TAG 2015

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Tournament

FREE GUIDEBOOK

15

Guide

• 2015 Calendars inside

Australian Bass Tournaments

• Get into tournament fishing

Contents

abt.org.au

Calendar

2

Statistics

14

Beginners

4

Bass Pro

16

Membership

6

Bass Electric

18

Bream AOY

8

Bass Kayak

20

Barra

22

Bream Kayak

12

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TAG 2015

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abt

Tournament Angler Guide

2015abt BREAM SERIES

Berkley headlines Australia’s number one boater/non-boater bream series in the country in 2015. Five qualify rounds

throughout the year lead a path to the biggest bream event on the bream calendar, the Berkley BREAM Grand Final slated

for the iconic Clarence River in November. Don’t miss your chance to go to battle with Australia’s biggest bream names or

abt.org.au

calendar begin your tournament career in Australia’s ultimate tournament bream series, the Berkley BREAM Series.

Berkley BREAM Qualifiers • Boater $250 • Non Boater $125 DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

SPONSOR

28 Feb-1 Mar 25-26 Apr 6-7 Jun 9-10 Jun 15-16 Aug 6-8 Nov 6-7 Mar

NSW NSW VIC VIC NSW NSW QLD

Tweed River Clarence River Gippsland Lakes Mallacoota Hawkesbury River Clarence River Moreton Bay

BREAM Qualifier #1 BREAM Qualifier #2 BREAM Qualifier #3 BREAM Qualifier #4 BREAM Qualifier #5 BREAM Grand Final QLD BREAM Open

Berkley JML Alliance Mercury Hobie Abu Garcia Berkley

Bluefin Boats power into another bass season to deliver anglers bass fishing that is truly electric. Featuring nine qualifying rounds, two Haswing BASS Electric Majors, and the pinnacle event of the year the Bluefin Boats BASS Electric Convention, this is grass roots bassing at its best. The series will hit QLD and NSW’s best bass lakes with a combination of single and two day events, all of which lead to the Bluefin Boats BASS Electric Convention at Lake Cressbrook in September.

Check out the calendar to find out where and when you can get your Bluefin Boats BASS Electric fix.

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

KAYAK SERIES It’s bass kayak action aplenty in 2015 with five qualifying rounds and Australian Championship (aka Grand Final) offering bass kayak fans their biggest and best season ever. QLD, NSW and VIC play host to rounds throughout the year, while the bass mecca of Hinze Dam in southeast Queensland will be the scene of the season ending Australian Championship in October.

Hobie B.A.S.S. Australian Nation Kayak Series $50 (pre-event entry) or $90 (on the day entry) DATE

ARENA

1 Feb 1 Mar 29 Mar 31 May 19 July 31 Oct

Lake MacDonald, QLD Blue Rock Lake, VIC (kayak only) Tallowa Dam, NSW (kayak only) Mary River, QLD Lake Wivenhoe, QLD Hinze Dam, QLD Australian Championship

DATE

LOCATION

EVENT

CONTACT

Feb-22 Mar-29 Apr 25-26 May 3 May 16-17 May 24 Jun 14 Jul 12 Aug 1-2 Sep 6 Sep 6 Sep 19-20

Clarrie Hall Dam Hinze Dam Cania Dam Isis Balancing Storage Toonumbar Dam Lostock Dam Wivenhoe Dam Lenthalls Dam Moogerah Dam Lake McDonald St Clair Lake Cressbrook

BASS Electric #1 Haswing BASS Electric Major BASS Electric #2 BASS Electric #3 BASS Electric #4 BASS Electric #5 BASS Electric #6 BASS Electric #7 Haswing BASS Electric Major BASS Electric #8 BASS Electric #9 BASS Electric Convention

Joey Urqhart ABT Les Barber Tim Steenhuis Adrian Melchior Mal Draper Trevor Stead Les Barber ABT Steve Noble ABT ABT

EVENT R1 R2 R3 R4 R5

EVENT TIMES 0439 764 369 (07) 3387 0888 0428 726 857 0432 770 894 0415 587 900 0418 402 803 0429 967 451 0428 726 857 (07) 3387 0888 0409 239 065 (07) 3387 0888 (07) 3387 0888

6am-12pm 7am-1pm 12pm-6pm, 6am-12pm 7am-1pm 1pm-6pm, 6am-11am 7am-1pm TBC 7am-1pm 7am-1pm 7am-1pm 7am-1pm 7am-1pm

BASS Electric Entries • $30 (BASS Electric Qualifier) • $100 (BASS Electric Major), with an optional $20 ‘Pro’ option on the day.

