Squidgy Lake Awoonga 2-Day Evening BARRA Event Final Results & Story

Here’s the results and the story form the event.
Strader Steals the Show

Visiting USA bass angler Phil Strader claims one of the most prized crowns on the Daiwa BARRA Tour by securing victory in the second event on the southern tour, the Squidgy Lake Awoonga Evening event.

For the 42 year old bass pro from Oregon, is was a dream start to tournament barra fishing, with only three days of barra fishing under his belt Strader compiled 7/10, 620cm limit to beat a field of talented and experienced barra tournament anglers.

Partnered with Mike Connolly for the tournament, Strader fished the middle reaches of the lake east of Dingo Island, working a channel of water that lead into an expansive weedbed.

“It was a run that was about 12-14 feet deep”, explained Strader.

“It was fairly featureless other than the occasional sunken tree, and produced fish along its’ whole length”, he added.

Winding drifting his way along the channel Strader used the ever-popular Squidgy Slick Rig to tempt his fish. Locating the fish with his sounder he would make long down wind casts before allowing the lure to sink to the bottom and beginning the retrieve.

“We swapped between presentation and retrieve styles depending on how many boats were in the area and how much angling pressure the fish were getting”, explained Strader.

On day one this saw him utilize more of a lift and drop approach, while on day two he opted for a slower more finesse styled slow roll. The mood of the takes varying markedly also, ranging from complete inhaling of the lure on the drop to soft touched inquiries more associated with bream than rampaging barra.

The number of lost, rubbed off and jumped off fish was classic barra fishing as Phil explains.

“The first night wasn’t too bad when it came to lost fish, but night two was just ridiculous. I landed two and dropped nine. Right from the outset it was one of those days, with fish jumping off, bricking me on sunken trees, rubbing through the leader of simply jumping and throwing the lure. It was downright frustrating”.

The final outcome however was all positive for the USA bass angler, with a combination of local knowledge from partner Mike Connolly and a sound understanding of fish behaviour from his years of largemouth bass fishing in the states delivering him victory.

The arsenal of tackle used for victory included an 6’6” Angler Rods Stealth DXC 784 rod, Daiwa Zillion reel (ratio 6.3:1), spooled with 50lb Sunline Jigger PE and 80lb Sunline nylon leader. While the go-to lure was a 110mm Squidgy Slick Rig in black and gold colour.

When quizzed post victory Phil was open with his reasons for success.

“Mike’s knowledge on the barra and the venue in particular was the key to us finding fish. We hit one of his hot spots from last year’s tournament and chose a presentation that was appropriate to the location and fish that we were targeting. In many ways it was like fishing at home”

Hot on Strader’s heals in second place was inagural BARRA round winner and Awoonga local Jason Wilhelm. Fishing a topwater bite for the duration of the tournament Wilhelm fished a shallow football sized weedbed near Dingo Island.

Located in 2-4 feet of water and with weed extending all the way to the surface Wilhelm used a weedless rigged soft plastic frog fished across the top of the weed to score his fish. Making long wind assisted casts he retrieved his lure with a medium paced burn, swimming it across the surface and through the scattered strings of weed laying on the surface.

“The key was to keep the rod tip high and keep the lure moving”, explained Wilhelm.

The takes were brutal with fish detonating on the lure, and either taking to air in a frantic aerial display or powering away through the weed like a submarine. In contrast to many topwater bites Wilhelm’s was just as productive during daylight hours as at night.

“There was little difference when it came to night and day and the number of hits that we got”, explained Wilhelm.

“There was however a difference in the size of the fish, with all the big ones coming during daylight hours”, he added.

The hard part was getting them to the boat. Leading after the first day Wilhelm was working the percentages and was hoping for easier to land smaller fish.

It didn’t quite play out as Jason would have like with only two of seven hook-up making their way into the landing net.

Wilhelm’s choice of tackle included a 7’ Shimano T-Curve Power Spin rod, Shimano Stella 4000 reel, spooled with 20lb Daiwa Sensor braid and 80lb Gallis mono leader. His lure of choice was a Zoom Horny Toad (colour- white or green) rigged on a 1/32 oz 6/0 TT worm hook.

