Australian Barra Archive

The Halco Lake Monduran 2×5 BARRA event lived up to the tough fishery that gives Monduran its nick name of “Lake Misery’ with a total of 12 fish landed by 12 individual anglers in a 74 strong field.

The tournament winner Dean Silvester landing the event’s big barra of 116cm taking the honours over Kerrin Taylor by a mere centimentre.
Silvester’s outfit consisted of a Megabass Renlli 300 reel spooled with 35lb Unitika braid and 60lb Unitika leader matched to a Samurai 502 rod.

His money bait was a Squidgy 110 Slick Rig in evil minnow with the tail dipped in chartreuse Spike It. Using a pair of customised forks heated on a butane burner, he adds scutes to the tail of the Squidgy soft plastic for extra tail action. The key to this bait is the custom made jig head by Silvester himself. Using a Gamakatsu 7/0 heavy wire hook he attaches a wire stinger with Gamakatsu Treble 14, size 4. Then using a Do-It mould darter head pours a 1/2oz lead jighead encasing the stinger hook connection to the hook within the lead for extra strength. Finally a plastic rattle is attached to the shank of the hook for extra under water resonation.

Travelling in the Frogley Offshore I-Class Skeeter, Silvester was able to cruise to his location near the mouth of the Kolan Creek ahead of the other competitors. He had identified a weed point in the prefish that had the wind blowing on it and holding plenty of bait.

“Using the Humminbird 998 side scan function, I was able to identify barra swimming past the point, holding close to the bottom and amongst the weed,” he said.

Anchoring in 11ft and throwing to the point in approximately 4ft Silvester used long wind assisted casts to reach the weed edges.

“I would begin to wind straight away near the weed then slow roll the retrieve so that the plastic travelled close to the bottom,” he explained.

Losing a good fish on day one around a stump in the weed and his partner Dave Robinson landing a 91cm specimen, Silvester hoped that day 2 would be kind to him.

At around 1.40pm after an 11.30am start Silvester hooked the 116cm event winning big barra.

“At first it jumped and we thought it was in the nineties so I went hard on it, only backing the drag off when it moved into deeper water,” he said.

This Monduran beast scoring him first place over runner up Kerrin Taylor by a centimetre, showing you are only one cast away from winning a tournament.

Taylor caught his 115cm barramundi on day one in a 4m deep bay which had scattered timber and a drop off to deeper water close by on a floating Rapala X-Rap in purple/albino colour retro fitted with Owner size 4 ST66 trebles.

“I like these lures for fishing around the timber because they dive shallow and float up slowly in the water. When the lure is retrieved into a submerged snag I pause the retrieve and let it float up over the obstruction before gently starting the retrieve again to make sure the lure has cleared the snag,” said Taylor.

“The location was challenging to fish as the submerged scattered timber in the area required accurate casting. We had to aim for any tight gaps between the trees that we could see to get a good cast in. There were a few lures lost by getting snagged on the timber but it all proved worthwhile after the 115cm barramundi was caught,” he continued.

The outfit used was a Millerods Salty Barra rod matched to a Shimano Chronarch reel with 30lb Fins braid and 80lb Black Magic leader.

With his second place finish at Monduran and a first and second place in the two Awoonga events Taylor proved he was the angler to beat claiming the Southern and Overall AOY honours.

The Halco sponsored event proved to be a hit with every team scoring a new Halco Hamma barramundi lure and Tim Carter representing Halco all the way from WA gave the anglers the insight into the lures tough design features.

The final presentation on Saturday night at the Gin Gin Hotel was well attended and a chance for anglers to relax after a tough and testing tour. Local Bundaberg Regional Council representatives attended and addressed the crowd with their support for the town and fishery that seems to be so popular.

With the 2010 Daiwa BARRA Tour now completed we look forward to the Grand Final to be held in February. For more information visit www.australianbarra.com.au or ph ABT on 07 3387 0888.