BASS PRO SERIES Toray headlines the full schedule to deliver rounds, BASS Megabucks 2015 BASS Pro Series, anglers and sponsors more and a Grand Final, this is with Australia’s longest opportunities, rewards and the only pathway when it running bass tournament bass action than ever before. comes to making it onto circuit returning to its Featuring four qualifying AFC Outdoors.

Toray BASS Pro Qualifiers • Boater $250 • Non Boater $125

DATE

STATE LOCATION

EVENT

SPONSOR

14-15 Mar 9-10 May 4-5 July 29-30 Aug 21-22 Oct 24-25 Oct

NSW QLD NSW QLD NSW NSW

BASS Pro Qualifier #1 BASS Pro Qualifier #2 BASS Pro Qualifier #3 BASS Pro Qualifier #4 BASS Megabucks BASS Grand Final

Imakatsu Spotters OSP Toray Edge Rods Toray

Lake St Clair Lake Somerset Lake Glenbawn Bjelke Petersen Dam Lake St Clair Lake Glenbawn

KAYAK BREAM SERIES PRESENTED BY The Hobie Kayak BREAM Series, presented by Daiwa, hits the water nationwide to offer anglers the ultimate kayak bream fix. Featuring events in WA, SA, VIC, NSW and QLD anglers are spoilt in the 14 round bream tour. Qualifier, State Title and Worlds events make up the calendar, and all lead to the showcase event of the series, the Australian Championship.

The Big Show will see anglers fish from identical factory supplied Hobie kayaks in a bid to be crowned Australian Champion for 2015.

N.B, For non-ABT run rounds see individual organisers for entry details

DATE

ROUND

STATE

7-8 Feb 21-22 Feb 14-15 Mar 22 Mar 29 Mar 18-19 Apr 16-17 May 20-21 Jun 28 Jun 25-26 July 9 Aug 22-23 Aug 30 Aug 17-18 Oct 14-15 Nov

R1 VIC R2 VIC R3 VIC R4 NSW R5 WA R6 VIC R7 NSW R8 SA R9 NSW R10 QLD R11 NSW R12 QLD R13 WA R14 NSW Australian Championship

EVENT Bemm River: Vic State Titles Marlo: National Qualifier Mallacoota: Hobie Fishing Worlds 2015 Qualifier #1.

Clyde River: NSW State Title. Run by Southern Bream Series Mandurah: WA State Title Run by WA Bream Classics Paynesville: National Qualifier Forster: Hobie Fishing Worlds 2015 Qualifier #2 Nelson: Run by Vic Bream Sydney Harbour: Run by Southern Bream Series Gold Coast: Qld State Title St Georges Basin: Run by Southern Bream Series Redcliffe: Hobie Fishing Worlds 2015 Qualifier #3 Perth: National Qualifier Run by WA Bream Classics Georges River: National Qualifier TBA TBA

Hobie Kayak BREAM Series presented by Daiwa (Hobie rounds) $100 (pre-event entry) or $140 (on the day entry) for two-day events.

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TAG 2015 abt

go to abt.org.au for more information

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TAG 2015

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abt

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

A beginner’s guide to ABT events For fifteen years now, Australian Bass Tournaments (ABT) has been providing cutting edge tournament fishing to keen freshwater and estuary anglers. Initially focused on Australian bass, the events quickly expanded to bream in the saltwater and barramundi in the north to provide a testing ground for new tackle and techniques and a competitive outlet.

Although the ABT events provide a pathway to the televised Australian Fishing Championships (AFC) events, the tournaments are not just for elite recreational anglers.

They’re for everybody, and there are various ways to become involved. And you don’t even need a boat!