Post victory Wilhelm was more than willing to explain how he cracked the topwater toad pattern. “I knew I needed to find unpressured fish and use a technique that was different to what most of the field was using”, explained Wilhelm.

“Once we found the location, Craig with the help of Phil (Strader) and Gary (Boyd) found the lure that was right for the job, a Zoom Horny Toad”.

From there on in it was a match made in heaven with the topwater toad producing fish in a location where most lures would simply foul up on weed.

The Go-So Big Barra prize was claimed by the 2007 Northern BARRA AOY Champ Matt Coleman, who secured the prize with his 112cm specimen caught on day one.

For more information on ABT events contact the office on 07 3268 7958.

Individual Results

Place Angler F1 L1 F2 L2 TF TL Payout
1 Phil Strader (USA) 5 444 2 176 7 620 $1500 + Blue Acres b/c rod, Shimano Curado reel
2 Jason Wilhelm 5 457 2 157 7 614 $1000 + Team Daiwa b/c rod, Daiwa Team Advantage reel
3 Nigel Webster 3 258 4 335 7 593 $800 + Angler Stealth DCX, , Shimano Cruxis reel
4 Mike Connolly 5 436 2 150 7 586 $600 + Angler Stealth DCX, Shimano Cruxis reel
5 Craig Simmons 3 244 4 336 7 580 $500 + Shimano Raider rod, Tica reel
6 Jason Ehrlich 5 400 2 168 7 568 $400 + Shimano Raider rod, Tica reel
7 Jake Schwerin 3 253 2 171 5 424 $300 + Spotter Sunglasses
8 Jason Sizeland 3 277 1 96 4 373 $200 + Uglyfish Eyewear
9 Alan McNamara 2 171 3 200 5 371 $100 + Uglyfish Eyewear
10 Danny Anderson 2 182 2 169 4 351 Uglyfish Eyewear
11 Arthur Lovern 2 168 2 179 4 347 Prize Pack
12 Steven Bechly 1 88 3 258 4 346 Prize Pack
13 Scott McAuley 2 192 1 103 3 295 Prize Pack
14 Peter Price 2 183 1 108 3 291 Prize Pack
15 Glyn Barkhuizen 5 290 5 290
16 John Schwerin 2 206 1 84 3 290
17 Matthew Mott 2 185 1 104 3 289
18 Trevor Burgess 2 194 1 93 3 287
19 Gerry Weir 1 84 2 183 3 267
20 John Brider 2 166 1 98 3 264
21 Karl Rembacher 3 258 3 258
22 Stephen Kanowski 3 256 3 256
23 Ken Best 1 97 2 154 3 251
24 Adam Meredith 2 165 1 84 3 249
25 Stuart Ad***** 1 73 2 167 3 240
26 Peter Swanson 1 106 1 108 2 214
27 Jason Medcalf 1 87 1 107 2 194
28 Mick Geary 1 104 1 87 2 191
29 Matt Coleman 1 112 1 53 2 165
30 Simon Barkhuizen 2 154 2 154
31 Elaine Sanderson 1 75 1 75 2 150
32 Steve Morgan 2 139 2 139
33 Tony Zantiotas 1 109 1 109
34 Cy Taylor 1 105 1 105
35 Rod Watt 1 100 1 100
36 Greg Angel 1 96 1 96
37 Steve Thornehill 1 92 1 92
38 Kerrin Taylor 1 91 1 91
39 Chris Byrnes 1 86 1 86
40 Tim Carter 1 86 1 86
41 Ryan Humphreys 1 85 1 85
42 Kerry Ehrlich 1 84 1 84
43 Les Barber 1 82 1 82
44 Dave Robinson 1 81 1 81
45 Kerry Symes 1 81 1 81
46 Colin Slade 1 73 1 73
47 John Meiers 1 72 1 72
48 Corey Tarr 1 71 1 71
49 Gary Leather 1 71 1 71
50 Matt Fraser 1 69 1 69
51 Peter Morgan 1 67 1 67
52 Daniel Molloy 1 66 1 66
53 Aaron Mogg 0 0
53 Brett Court 0 0
53 Dale Smith 0 0
53 Dave Hislop 0 0
53 David Reynolds 0 0
53 David Whyman 0 0
53 Edwina Ad***** 0 0
53 Gary Boyd (USA) 0 0
53 Jami Kanowski 0 0
53 Jim Schaefer 0 0
53 Jules Tyson 0 0
53 Justin Fischer 0 0
53 Justin Nye 0 0
53 Katie Sanderson 0 0
53 Ken Berry 0 0
53 Les Reibelt 0 0
53 Lyndon Anlezark 0 0
53 Naoya Hiramura (Japan) 0 0
53 Neil Hart 0 0
53 Paul McKay 0 0
53 Robert Tombs 0 0
53 Scott Rooney 0 0
53 Shane Anderson 0 0
53 Steve Tracey 0 0
53 Trevor Cassidy 0 0
53 Trevor Nye 0 0
88 7499 55 4675 143 12174
85.21590909 85.13286713