Angler	Team	Status	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL	Cash	Prizes
Dean Silvester	Gamakatsu	Standard			1	116	1	116	$1,400	Daiwa Heartland rod & reel, Prize Pack, Big Barra Prize Pack (116cm)
Kerrin Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro	1	115			1	115	$900 + $600 Pro	Gary Howard rod & Prize Pack
Tyson Robertson	Wilson Fishing Australia	Standard	1	108			1	108	$700	Shimano Coriolis reel & Prize Pack
Daniel Grech	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard			1	103	1	103	$500	Spotters Sunglasses & Prize Pack
Jon Millard	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard			1	100	1	100	$400	Shimano Raider rod & Prize Pack
Elaine Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard	1	99			1	99	$300	Berkley Tacklebag & Prize Pack
Jason Wilhelm	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard	1	95			1	95	$200	Prize Pack
Boyd Read	Young Guns	Standard	1	94			1	94	$100	Prize Pack
David Robinson	Gamakatsu	Standard	1	91			1	91		Prize Pack
Matt McArthur	McArthur Customs	Standard			1	82	1	82		Prize Pack
Karl Rembacher	Shitty Tinny	Standard			1	80	1	80		Prize Pack
Simon Black	I’m On Lures	Standard	1	63			1	63		Prize Pack, Halco Big Barra Prize Pack (63cm)
Steven Bechly	Active Angler/Egrell Rodz	Standard					0	0
Andy Chew	Active Angler/Egrell Rodz	Standard					0	0
Steve Eldred	Atomic	Standard					0	0
Chris Eldred	Atomic	Standard					0	0
David Reynolds	Bass to Barra	Standard					0	0
Matthew Mott	Bass to Barra	Standard					0	0
Trevor Burgess	Berkley	Standard					0	0
Tim Steenhuis	Berkley	Standard					0	0
Matt Fraser	Berkley Nitro R&D	Standard					0	0
Mark Lennox	Berkley Nitro R&D	Standard					0	0
Ken Murray	Blue Nitro	Standard					0	0
Ross Murray	Blue Nitro	Standard					0	0
Rick Napier	Bundyites	Standard					0	0
Michael Napier	Bundyites	Standard					0	0
Greg Mitchell	CJR Industries	Standard					0	0
Ben Vonpein	CJR Industries	Standard					0	0
Mark Larsen	Dairy Farmers	Standard					0	0
Cliff Brauer	Dairy Farmers	Standard					0	0
Mike Connolly	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard					0	0
Leon Parmenter	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard					0	0
Jake Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard					0	0
John Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard					0	0
Jason Ehrlich	Halco	Standard					0	0
Tim Carter	Halco	Standard					0	0
Lex Irwin	I’m On Lures	Standard					0	0
Spencer Troxell	McArthur Customs	Standard					0	0
Ian Miller	Millerods/ Fish N’ Bits	Standard					0	0
Carl Jocumsen	Millerods/ Fish N’ Bits	Standard					0	0
Cy Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro					0	0
Matt Anderson	Quantum	Pro					0	0
Ashley Sims	Quantum	Pro					0	0
Craig Griffiths	Rapala Street Team	Standard					0	0
Daniel Roth	Rapala Street Team	Standard					0	0
Peter Jung	Reidy’s B-52	Standard					0	0
Nicholas Willet	Reidy’s B-52	Standard					0	0
Trevor Cassidy	Rum Pigs	Standard					0	0
Glyn Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard					0	0
Simon Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard					0	0
Patrick Morgan	Sebile	Standard					0	0
Jarrod Dalton	Sebile	Standard					0	0
Alan McNamara	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard					0	0
Katie Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard					0	0
Gavin Dunne	Team Ecogear	Standard					0	0
Dean Thompson	Team Ecogear	Standard					0	0
Rob Wood	Team Gin Gin Hotel	Standard					0	0
Ben Durkin	Team Gin Gin Hotel	Standard					0	0
Neville Parmenter	Team Maverick	Standard					0	0
Rodney Milkins	Team Maverick	Standard					0	0
Jason Medcalf	Team Polycraft	Standard					0	0
Brad Cooper	Team Polycraft	Standard					0	0
Matt Martin	Team Predator	Standard					0	0
Matt Hazell	Team Predator	Standard					0	0
Steven Wright	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard					0	0
Wayne Cox	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard					0	0
Gary Leather	Team Rovex	Standard					0	0
Tim Mulhall	Team Rovex	Standard					0	0
Phil Lyons	The Likely Lads	Standard					0	0
Geoff Newby	The Likely Lads	Standard					0	0
Grant Murray	We Fish	Pro					0	0
Wayne Jones	We Fish	Pro					0	0
Drew McGrath	Wilson Fishing Australia	Standard					0	0
Dustin Sippell	Young Guns	Standard					0	0
			7	665	5	481	12	1146
								95.5

Kerrin Taylor, 5/10, 515cm has taken out the Berkley Lake Awoonga Evening Championships. After finding the going tough in the first session with one fish for 96cm, Taylor bounced back with a 4/5, 419cm second session to overcome Jason Wilhelm by a mere 27cms.
“In session one our team traveled to a point close to the main boat ramp. Fishing in around five meters of water, using a Rapala X-Rap lure I caught one fish around twilight slowly rolling the lure back to the boat. Come the second session I knew I had to find fish to be in the hunt, so went out looking, as we do in a prefish, for a likely spot. We ended up finding a bay on the western side of the dam. It had a small island situated nearby, and the main feature of the bay was a gully extending out from the shoreline. The gully was around 4 meters in depth and on each side would rise up to around 2 meters in depth”.

“We had a look and could see fish on the sounder so decided to try our luck. We anchored about 60 meters from the bank and proceeded to cast into the area using 15cm Rapala X-Raps in gold colour retro fitted with Owner hooks. There was weed present on the bank and a slow roll of the lure got an almost instant response. The fish that we caught came early in the session before dark. After dark the bite shutdown, so ultimately it was an afternoon bite window”.

“The fish responded instantly when we arrived. After the initial catch the remainder were caught progressively till darkness set in. The wind was strong throughout the session and was blowing along the shoreline of our location. I am very pleased with the result and look forward to the last event of the tour at Lake Monduran. Due to the influx of water the dams are high. This in turn has made the prefish tough, as there is so much area to cover and find fish. Heading in to this event I am confident and looking forward to competing in this event”.

Taylor’s outfit consisted of a Millerods Salty Barra rod teamed with a Shimano Chronarch spooled with 30lb Fins braid in yellow with 80lb Black Magic leader.

Jason Wilhelm, 5/10, 488cm, finished in second place for the tournament. Fishing his location at Pelican Point over both sessions, Wilhelm added another top finish to his impressive tournament credentials.