The cornerstone of a top level ABT event is the ‘draw’ format. Attend an event as a ‘boater’ (and bring your boat) and you’ll be drawn with two random anglers for the two tournament days.

Enter as a ‘non-boater’ and ABT will place you, each day, with an angler in a boat.

It’s a great way to meet new people and get to fish with some highly skilled anglers in their fields.

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ABT’S motto is ‘Who Shares Wins’, and this pairing system both eliminates cheating (allowing cash prize payouts) and encourages the flow of techniques. After all, it’s basically impossible to hide what you’re doing and how you’re doing it from your co-angler in the boat!

WHICH EVENT FOR ME? But let’s take it back a few steps: what tournaments are available and what do you need to become involved?

There’s a Factbox hereby that provides a basic summary of all of the options, but here’s the basic version.

Draw Events If you want to turn up and jump on a boat and fish with a ‘boater’ each day, you need to enter a BREAM Pro or BASS Pro series event. Check the calendar hereby or on www. abt.org.au and you can enter as a solo ‘non-boater’. Entries to these events are taken on a ‘first come first served’ basis, which means if you get your entry in early, then you’re virtually assured of a spot in the event.

Obviously, the number of non-boater spots are limited to the number of boats entered in the events, which is why ABT can’t guarantee

every entry a spot, but in reality, over 98% of entrants get a seat.

If ABT can’t find you a ride, your entry fee is refunded in full (or kept as a credit for future events if requested).

The only other way to ‘guarantee’ an entry is to send in an entry with a boater – on the same form or in the same envelope. Why does ABT do this? It’s to let travelling partners plan their trips.

For instance, a boater and non-boater want to drive 12 hours to a Qualifier event and book accommodation.

If the two, travelling anglers enter together, they’ll form a “guaranteed” pair and they will be assured a place in the event. They will not, however, get to fish together at all. The way the draws happen, that’s in fact, the only guarantee. You won’t fish with the angler you enter with.

Teams Events Teams events allow mates, parents/children, partners the ability to fish together. Typically, teams events feature lower cash paybacks and a greater proportion of product prizes.

You can fish as a team at the BASS Electric Series, BASS

Megabucks and the BARRA Tour events. There’s also plenty of options to fish as a team in non-ABT affiliated events – keep an eye on the Tournament Calendar in Fishing Monthly magazines.

Teams events are a great way to get used to tournament fishing – especially if you’re a little nervous about stepping up and fishing as a non-boater in a draw event straight away.

Although once you’ve done a draw event, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner.

Individual Events And if you’re most comfortable fishing by yourself, you can do a soloentry in the BASS Electric series. Using electric motors only on the freshwater bass lakes and an entry fee of only $30 makes the solofishable BASS Electric series one of the most laid back on the calendar.

ABT MEMBERSHIP Becoming an ABT financial member is all you need to do to be eligible to fish any ABT event. It costs $40 per year to be financial, and that gets you a copy of the latest AFC DVD, a membership card, and if you’re a new member, a couple of ABT Tournament Angler badges to sew on your tournament fishing shirt.

All memberships expire at the 1st of February each year (coinciding with the start of the tournament season), so most anglers send their membership renewal in with their first entry of the year.

GETTING STARTED By far the most common question asked to ABT is ‘how do I get started as a non-boater?’.

Well, let us take you through the process of what you need to do and what you can expect during the event.

First, you need to choose your event/s and enter. This means downloading the appropriate entry form from www.abt.org.au (follow the menu tabs to the correct series), printing them out and sending them in – usually via Fax or standard mail.

When you sign the entry form, you acknowledge that you have read and understand the rules for the series you’re fishing. Download these as well from the same section on www.abt.org.au. You need to read and understand these.

Most are common-sense and safety-related.

After you’ve sent your entry in, you can track the processing of your entry on www.abt.org.au - click the “Entry List” tab on the events table.

Usually weekly, these entries are processed and uploaded and you can see the status of the lists. If there’s more boaters than non-boaters, you’re in – and if there’s still boaters to enter to

Even champions like Kris Hickson started as non-boaters. fill up the gaps, don’t stress if it’s early days. Lots of boaters enter one event at a time and will enter within a couple of weeks of the event.

