasingly required to experience exceptional fishing.
Cape York is once such place that pops to mind when far flung and remote venues are sought, with the region north of Weipa home to comparatively untouched fishing and minimal human habitation. A Mecca for a myriad of tropical angling species, The Cape is perhaps best experienced from the comfort and luxury of a multi-day mothership guiding operation, with the legendary Eclipse Charters operation the crème de crème of choices on offer.

And the Winner Is?
Such an adventure was up for grabs on the 2005 Daiwa BARRA Tour, with 44 year old Seaforth Fishing Guide, Arthur Lovern winning the much envied randomly drawn sponsored prize at the last event at Lake Tinaroo in November. A seven day all expenses paid trip on the Eclipse was just what the hard working guide from NQ needed. With the trip booked in for August 2006 the hard part for Arthur would be the waiting for his holiday to arrive.

Your Home Away From Home
The Eclipse itself is a fisherman’s home away from home, with the 15 metre air conditioned multi decked vessel providing anglers with all the comforts they need for a week of hard-core tropical fishing.

Sumptuous, belt busting sized meals are liberally provided throughout the day, with the return to boat for lunch seeing you refueled and ready for another hot afternoon session. While comfortable beds, hot showers, unlimited freshwater, and a spacious living area further add to the list of features on the Eclipse, it’s the sensational fishing on offer that is of most interest to those that come aboard.

A Week in Heaven
Fishing from sunrise to sunset each day as you leap-frog your way along The Cape, a week on the Eclipse as you’d expect will produce a blur of angling mayhem. For Arthur and the crew this was definitely the case. A handful of sessions stand out though, and highlight perfectly the diversity and quality of fishing available when you spend a week in angling heaven.

1. Action Jackson

The afternoon of day two of the trip was a lesson in tuna feeding mayhem, with wave after wave of feeding mack and longtail tuna decimating bait ball after bait ball only a kilometer off the beach at the mouth of Jackson River. With scant regard and concern for the running outboard and the slapping hull of the boat, the schools roamed around at speed, inhaling any resemblance of bait they could find.

“It was amazing to see, the ocean was like a wave of tuna surfing across the water. You’d see them coming and they just wouldn’t stop feeding, eating as they swam towards the boat, around the boat, and under it”, explained Eclipse regular Mark ‘Chainsaw’ Lawson.

The fishing as expected was red hot, with any cast placed in their path consumed with gusto. While the screaming runs and relentless circling of hooked fish were tough, getting them to take a lure was not, with the tuna gladly taking whatever we through at them. Slugs, buck tail jigs, and flies were some of the standouts, with the local shark population appreciating the free feed offered by the long fight time of using fly. It was the end of the first full day and for many of us our arms were already sore. Not a good thing with another six days to go.

2. Jack Attack

If you’re into tropical creek fishing then mangrove jacks are generally on your hit list. A day on the MacDonald River scratched this itch for Mark and Arthur, with a rising tide and active fish delivering redhot action. Targeting timber strewn edges the pair used an assortment of bibbed minnows to rack up fish after fish.

“They were holding in fairly shallow water, and they were in good numbers”, explained Arthur. While a steady flow of fish was forthcoming it was the concentrations of fish they found on some snags that was most exciting.

“Some laydowns would produce jack after jack, after jack”, explained Arthur.

“I think the most we pulled from one snag was 8 fish”, he added. “To see multiple fish, lit up and competing for your lure is fantastic”, Arthur concluded.

This run of hot creek fishing was experienced by other crews fishing the MacDonald, with Steve and I bagging out on jack, barra, and cod on the same afternoon, using a mixture of suspending jerkbaits. For Mark and Arthur they struck it the best tallying up 10 different species for the day, and a long list of multiple hook-ups. Not bad going in the tropics for the middle of winter.

3. Flats Feast

Few things epitomize The Cape more than sight fishing gin clear flats under cloudless blue skies. The flats leading into the MacDonald River provide just this experience one morning, with light offshore southeast winds delivering ideal conditions to spot cruising fish. Identifiable as groups of grey smudges mooching their way across the sandy bottom, the fish fell to small chrome slugs and plastics, lead cast to them and retrieved past their nose.

While primarily a mixture of queenies, and trevally, one pod of blue salmon had Steve Morgan and I jumping out of the boat, and chasing them along the beach. The end result of a double hookup, Simon: 1, Steve: 0 and the rest of schooling continue on their journey along the beach.

Some of the other highlights from the flats include, shadowing a group of permit as they frustratingly ignored all we presented at them. Watching a 1.02 metre queenfish go nuts in two foot of water was a buzz, while the two hours anchored up on the drop off from the flats into the river produced a string of fish and a host of species.

With the fish riding the flooding water into the river mouth, the catch card read as role call of northern species, including, golden trevally, queenfish, barracuda, big eye trevally, salmon, and mackerel. All on a mixture, of bucktail jigs, clousers, lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits, slugs, and of course, surface poppers.