“It was only on the day, based on web and on-site information that I decided to head to Pelican Point. The location is one that I have used guiding on the dam and I was confident I could find fish there. I anchored in 15 feet of water and fished to a weedbed. Using a Jazz Vibe retro fitted with Gamakatsu trebles, I would cast into around 30 foot of water. Using a hopping retrieve I would lift and wind the lure back to boat to attract any bites on offer. As it turned out it accounted for two fish in the first session”.

“On day two it was too windy to fish the Jazz Vibe. I switched to a Squidgy Slick Rig 130mm in lorikeet colour. This particular colour works well in overcast & night conditions as the colour silhouettes very well. This lure is matched to a custom TT jighead with a number of alterations and added acoustics. The technique was to cast, let the lure sink to the bottom, slow wind with a sequence of hops, burns and shakes. This combines multiple presentations in each retrieve”.

“Conditions were trying with waves and wind both challenging us throughout the session. We decided to stick to the plan and location and just work throughout the entire session. Due to weather variations there was defined bite periods. It was a matter of using the time effectively and working as a team”.

Wilhelm’s outfit consisted of a 702 Barra Flatspin Shimano T-Curve rod teamed with a Shimano Stradic CI4 4000 size reel spooled with 30lb PowerPro braid and 100lb Black Magic leader.

“Without the support of all my sponsors it would be difficult to compete in these tournaments, so I want to thank Shimano, Evinrude, Millerods, Minn Kota, Skeeter, Lowrance and Blue Eye sunglasses for their support”.

Michael Weick’s 124cm first session catch took out the event big barra. Caught off a point at Cormorant Bay near the end of the session, the fish fought hard before finally succumbing, much to the delight of the angler.

Weick explains the capture, “The location had a lot of dark, dirty water. There was a lot of bait in the area, predominately garfish. We were anchored in around 8 feet of water. I was using a 125mm Smith Saruna lure in sardine colour. The lure was retro fitted with number 2 Owner and number 6 Decoy trebles. Importantly these changes help to suspend the lure, which is something we try to do with all our lures. The lure mimicked the baitfish perfectly”.

“When hooked the barramundi put on an aerial show and took plenty of line on deep runs. Even when we were about to net the fish it made a final dash for freedom. When the fish was finally netted I was very relieved. When measured it was a personal best, and we quickly got the photos and made a successful release. The hooks were actually straightened in the net, so it almost was the one that got away”.

ABT now heads to the final event of the 2010 BARRA Tour, the Halco Lake Monduran Afternoon Championship, Nov 26th-27th. For more information check out www.australianbarra.com.au.  

Place	Angler	Team	Status	F1	L1	F2	L2	TF	TL	Cash	Prizes
1	Kerrin Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro	1	96	4	419	5	515	$1400 + $400 Pro	Daiwa Heartland rod & Daiwa Luna reel & Prize Pack
2	Jason Wilhelm	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard	2	203	3	285	5	488	$900	Gary Howard G Force rod & Prize Pack
3	Spencer Troxell	McArthur Customs	Standard			5	486	5	486	$700	Shimano Curado & Prize Pack
4	Simon Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard	3	299	1	95	4	394	$500	Spotters sunglasses & Prize Pack
5	Carl Jocumsen	Millerods/ Fish N’ Bits	Standard	2	204	2	190	4	394	$400	Shimano Catana rod & Prize Pack
6	Daniel Grech	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard	1	102	3	273	4	375	$200	Berkley Tacklebag & Prize Pack
7	Dean Silvester	Gamakatsu	Standard	1	98	2	203	3	301	$200	Prize Pack
8	Glyn Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard	1	100	2	186	3	286		Prize Pack
9	Ian Miller	Millerods/ Fish N’ Bits	Standard	2	207			2	207		Prize Pack
10	Adam Paskins	Reel Smooth	Standard	1	113	1	86	2	199		Prize Pack
11	Michael Weick	Team Nerangatang	Standard	1	124			1	124		Prize Pack, Berkley/Hollowbelly Big Barra Prize Pack (124cm)
12	Jake Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard	1	112			1	112		Prize Pack
13	Craig Griffiths	Rapala Street Team	Standard	1	108			1	108		Prize Pack
14	Tim Carter	Halco	Standard	1	108			1	108		Prize Pack
15	Alan McNamara	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard			1	107	1	107		Prize Pack
16	Trent Short	Sunline	Standard	1	106			1	106
17	Jason Medcalf	Team Polycraft	Standard	1	102			1	102
18	Jon Millard	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard			1	100	1	100
19	Brian Todd	Sunline 2	Standard			1	99	1	99
20	Matt McArthur	McArthur Customs	Standard			1	99	1	99
21	Roderick Walmsley	Sunline 2	Standard	1	96			1	96
22	Rob Wood	Team Gin Gin Hotel	Standard	1	92			1	92
23	Matthew Mott	Bass to Barra	Standard			1	92	1	92
24	Trevor Burgess	Berkley	Standard	1	90			1	90
25	Jason Ehrlich	Halco	Standard	1	90			1	90
26	David Reynolds	Bass to Barra	Standard	1	87			1	87
27	Jarrod Dalton	Sebile	Standard			1	84	1	84
28	Katsutoshi Furusawa	Sunline	Standard	1	82			1	82
29	Steve Eldred	Atomic	Standard					0	0
29	Dale Mullins	Atomic	Standard					0	0
29	Peter Derksen	Aussie Boat Loans	Standard					0	0
29	John Cinciano	Aussie Boat Loans	Standard					0	0
29	Misty Burgess	Berkley	Standard					0	0
29	Matt Fraser	Berkley Nitro R&D	Standard					0	0
29	Mark Lennox	Berkley Nitro R&D	Standard					0	0
29	Greg Mitchell	CJR Industries	Standard					0	0
29	Ben Vonpein	CJR Industries	Standard					0	0
29	Mark Larsen	Dairy Farmers	Standard					0	0
29	Jason Jones	Dairy Farmers	Standard					0	0
29	Mike Connolly	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard					0	0
29	Leon Parmenter	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard					0	0
29	John Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard					0	0
29	Michael Starkey	Gamakatsu	Standard					0	0
29	Simon Black	I’m On Lures	Standard					0	0
29	Andrew Black	I’m On Lures	Standard					0	0
29	Cy Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro					0	0
29	Matt Anderson	Quantum	Pro					0	0
29	Kris George	Quantum	Pro					0	0
29	Daniel Roth	Rapala Street Team	Standard					0	0
29	Mick Jones	Reel Smooth	Standard					0	0
29	Trevor Cassidy	Rum Pigs	Standard					0	0
29	Cameron Golightly	Rum Pigs	Standard					0	0
29	Patrick Morgan	Sebile	Standard					0	0
29	Karl Rembacher	Shitty Tinny	Standard					0	0
29	Jason Sizeland	Shitty Tinny	Standard					0	0
29	Elaine Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard					0	0
29	Katie Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard					0	0
29	Gavin Dunne	Team Ecogear	Standard					0	0
29	Dean Thompson	Team Ecogear	Standard					0	0
29	Ben Durkin	Team Gin Gin Hotel	Standard					0	0
29	Neville Parmenter	Team Maverick	Standard					0	0
29	Rodney Milkins	Team Maverick	Standard					0	0
29	Glen Smith	Team Nerangatang	Standard					0	0
29	Brad Cooper	Team Polycraft	Standard					0	0
29	Matt Martin	Team Predator	Standard					0	0
29	Matt Hazell	Team Predator	Standard					0	0
29	Steven Wright	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard					0	0
29	Wayne Cox	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard					0	0
29	Phil Lyons	The Likely Lads	Standard					0	0
29	Geoff Newby	The Likely Lads	Standard					0	0
29	Dustin Sippell	Young Guns	Standard					0	0
29	Boyd Read	Young Guns	Standard					0	0
				26	2619	29	2804	55	5423
									98.6