ABT will get in touch with anglers who may miss out to alert them of the situation. At that stage you may have the choice of opting for a refund, finding a boater to enter with as a ‘Guaranteed’ entry or becoming a boater yourself.

But if you’ve got your entry in early, that won’t be you.

The BREAM and BASS draw events consists of an official ‘practice day’ on the Friday, a briefing on the Friday night and the tournament days on the Saturday and Sunday.

Some non-boaters like to head out for a fish on the practice day. Some bring their boat to do this, but many of them will hook-up with a boater in the event to get out on the water. The boaters usually like a second rod on board to help sort out the patterns on the arena.

If you have trouble finding a ride (usually Facebook and Discussion Boards are a great place to ask), turn up to the ramp on the morning of practice and ask! You’ll be surprised who you’ll meet and there’s normally plenty of boaters heading out solo.

Etiquette suggests that any gun spots you find on the practice day aren’t shared with your boaters in the tournament days. Techniques, though, are free for you to use on the tournament days!

You’ll meet your two boaters at the Event Briefing on the Friday night. This is where ABT does a check-off of all anglers for the event (and checks you licences/ permits) and runs through any of the local area logistics and regulations.

Make sure you take a notebook and pen, so that

you can record all of the pertinent details of BOTH your boaters for the two days – mobile phone numbers at the very least and usually where they’re staying are useful notes to make. You meet your Saturday and Sunday rides at once, so you’ll need the information to catch up with your Sunday ride on the Saturday evening to make plans.

And then make your plans! Discuss about what you should bring and rig for the next day, where you’re going to meet and how all of the logistics will work.

TOURNAMENT DAY If you’re as excited as the rest of the anglers, you’ll probably wake up before your alarm goes off on the tournament day. Make your lunch and do a final check of your kit.

• rods • tackle • licences • food and drink • hat/sunscreen and rain gear • your own PFD Your boater will let you know if there’s any limitations with space, etc at the briefing but the usual etiquette is a tackle bag and a handful of rods.

Usually a quiver of 4 outfits will cover most situations.

Help your boater launch the boat and tell them if you’re uncomfortable doing anything they ask you to do. Not all of us are familiar with expensive boat driving and launching!

But don’t stress, your boater will educate you.

When you’re both on board, have the discussion about what goes where. Most boaters will have an area set aside for your rods and gear and they’ll tell you where the rest of the safety gear is. You’ll have your own PFD, which you’ll need to bring.

You’ll then go through the Boat Check. ABT will check

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au that your livewells are empty, your boater’s safety lanyard works and you both have your PFDs. If it’s a pre-sunrise start, you’ll also have your navigation lights checked.

You’ll then be given a key-tag that ABT uses to make sure that you’ve made it back for the day. Often the non-boater is in charge of the key-tag, so stash it securely!

Then you wait until the start. Boats idle out in order of (boater) entry until they hit the zone where you can take off for the day.

THE FISHING You’ll be super excited

you’re fishing as a non-boater.

Generally, boats are set-up to fish a boater on the front deck and the non-boater on the back deck, and this is usually how it plays out.

Non-boaters usually don’t get first cast at each piece of structure, but don’t stress, other non-boaters are in the same boat. You need to work out where you can cast to target the fish that the boater isn’t fishing for.

This may be as simple as using a different lure or fishing the entire opposite side of the boat.

All of the most successful

throwing Gulp! Shrimps on light leaders, then do that.

If you’re a deep-spinnerbait gun, then throw that.

Remember that you’re only chasing 2-bass or 5-bream for the session.

Casting across your boater’s line is a no-no. You wouldn’t do it socially, so don’t do it at a tournament.

Most anglers net each other’s fish, although some boaters prefer to net their own. Just talk about this while you’re waiting for the first legal fish to come on board.

Otherwise, have fun!

minded angler. And you might win some stuff if you catch a fish. Enjoy it.

When you get back to the finish line, you’ll usually be assigned the job of returning the key-tag to the tag-board before the designated finish time. And probably to line-up for a weigh-in bag after that.