4. Fingermark Frenzy

The day spent trolling a small inshore reef of Port Musgrave was one of the most brutal encounters of the trip. Bouncing deep diving minnows (4-6 metres) along or just above the bottom was the gun technique, with the hits violent, abrupt and the hookup often short lived. The strike was like hitting a brick wall, with the lure stopped in its’ tracks, then towed home to the reef below.

“It was aggressive heart in your mouth fishing”, explained Steve Morgan. “Pulled to you feet on the strike, then straining under a locked drag, you just never knew if you were going to win or if the fish was going to brick you”, he added.

The lure loss as you’d expect was high, with each passing run past the Eclipse providing the spectators with an update of the lure count. By lunch time we’d loss five lures and were already looking for reinforcements for the afternoon session.

The largest fished wrestled from the reef tipped the ruler at 75cm, while Arthur added a new PB to his list of achievements from the trip with his 65cm fingermark. Other notable captures from the session included a 94cm gold-spot estuary cod on baitcaster gear, and watching a 3kg fingermark getting eaten at the side of the boat by a 40lb cod. It was primeval fishing at its’ best.

Back on the Eclipse it was actions stations also with an array of species, including fingermark, sweetlip, coral trout, and golden trevally poled onboard.

5. Barra Bonanza

No trip to The Cape is complete without a hot barra session, and it waited until the last day on the Wenlock River to arrive. Fishing the smaller feeder creeks running into the main river, it was quintessential barra fishing, casting lures as bank side timber on a rising tide. To patterns emerged from two different boats, one involving slow rolling Texas rigged plastics through the structure, while the other involved more traditional bibbed minnows.

“It was great fun”, explained Steve Morgan, “One snag in particular we must have pulled 20 fish from, not big fish, but great sport none the less”. Not to be out down was the crew of Arthur Lovern and Mark Lawson, who in contrast used more vibrant pink colour hard bodies to tempt their fish.

“It was out of this world the aggressiveness of the fish we found”, explained Arthur. “It was a constant barrage of hits, strikes and hookups, one fish in particular floated up behind my lure sitting motionless on the water, and boofed it off the surface. It was awesome to see”, concluded Arthur.

Some of the other highlights of the morning session included Peter Morgan’s 75cm barra, two beautifully coloured Queensland groper, a couple of fingermark, and a string of hyper alert archer fish that lined up to eat Mark and Arthur’s lures.

The Final Word
While the fishing draws you to The Cape it’s the experience of the Eclipse and its’ crew that help make the trip truly memorable. Skipper, Dick Forster, guide, Shane Miller and cook Janeen Burns ensure that all you have to do once onboard is enjoy yourself. With warmth, humour and genuine hospitality the staple for your week aboard, you step off the ship at the end trip already planning your return visit.

For trip prize winner Arthur Lovern it was a fishing trip of a lifetime.
“As a guide it was nice to be on the other side for a change”, explained Arthur.
“The service onboard was fantastic and the fishing was sensational. You were chasing tuna one moment and 30 minutes later you were onto jacks and barra, you couldn’t ask for much more. The diversity of fish, angling and the non-stop fishing was something to behold. It was like dying and going to fishing heaven”, concluded Arthur.

Fact Boxes
Fact Box 1
List of species caught on the trip Archer fish, barramundi, black spot cod, gold spot cod, Queensland groper, mangrove jack, fingermark, grey mackerel, Spanish mackerel, pikey bream, queenfish, big eye trevally, giant trevally, golden trevally, mudcrab, mack tuna, longtail tuna, tomato cod, coral trout, grass sweetlip, barracuda, blue salmon, tarpon, giant herring, pikey bream.

Fact Box 2
If the thought of feeding 500 lb groper, and experiencing the best fishing Cape York has to offer is of interest, than a trip on the Eclipse is for you. Operating between April and December, the Eclipse provides an exclusive 7 day, 6 angler remote fishing experience that will satisfy the most hardcore angler. Operating out of Weipa, the fly in, fly out expedition is light tackle fishing at its’ finest. For enquiries or bookings contact Eclipse Charters- (02) 9453 9377, eclipseoz@bigpond.com.au, www.eclipsecharters.com.au

Mackay’s Arthur Lovern was the lucky BARRA angler drawn out of the hat by Jack Erskine to win the trip on the Eclipse out of Weipa.

Well, we’ve done the trip and it was a cracker!

Keep an eye out for the article about it in an upcoming QFM, NSWFM or VFM. There’s some sneak-peek pics, though, in the Image Gallery.
Arthur was ‘bloody stoked’ with the lucky break, after his name was randomly drawn from all competitors who took part in the tour. His best barra for the tour was a 114cm monster from Peter Faust Dam.