Kris George, 3/9 330cm, has taken out the Rapala Lake Awoonga 3×3 Championships. George caught all his fish in a bumper first session, which included one upgrade of 114cm, which ultimately secured the event big barra prize. George, the 21 year old owner of Fish ‘n’ Bits, Toowoomba, identified his location during the prefish window and returned to the location each session. Whilst only the first session proved fruitful, it was enough to take victory in the tough, rainy conditions at the venue.
“The location was off the main basin. It was a bay of broken weed that had dirty water in the mix. We fished a point and edge in about 20 feet of water. I noticed a lot of anglers were targeting fish in the shallows. The area we fished was deeper, with the point going from 6 feet through to about 20 feet deep”.

  “The conditions were tough. It took us about an hour once we got to our location to anchor up and hold fast. In the end we had to deploy two anchors to hold position. The lure that did the damage was the original Squidgies Slick Rig 130mm in true blue colour. The lure had an Owner stinger hook (size 2) added. The stinger was wire crimped to the lure eye and would protrude through the last rib of the lure”.

 
“We were happy with our location. We could see that the fishing was tough, and as we had caught a fish in the same location during the prefish we ultimately decided to live and die on our area. Having only been to Awoonga twice my experience is more limited than some. But having been out on the waters with some good anglers has shown me what to look for. Other spots I perhaps was going to were being fished or had come under pressure so we made the decision to stay”.

 
“When we got a firm anchor we began fishing. We worked as a team with one angler working their retrieve fast and the other slow. When we got our first fish we both tailored our retrieve. About an hour later I had my second fish followed by the third after dark. The moon was sporadically coming out which aided visibility and seemed to bring the fish on the bite. Thirty minutes later I had my fourth fish which was an upgrade and ultimately took out the event big barra”.

 
The next session saw Gorge primed for a return to his location, but motor troubles intervened. In the end he was towed to and from the start location by another boat in order to fish the session. Unfortunately the fish did not want to co-operate and the team were unable to add to their catch sheet.

  “It took us about 40 minutes to get to the spot. Another angler was already there, but in a show of great sportsmanship moved on of their own accord. The wind had changed direction and the water temperature had dropped 4 degrees. The whole dynamics of the area had changed and as a consequence the fish weren’t active”.

            “We overcame the motor issues and returned to the same location in the final session. One catfish fell victim and we had a hookup that couldn’t be translated into a fish. Ultimately with the fishing being tough we wanted to be on a spot we had confidence in. With the bite windows sometimes being a short as 5 minutes, we wanted to maximize the opportunities at the chosen location. As such the decision was made to stick it out”.

  “The key was slowing the retrieve speed. Also I have experimented in the past with multiple hook sets. For some reason this technique was loosing more fish than I like, so I reverted to a single strike and just played each fish to tire them out. Using low rod angles I would keep the pressure on and as a consequence the fish would jump less. As it worked out the fish stuck and I was able to boat enough to take the win”.