The bag line is a great place to share experiences with your fellow non-boaters.

After helping your boater retrieve the rig and the weigh-in’s done, it’s time to get ready for the next day. Call your Sunday boater and start the process all over

even with your boater for the second day.

RESULTS ABT is pretty quick at letting you know how you’ve done for the day. There’s a scoreboard on-site at the weigh-in, where you should check that your results are accurate. This scoreboard is separated into two sections – boaters and non-boaters.

You’re only competing against the other anglers in your division.

If it’s a BREAM event, there’s usually cell-phone coverage for the live on-line scoreboard. You can access

updates after each angler weighs and gives you a live scoreboard in your pocket.

Usually the top 10 anglers in each division will be rewarded at the end of each event – hang around and congratulate your peers and you’ll usually get a detailed description on what worked and where. Learn from it and use it to help you become a better angler.

NOW IS THE TIME Every year, we hear the stories from new non-boaters that say “I’d been waiting for a few years to jump in, and I should have done it sooner!”.

Event

Duration

Format

Entry (boater)

Entry (non-boater)

Payout

Events

BREAM Tour

2-day qualifier (weekends)

Draw

$250

$125

70% cash (boater), prizes (non-boater)

5 Qualifiers nationally + a Grand Final.

Hobie Kayak BREAM Tour

Mix of one and two-day events on weekends

Individual

$50 (1-day) or $100 (2-day)

n/a

50% cash + prizes

11 Qualification events nationally + Aus Championship

Hobie Kayak BASS Tour

One day events on weekends

Individual

$50

n/a

50% cash + prizes

5 Qualification events + Aus Championship

BASS Pro Tour

2-day qualifier (weekends)

Draw

$250

$125

70% cash (boater), prizes (non-boater)

4 Qualifiers QLD/NSW + a Grand Final.

BASS Electric Tour

Mostly Sunday events with a few 2-day events

Individual or Team

$30 ($100 major)

n/a

Prizes plus an optional cash side-pool

11 events plus a Convention

BARRA Tour

Mostly 2-session events with an all-night BARRA Marathon in the mix

Team

$100 per team per day

n/a

50% payout plus prizes

about getting a line in the water, but there are a few etiquette points to take note of while

non-boaters that compete know their strengths and fish to them. If you’re good at

You’re in a boat, fishing away from the pressures of everyday life with a like-

again – just don’t share the spots you caught ‘em on Day 1 until the event is over –

this on your smartphone via the “LIVESTREAM” tab on the www.abt.org.au site. This

Do it.

Jump in.

You’ll love it.

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

Sign on to win in 2015 Since its inception in 1999, ABT has had nearly 10,000 financial members.

Historically, Memberships simply allowed ABT to keep a record of anglers, mailing addresses and linked tournament results.

2015 sees more value added to an ABT membership, so that even if you’re not fishing in the 2015 season, you’ll still want to be a part.

An ABT membership costs $40 per annum and all memberships expire on the 31st January each year, just in time for renewal for the upcoming tournament season.

New members get a couple of ABT sew-on badges, as well as the latest AFC DVD. Starting in February 2015, however, there’ll be monthly Member Draws for product prizes from ABT’s stable of sponsors. Reels, lures, line, merchandise will all be up for grabs. Best thing is that you don’t need to do anything to be in the running – just be a current financial member of ABT.

ABT on Facebook Like: Australian Bass Tournaments

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ABT Members have had a positive impact on recreational fishing over the years – from their contributions to

freshwater fish stocking (over $150,000 in cash since inception) to the positive influence that a tour of catch

ABT Membership also allows you to fish any of the events on the ABT circuit.

ABT on the Internet Visit: www.abt.org.au

Becoming an ABT Member now allows you to win prizes outside of the sphere of events.

and release tournaments have had on saltwater and freshwater venues and fisheries.

ABT and its membership are proud that their events have a strong foundation in ESD principles. Economic via spending money in regional Australia, social via the random pairing of anglers and environmental via the compulsory live-release of fish. There are no points

allocated for dead fish in any ABT events.

And we think that it’s not too long a bow to draw to claim that ABT members and their events have been the catalyst for much of the adoption of modern tackle and techniques in the last fifteen years.