Teams Results

Place Team Angler 1 Angler 2 TF TL
1 Evinrude HO Mike Connolly Phil Strader (USA) 14 1206
2 Shimano/Squidgies Craig Simmons Jason Wilhelm 14 1194
3 Halco/Berkley Jason Medcalf Nigel Webster 9 787
4 Fish Catching Machines John Schwerin Jack Schwerin 8 714
5 Berkley Jason Ehrlich Kerry Ehrlich 8 652
6 Reidys Lures Peter Price Arthur Lovern 7 638
7 Torment Karl Rembacher Jason Sizeland 7 631
8 Egrell Rod Designz Steven Bechly Gerry Weir 7 613
9 Mundi Trevor Burgess Scott McAuley 6 582
10 Active Angler Matt Coleman Alan McNamara 7 536
11 Team Tennesee John Brider Stephen Kanowski 6 520
12 Team Charltons Simon Barkhuizen Glyn Barkhuizen 7 444
13 G.Loomis Danny Anderson Colin Slade 5 424
14 Squidgy/Evacool Kerry Symes Matthew Mott 4 370
15 Team Halco Tim Carter Peter Swanson 3 300
16 Farkens Ken Best Ken Berry 3 251
17 The Tackle Warehouse Adam Meredith David Whyman 3 249
18 Dropbear Stuart Ad***** Edwina Ad***** 3 240
19 Millerods/Shimano Cy Taylor Kerrin Taylor 2 196
20 ABT International Mick Geary Naoya Hiramura (Japan) 2 191
21 Team Anaconda Chris Byrnes Ryan Humphreys 2 171
22 Logan River Marine Corey Tarr Rod Watt 2 171
23 Berkley Nitro Matt Fraser Greg Angel 2 165
24 Tackle Warehouse Ladies Elaine Sanderson Katie Sanderson 2 150
25 Grump Old Men Peter Morgan Dave Robinson 2 148
26 QLD Fishing Monthly Steve Morgan Gary Boyd (USA) 2 139
27 Polewog Jami Kanowski Tony Zantiotas 1 109
28 Wheatman David Reynolds Steve Thornehill 1 92
29 Bundy Barra Bandits Shane Anderson Les Barber 1 82
30 TBC Scott Rooney John Meiers 1 72
31 Tackle World Bundaberg Gary Leather Dale Smith 1 71
32 Team Drifter Daniel Molloy Brett Court 1 66
33 Rum Pigs Trevor Cassidy Steve Tracey 0 0
34 Ridgeback Lures Dave Hislop Paul McKay 0 0
35 Optomists Jim Schaefer Neil Hart 0 0
36 McBarra Les Reibelt Aaron Mogg 0 0
37 Dorko Justin Nye Justin Fischer 0 0
38 Bio-Hazard Trevor Nye Jules Tyson 0 0
39 Barra Magic Robert Tombs Lyndon Anlezark 0 0