  Georges out fit consisted of a 7’2″ rod teamed with a 3000 size reel spooled with 14lb Berkley Crystal Fireline and 60lb Pioneer invisible fluorocarbon leader.

  George notes, “The breaking strain of my mainline was above its stated. It stood up to fish and multiple snags without any problem. I even had some hooks come off second best”

 
“A big thank you to Carl Jocumsen and Ian Miller for their help and support throughout the tournament. To my Quantum partner, Matt Anderson, also a big thanks. And finally to Fish ‘N’ Bits at Toowoomba, I couldn’t do this without their support so thank you for making this possible”.

  Kerrin Taylor, 2/9, 217cm, took out second place. Taylor boated a fish in the first and third session, continuing to build on his consistent tournament performances.

  “We fished a weed edge on the western side of the dam near the quarry. It was a location identified in the prefish. As the fishing was tough we made the decision to return to this location. We were fishing shallow in 2-4 meters of water over the top of weed. It was tough with only one fish coming in the first session. We returned to the same location in session two, fished another spot nearby, but found no fish”.

  “In the final session we went back to the original location. It was fishing hard, so required a fair mount of persistence and patience. Eventually after dark we got a fish, but after that we didn’t get any more bites so finished with the single fish”.

  The lure of choice was a Rapala X-Rap 15cm in gold. The lure was retro fitted with Owner trebles. Taylor explains the technique, “I was working the lure over the top of shallow weed, perhaps 1-2 feet under the surface. It would be a matter of mixing up slow rolling with twitches. If the lure got caught up, a quick twitch to break it free kept the lure in the strikezone. The barra were deep in the weed, so it was a matter of getting them to react as the lure traveled through the area”.

  Taylor’s outfit consisted of a Millerods Salty Barra rod teamed with a Shimano Chronach reel spooled with 20lb Fins braid in yellow and 80lb Black Magic leader.

  Thanking all his sponsors including Shimano, Evinrude, Millerods, Plano, Lowrance and Rapala, Taylor was upbeat about the event and the tournaments to follow. With the southern BARRA AOY still in the mix, it is anyone’s game at this stage of the season.

  ABT now moves to the Berkley Lake Awoonga Evening Championship, 2×5, 22nd-23rd Nov. Check out www.australianbarra.com.au for more information.
 

Place	Angler	Team	Status	F1	L1	F2	L2	F3	L3	TF	TL	Cash	Prizes
1	Kris George	Quantum	Pro	3	330					3	330	$1500 + $400 Pro	Daiwa Heartland rod & Daiwa Luna reel & Prize Pack, Berkley/Rapala Big Barra Prize Pack (114cm)
2	Kerrin Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro	1	111			1	106	2	217	$1,000	Millerod Twitchin Stick rod, Shimano Coriolis reel & Prize Pack
3	Matthew Mott	Bass to Barra	Standard	1	101	1	103			2	204	$700	G.Loomis CBR756 rod & Prize Pack
4	Dean Silvester	Gamakatsu	Standard	1	98	1	100			2	198	$500	Spotters sunglasses & Prize Pack
5	Jason Wilhelm	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard	1	91			1	92	2	183	$400	Shimano Catana rod & Prize Pack
6	Rodney Milkins	Team Maverick	Standard					1	111	1	111	$300	Berkley Tacklebag & Prize Pack
7	Alan McNamara	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard	1	105					1	105	$200	Prize Pack
8	Michael Weick	Team Nerangatang	Standard	1	103					1	103	$200	Prize Pack
9	Mike Connolly	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard			1	99			1	99		Prize Pack
10	Jon Millard	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard	1	98					1	98		Prize Pack
11	Simon Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard	1	97					1	97		Prize Pack
12	Roderick Walmsley	Sunline 2	Standard					1	97	1	97		Prize Pack
13	Trevor Burgess	Berkley	Standard	1	96					1	96		Prize Pack
14	Glyn Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard	1	96					1	96		Prize Pack
15	Greg Mitchell	CJR Industries	Standard	1	91					1	91		Prize Pack
16	Jason Ehrlich	Halco	Standard					1	91	1	91
17	Tim Carter	Halco	Standard					1	89	1	89
18	Matt Fraser	Berkley Nitro R&D	Standard	1	88					1	88
19	Andrew Black	I’m On Lures	Standard							0	0
19	Ben Durkin	Team Gin Gin Hotel	Standard							0	0
19	Ben Vonpein	CJR Industries	Standard							0	0
19	Boyd Read	Young Guns	Standard							0	0
19	Brian Todd	Sunline 2	Standard							0	0
19	Cameron Golightly	Rum Pigs	Standard							0	0
19	Carl Jocumsen	Millerods/ Fish N’ Bits	Standard							0	0
19	Colin Brett	Lethal Lures	Standard							0	0
19	Craig Griffiths	Rapala Street Team	Standard							0	0
19	Cy Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro							0	0
19	Dale Mullins	Atomic	Standard							0	0
19	Dale Nolan	Jagem	Standard							0	0
19	Daniel Grech	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard							0	0
19	Daniel Roth	Rapala Street Team	Standard							0	0
19	David Reynolds	Bass to Barra	Standard							0	0
19	Dean Thompson	Team Ecogear	Standard							0	0
19	Dustin Sippel	Young Guns	Standard							0	0
19	Elaine Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard							0	0
19	Gavin Dunne	Team Ecogear	Standard							0	0
19	Geoff Newby	The Likely Lads	Standard							0	0
19	Glen Smith	Team Nerangatang	Standard							0	0
19	Ian Miller	Millerods/ Fish N’ Bits	Standard							0	0
19	Jake Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard							0	0
19	Jarrod Dalton	Sebile	Standard							0	0
19	Jason Jones	Dairy Farmers	Standard							0	0
19	Jason Medcalf	Team Polycraft	Standard							0	0
19	Jason Sizeland	Shitty Tinny	Standard							0	0
19	John Cinciano	Aussie Boat Loans	Standard							0	0
19	John Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard							0	0
19	Karl Rembacher	Shitty Tinny	Standard							0	0
19	Katie Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard							0	0
19	Katsutoshi Furusawa	Sunline	Standard							0	0
19	Ken Berry	Orion Lures	Standard							0	0
19	Ken Best	Orion Lures	Standard							0	0
19	Leon Parmenter	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard							0	0
19	Mark Larsen	Dairy Farmers	Standard							0	0
19	Mark Lennox	Berkley Nitro R&D	Standard							0	0
19	Matt Anderson	Quantum	Pro							0	0
19	Matt Hazell	Team Predator	Standard							0	0
19	Matt Martin	Team Predator	Standard							0	0
19	Matt McArthur	McArthur Customs	Standard							0	0
19	Michael Napier	Bundyites	Standard							0	0
19	Michael Starkey	Gamakatsu	Standard							0	0
19	Misty Burgess	Berkley	Standard							0	0
19	Nathan Anderson	Sofishticated	Standard							0	0
19	Neville Parmenter	Team Maverick	Standard							0	0
19	Patrick Morgan	Sebile	Standard							0	0
19	Paul Habijanec	Team Polycraft	Standard							0	0
19	Peter Derksen	Aussie Boat Loans	Standard							0	0
19	Phil Lyons	The Likely Lads	Standard							0	0
19	Quintin Maclean	Sofishticated	Standard							0	0
19	Rick Napier	Bundyites	Standard							0	0
19	Rob Wood	Team Gin Gin Hotel	Standard							0	0
19	Ryan Fennell	Jagem	Standard							0	0
19	Simon Black	I’m On Lures	Standard							0	0
19	Spencer Troxell	McArthur Customs	Standard							0	0
19	Stephen Lill	Lethal Lures	Standard							0	0
19	Steve Eldred	Atomic	Standard							0	0
19	Steven Wright	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard							0	0
19	Trent Short	Sunline	Standard							0	0
19	Trevor Cassidy	Rum Pigs	Standard							0	0
19	Wayne Cox	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard							0	0