GSP line, soft plastic baits, spinnerbaiting, bio-baits and the early adoption of boating and marine electronic technology has been the hallmark of ABT Members over the years.

With a motto of “Who Shares Wins”, ABT members not only develop new and innovative techniques, they

take pride in sharing them throughout the angling fraternity.

Partnerships with media such as Fishing Monthly Magazines ensure that the tournament-winning tackle and techniques make the pages of the most widely read fishing magazines in the country. Each month, you’ll see the latest ABT tournament reports along with the winning baits published in the pages of the relevant state issues. As a thanks to ABT members, there’s a discount subscription voucher included in membership packs – these are worth the cost of ABT membership alone.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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Butler serves up stellar season Simon Goldsmith

There’s no greater attribute to have as a tournament angler than consistency. The ability to deliver fish to the scales regardless of time, tide, and year, it’s what sets the great anglers apart from the truly great.

As a measure of this consistency there’s nothing greater than the Angler of Year crown. The ultimate reward and gauge of angler consistency it’s a title that’s coveted by many but won by only a select few.

For 2014 Power-Pole BREAM Angler of Year Scott Butler, bream season 2014 was one punctuated by podium finishes, event victories and ultimate consistency that saw him hold the AOY trophy aloft at the end of the four event qualifying round season.

TIME FOR A CHANGE The 2014 champ’s ascendancy to the top of the pile didn’t come through luck or chance though, but was the result of hard work and developments both on and off the water, as Scott Butler explains.

“In 2014 I really worked on the non-fishing side of my fishing such as my preparation and fitness.

I cleaned up my diet and started to really watch what I ate, and in the process lost around 30 kilos”.

Trimmed down, fishing fit and ready for the start of the tournament season Butler also went to work on his preparation, meticulously organized his tackle, his

boat, and researching and planning thoroughly before hitting the water.

“I didn’t want to leave a stone unturned, so I tried to control and improve every element of my fishing regardless of how big or small it was,” added Butler.

PLAY TO YOU STRENGTHS Lean and mean and game ready for the start of the season, Butler kicked

off his year at round one on Sydney Harbour in March armed with a new game plan. A plan that would see him do what he did best and fish to his strengths.

“I’ve made the mistake in the past were I did what I thought I needed to win rather than do what I do best. So in 2014 I decided to fished to my strengths and not follow patterns and techniques that are

Cashing in was the name of the game for Scott in 2014.

Scott’s win in the final round on the Gold Coast cemented his AOY title win for 2014.

TOURNAMENT RODS FOR ALL ANGLERS

considered the norm for each venue. Rather than battle with a pack of guys all doing the same thing I did what I enjoy, threw the lures that I like, and used the techniques that I’m good at and enjoy the most. For most part this saw me twitching and pausing my beloved crankbaits,” explained Butler.

Butler’s plan paid off, with his clear and streamline approach to the season delivering him a result no worse than a 5th (R3

Clarence River 26-27 July), and at its best a 1st (R4 Gold Coast 27-28 September).

IT TAKES TIME While 2014 was in many ways a breakthrough year for Butler, a season that saw him claim his biggest title to date, it was year that was predated by a steady, and ever increasing number of podium finishes.

“My results have improved with each successive year. From being outside the top ten, to breaking into the top ten, then the top three, followed by an event win, and now the AOY title,” explained Butler.

A text book case of angler evolution and the pursuit of success, it’s an evolution that didn’t come easy and didn’t come over night.

“I’ve been fishing bream events for over seven years and I learnt early on to learn from your mistakes.

If something didn’t work or I failed at something I tried to draw a positive out of it

and in-turn identify what I could have done correctly instead,” explained Butler.

Putting this thinking into process and into time on the water Butler tries to fish as much as he can.

“Time on the water is very important, and every time you head out on the water, whether it be social or in a tournament I try and learn something, no matter how small it may be. It could be an important thing to have up your sleeve down the track. Never stop learning and never dismiss anything that happens on the water,” explained Butler.

BACK YOURSELF A trademark of all elite anglers is confidence and Scott Butler is no different.

Armed with an expansive repository of bream knowledge Scott taps into this confidence and backs his knowledge and his experience, and uses it to go out and do his own thing without fear of, failure, or what others are doing.

To page 56

m + 61 (0)411 037 418 e steve@duffrods.com.au w kustomfishingtools.com.au Butler heads off on a gloomy tournament morning focused and ready for battle.

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abt From page 54

“One thing I learnt over the years is to fish what you enjoy fishing and don’t just do what the others are doing.

A lot of anglers, including myself, get caught up in a certain technique or style, and one of the hardest things is breaking the pattern of following others. This is foremost in my mind when I’m fishing and I always try and go out and do my own thing, and back my decisions and choices,” said Butler.

FISH AND FISH For anglers that aspire to hold the AOY crown aloft like Scott and achieve ultimate success on the bream tournament trail Scott has a few tips to help you

Tournament Angler Guide not getting disheartened is also high on Scott’s tips list.

“I see a lot of anglers these days do well in a couple of events, then follow it up with a couple of bad events where they don’t do so well, and then they disappear giving up in disgust and disappointment. Consistency takes times to achieve, and as a tournament angler you need to realise you’ll have good tournaments and bad tournaments, just don’t let the bad ones shatter your reality. Keep fishing, and keep improving, it takes time but success and consistency will come,” adds Butler.

With a motto of fishing smarter not harder driving him in 2015 and a red-hot

defence starts on the banks of the Tweed River in late summer (Berkley Tweed River BREAM Qualifier, 28 Feb/1 March).

“It’s going to be a challenging season. There’s a lot of talented anglers on the tour and I’m going to have to bring my A-game to be in with a shot,” concluded Butler.

BUTLER’S 2014 REPORT CARD Butler received an A+ on his report card in 2014. Here are some of the standout comments from his year on tour.

• Scott stuck to his strengths in 2014 throwing a Zipbaits Khamsin Tiny DR for most of it. A lure that he fell in love with three years ago it’s transformed his fishing and by his own admission has made him the angler he is today.

• Scott’s favourite Zipbaits colours are #510 Silver Shad, #509 Blue Gill, #325A Mellow Shad and #021A Holo Clear Ebi. • Scott’s sponsors were crucial to his success in 2014, they were Nitro Marine/ Triton Boats , Simrad, Elite Tournament Tackle Australia, Zipbaits and Lox Rods.

THE MONEY BOX Butler gets in touch with his hard and soft side when loading up his tackle box with his prize money winning lures.

• Zipbaits Khamsin Tiny DR • Zipbaits Skinny Pop JNR • Zipbaits Khamsin JR DR • Berkley Gulp Crabby • Berkley Gulp Shrimp get there.

“Fishing is the best sport in world so get out there and do it as much as you can. The more you do it, the better you will get at. So go fishing as much as you can”.

Staying in the game and

2014 fueling his desire for more success Butler is definitely one of the favourites to look out for in the hunt for the Power-Pole BREAM AOY crown. The hunt for the crown and the beginning of Butler’s title

Meticulous pre-event preparation had Scott ready to go once he hit the start line.

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Burbidge wins it all in 2014: Grand Final and AOY SYDNEY

Carl ‘Cid’ Dubois

At the start of any tournament year, there are always two distant goals on every angler’s mind.

One of these is to win the Grand Final and the other is to rise to the top of the pack and take out the AOY (Angler of the Year). To have success in either of these coveted titles takes skill, determination, dedication and resourcefulness. To be able to claim both titles in the same year lifts the angler onto another level entirely and Chris Burbidge did exactly that in 2014. To add even more kudos to his achievements, Chris is also ended the year as the number one ranked kayak angler in Australia.

I spoke to Chris recently to get the low-down on his remarkable year and to gain some insights into why he was so successful. The amount of information he shared with me shows his worth as a true champion and following the ABT motto of ‘Who Shares Wins’, you’d better watch out for Chris next year, too.

Chris works as a Car Service Dealer Adviser and

resides in Fern Tree Gully, Victoria. Every Saturday he is out on the water somewhere, usually travelling many kilometres to reach quality fishing locations such as Lake Tyers three hours to the east or the Curdies River or Hopkins River, two hours and forty-five minutes to the west, the places Chris call his local waterways!