Jason Wilhelm takes out the northern leg of the 2010 Daiwa BARRA Tour by one point over team mate Alan McNamara. Read more for full results.

Place	Angler	R1 Teemburra	R2 Faust	Nth AOY
1	Jason Wilhelm	93	99	192
2	Alan McNamara	94	97	191
3	Craig Griffiths	100	87	187
4	Dean Silvester	89	96	185
5	Daniel Grech	99	80	179
6	Donovan Power	97	80	177
7	Geoff Newby	86	88	174
8	Leon Parmenter	91	83	174
9	Matt Coleman	74	98	172
10	Trent Power	74	95	169
11	Jon Millard	74	94	168
12	Matt Hazell	90	77	167
13	Phil Lyons	74	92	166
14	Wayne Cox	74	91	165
15	Mike Connolly	74	90	164
16	Matt McArthur	74	89	163
17	Simon Barkhuizen	74	86	160
18	Rodney Milkins	74	85	159
19	Matt Martin	92	67	159
20	Elaine Sanderson	74	84	158
21	John Schwerin	74	82	156
22	Jake Schwerin	74	81	155
23	Issac Toivanen	98	54	152
24	Steven Wright	74	78	152
25	Geoff Busbridge	74	76	150
26	Jarrod Dalton	96	54	150
27	Spencer Troxell	74	75	149
28	Rob Wood	95	54	149
29	Michael Weick	74	74	148
30	Simon Black	74	72	146
31	Matt Black	74	71	145
32	Glen Smith	74	70	144
33	Neville Parmenter	74	69	143
34	Nathan Chapman	74	68	142
35	Katie Sanderson	74	66	140
36	Glyn Barkhuizen	74	65	139
37	Daniel Roth	74	64	138
38	Ben Durkin	74	54	128
38	Cameron Pratt	74	54	128
38	Daryl Pead	74	54	128
38	David Purdy	74	54	128
38	Jeff Eales	74	54	128
43	Cy Taylor	0	100	100
44	Kerrin Taylor	0	93	93
45	Nicholas Moore	88	0	88
46	Frank Ohl	87	0	87
47	Peter Price	85	0	85
48	Brook Ebzery	84	0	84
49	Arthur Grace	74	0	74
49	Craig Birkett	74	0	74
49	Greg Birkett	74	0	74
49	Paul McFarlane	74	0	74
49	Peter Behrens	74	0	74
49	Robert Ebzery	74	0	74
55	Lindsay Dobe	0	73	73
56	Jack Erskine	0	54	54

Taylor Triumphs on Faust

The weather improved and so did the fishing from Teemburra two days earlier with anglers nailing improved quantity and Faust’s famous quality at the Sunline Peter Faust 3 x 3 Championship, 16/17th November.

For event winner Cy Taylor it was a continuation of his form from 2009 with the AFC barra gun compiling a 9/9, 746cm three session limit to secure the win. The only angler to catch his full limit for the tournament, Taylor outgunned a talented field of anglers including event runner-up Jason Wilhelm (7/9, 627cm) and fellow AFC anglers Matt Coleman (3rd) and Allan McNamara (4th).
Fishing the western side of the lake Taylor fished and rotated two specific spots. A large wind laden bay and a small submerged island fringed by weed.  

The first of his two tournament winning spots, the bay, featured about three metres of water leading up to a prominent weed lined edge.  

“The fish would hold and work along the weed edge enjoying the warm water and the food pushed towards them”, explained Taylor.  

Using a two lure approach Taylor alternated between a 110mm Squidgy Slick Rig in yakka colour and a purple and white floating 10cm Rapala X Rap. The retrieve for the Slick Rig was standard fair, a slow roll with the occasional twitch, while the X Rap was worked with a three twitch pause retrieve.  

The same techniques were used at Taylor’s number two spot, the flooded island, with the bite zone, the weed edge, featuring about two metres of water.  

“Getting the lure tight to the weed and keeping the lure in the strike zone as long as possible was important to get the bites”, explained Taylor.  

While the Slick Rig and X Rap approach delivered Taylor the fish he needed to win, it was a frustrating first session when he lost multiple fish that he thought things weren’t going to go his way.  

“It hurts to lose fish after fish, and you think are these the tournament winning fish that are jumping off. Thankfully though it was only the first session where it was hard to make them stick”, explained Taylor.  

The tackle he used to claimed his second Faust win in as many years included a 6’4″ Millerod Camofish Hi-Roller rod, Shimano Chronach reel, 20lb Power Pro & Fins braid, and 80lb Black Magic leader.  

The addition of a stinger hook on his Slick Rigs was one of the small additions Taylor made to his tackle, with the Faust champ adding a size 4 VMC treble for added assurity.  

Post event Taylor was philosophical about the win and the rest of the tour.  

“It was great to win this event for the second year, and while it was disappointing not to get a result at Teemburra, I know that if I fish hard the results will come”, concluded Taylor.  

With the southern BARRA Tour now on the radar Taylor will be keen to continue his hot form and add more wins to his tournament CV.  

For event runner-up Jason Wilhelm it was another solid performance on the northern leg of the Daiwa BARRA Tour, with the 37 year old Awoonga Fishing Guide claiming the northern AOY title with an 8th at Teemburra and a 2nd at Peter Faust.  

Fishing two locations to catch his fish, Wilhelm spent the bulk if his tournament fishing a weedline edge in the Proserpine River, before switching and hitting the main basin late in session three.  

“The Prossy River fished well until that final session when it suffered from strong winds and angling pressure”, explained Wilhelm.  

Up until then the location had produced a string of quality of fish, including two 100s, a 99, a 71 and an 80. Structural the location was comprised of a long constant weed edge with about 12 feet of water at the base, deep water near by, and active fishing moving through that could be seen with the sounder.  

“You could see the fish come through on the Lowrance HDS 10 LSS1, and if you saw them you’d were pretty confident that you’d get a bite”, explained Wilhelm.  

The bites were regular, with the barra hitting the lure in a range of different places. From tight to the weed to right back at the edge of the bites.  

“The bites would could come anytime during the retrieve so you needed to make sure you maintained the retrieve from the start right through to the end”, explained Wilhelm.  

The retrieve involved casting the lure tight to the weed edge, counting it down the bottom then slow rolling it back to the bottom. The lure used of course was Wilhelm’s much loved 130 Squidgy Slick Rig (slimey mackerel). It wasn’t a stock standard Slick Rig however, with Jason rigging the plastic on a 25gram, size 8/0 TT Headhunter jighead, and adding a size 12 Gamakatsu Treble 14 hook as a stinger.  

The approach and location delivered Wilhelm four fish in session one, two in session and unfortunately none in session.  

“It died in the last session, there were few bites and the fish that we had been seeing on the Lowrance disappeared so we changed tact completed and hit the suspended fish in the main basin”, explained Wilhelm.  

Hitting the basin just before dark Wilhelm and team mate Alan McNamara motored around with their eyes fixed on the sounder looking for active fish moving through in the deep water.  

“We found a spot in about 80 feet of water that had fish traveling through, so we dropped the electric, put the I-Pilot on Spot Lock and just fished there”, explained Wilhelm.  

With fish moving through at depths ranging from 10 feet through to 40 feet Wilhelm would make long downwind casts, sink the lure down to the desired depth then retrieve it back with a slow rolling retrieve.  

“The bites were soft and subtle, so as soon as you felt a touch you struck hard to set the hook”, explained Wilhelm.  

The approach was spot on with Wilhelm landing all the fish he hooked, including a 106 and a 71.  

“Chasing barra in deep water is rarely easy, you can often find the fish but getting them to bite can be hard to say the least. So to hit the basin late in the session and get stuck into a few was very satisfying, especially after struggling upriver early”, explained Jason.  

The tackle Wilhelm used to catch his fish included a Shimano T Curve 701 rod, Shimano Stradic C14 reel, 30lb Power Pro braid and 100lb Black Magic leader.  

Post event Wilhelm was ecstatic with his result and was looking forward to getting on his home water and tackling some Awoonga barra.  

“Faust was one of the events that I really wanted to do well at this year. I haven’t done well here in the past, so to come away with a second is fantastic. Let’s hope Awoonga fishes well and we get a taste of the action we got last year”, concluded Jason.  

The Big Barra Prize for the event changed hands many times throughout the tournament will Townsville angler Matt Coleman eventually claiming the Rapala Big Barra Pack with 120cm caught in the final session. Falling to a white 3″ Zoom Swimming Fluke rigged on a 3/4oz TT Revhead jighead, Coleman caught the fish in 40 feet of water on a slow rolled retrieve in the main basin.  

“The bites were slow and tentative so I kept the retrieve slow and methodical. The fish inhaled the lure on its first touch and had the lure so far down I had to stick my whole hand and part of my forearm into its mouth to get the lure out”, explained Coleman.  

The southern tour now beckons with anglers keen to experience slice of the action they had in 2009. Visit www.australianbarra.com.au to see how it all unfolds.

 

Place	Angler	Team	Status	F1	L1	F2	L2	F3	L3	TF	TL	Cash	Prizes
1	Cy Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro	3	242	3	242	3	262	9	746	$1,100	Daiwa Heartland rod & Daiwa Luna reel & Prize Pack + $181 1st Pro
2	Jason Wilhelm	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard	3	299	2	151	2	177	7	627	$700	Millerod Blademaster Camo rod, Shimano Curado reel & Prize Pack
3	Matt Coleman	Team of Two	Standard	2	178	1	76	3	325	6	579	$400	Shimano Raider rod, Shimano Coriolis reel, Prize Pack
4	Alan McNamara	Shimano/ E-Tec	Standard	1	89			3	303	4	392	$300	Spotters Prize Pack & Prize Pack + Big Barra Rapala Pack (120cm)
5	Dean Silvester	Megabass/Mako	Standard	1	80	1	80	2	219	4	379	$200	Shimano Catana rod, Halco Prize Pack
6	Trent Power	Power	Standard	1	82	3	222	1	58	5	362		Berkley Prize Pack
7	Jon Millard	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard	1	88	2	152	1	89	4	329		Berkley Prize Pack
8	Kerrin Taylor	Millerods/Shimano/Evinrude	Pro	1	84	1	54	2	162	4	300		Berkley Prize Pack
9	Phil Lyons	The Likely Lads	Standard	1	78			2	218	3	296		Bozos Pack
10	Wayne Cox	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard	1	74	2	129	1	90	4	293		Bozos Pack
11	Mike Connolly	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard	1	96	1	80	1	107	3	283
12	Matt McArthur	McArthur Customs	Standard			3	282			3	282
13	Geoff Newby	The Likely Lads	Standard	1	70			2	175	3	245
14	Craig Griffiths	Rapala Street Team	Standard	2	165			1	75	3	240
15	Simon Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard	2	165	1	58			3	223
16	Rodney Milkins	Team Maverick	Standard	1	101	1	111			2	212
17	Elaine Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard					3	208	3	208
18	Leon Parmenter	ETEC Evinrude HO	Standard	2	172					2	172
19	John Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard			2	161			2	161
20	Jake Schwerin	Fish Catching Machines	Standard	1	81	1	71			2	152
21	Daniel Grech	Rapala/JT Reel Repairs	Standard			1	76	1	74	2	150
21	Donovan Power	Power	Standard	1	74	1	76			2	150
23	Steven Wright	Team Reef Suzuki Marine	Standard	2	147					2	147
24	Matt Hazell	Team Predator	Standard					1	91	1	91
25	Geoff Busbridge	Megabass/Mako	Standard	1	90					1	90
26	Spencer Troxell	McArthur Customs	Standard			1	87			1	87
27	Michael Weick	Neranga Tangs	Standard	1	86					1	86
28	Lindsay Dobe	Quantum Fishing Team	Standard			1	82			1	82
29	Simon Black	I’m On Lures	Standard	1	80					1	80
30	Matt Black	I’m On Lures	Standard					1	79	1	79
31	Glen Smith	Neranga Tangs	Standard	1	78					1	78
32	Neville Parmenter	Team Maverick	Standard					1	78	1	78
33	Nathan Chapman	Dingos	Standard	1	77					1	77
34	Matt Martin	Team Predator	Standard					1	77	1	77
35	Katie Sanderson	Tackle Warehouse Ladies	Standard			1	73			1	73
36	Glyn Barkhuizen	Samurai Reaction Rods	Standard	1	71					1	71
37	Daniel Roth	Rapala Street Team	Standard	1	51					1	51
38	Ben Durkin	Gin Gin Hotel	Standard							0	0
38	Cameron Pratt	DC	Standard							0	0
38	Daryl Pead	Dingos	Standard							0	0
38	David Purdy	Sebile	Standard							0	0
38	Issac Toivanen	DC	Standard							0	0
38	Jack Erskine	Quantum Fishing Team	Standard							0	0
38	Jarrod Dalton	Sebile	Standard							0	0
38	Jeff Eales	Team of Two	Standard							0	0
38	Rob Wood	Gin Gin Hotel	Standard							0	0
				35	2898	29	2263	32	2867	96	8028
					82.80		78.03				83.63