And if he’s not chasing big black bream, he’ll be stalking

He first fell in love with fishing when as a six year old he’d fish with his father, drifting worms down rapids into deep pools for trout. His first experience with lures though came many years later when he was twenty-two. While out trout fishing, he found an old Rapala lure. The fishing with bait had been unproductive so to try something different

You do plenty of this on the way to multiple event wins. Upgrading.

Chris spends a lot of time on the water, which contributes to his success.

EP’s, reeling in bass or luring for yellowbelly and cod.

My first two questions for Chris were how did he evolve as an angler and when did he start fishing tournaments?

he tied it on and proceeded to catch his first fish on a lure. Immediately the penny dropped and luring became his favourite way to fish.

Chris started to scour

fishing magazines, absorbing every little tit-bit of valuable information. He experimented with various lures and techniques, learning what worked and sometimes more importantly, what didn’t work and hypothesising afterwards why it didn’t. By 1988 he was regularly targeting estuary perch with lures and racking up impressive numbers of black bream captures, even though he’d been told by many older anglers you couldn’t catch them on lures.

His first foray into the world of tournament fishing was in 1994 at Lake Windamere where the target species was yellowbelly.

Although he wasn’t too successful, he was keen to try again and in 1995 Chris returned and finished as the Champion Angler.

In 1999, Chris turned his hand to capturing the mighty Murray cod in his first tournament at Lake Mulwala.

More lessons were learnt and Chris kept returning to catch these iconic fish until in 2005 he was the runner-up Champion Angler. In 2006, he battled it out in another cod tournament and this time he clinched the Champion Angler trophy.

His first BREAM tournaments were in 2008, when Chris partnered with Graeme Taylor to fish the team’s event competition, the Vic Bream Classics. With a wealth of experience on their side, Chris and Graeme

September 2009 fishing the waters of Glenelg. Just to show he is human, Chris recorded a donut for that event, proving that it can happen to the best of us. His next ABT tournament was in January 2010 at the mighty Bemm but this time he was standing on the top of the podium after the final day’s bags had been tallied.

From then on, Chris became a regular on the kayak tournament circuit and he always plans to fish in at least five rounds per year to give him the maximum amount of rounds that count towards AOY. Usually he ends up competing in one or two more though which allows him the advantage of dropping the events he hasn’t finished as well in.

My next question was why did he think he was so successful in 2014?

on your objectives and not get distracted. Also I spend a lot of time on the water fishing socially and this lets me hone my fishing skills that I apply to my tournaments, too. I guess that means practice makes perfect,” Chris said.

“Another important part to my year is getting to know the waterways and preparing a game plan for the tournament.

I’ll look at old reports, check the tides and weather forecasts, scope out the area with Google Earth. I’ll look at anything that may help me get an angle on the place.

“Plus having good fishing gear is essential if you want results. I’m lucky enough to have some great sponsors and the Duff rods I use are superb.

Steve is an expert craftsman and the custom rods I’ve asked him to build for me are perfect for my style of fishing.

Another day at the office for the Grand Final Champ, Current AOY and #1 ranked BREAM kayak angler in the country.

CHRIS’ TOP SIX TOURNAMENT LURES • Nories Laydown Minnow (BR-74 Gold Rush).

• Gladiator Shiver Vibe 40mm (SV4010 - purple and black) and Cranka Vibe 2012 (original Ayu) • Ecogear VX-35 (439 and 426) • Jackall Chubby 35 shallow (Ghost Wagasaki or Brown Suji Shrimp) • Pontoon 21 Crackajack 48 deep and medium (A03 Bleeding Tiger Prawn) • O.S.P Bent Minnow (P-74 Pink Head) excelled in this tournament and won the Team of the Year award.

From here it was a short step to the world of kayak fishing and Chris entered his first ABT tournament in 12

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“There are a few reasons I suppose. My main aim while I’m in a competition is to just relax and enjoy the day on the water and have fun. But even though I’m having fun, it’s essential to stay focused

“A really good pair of sunglasses is also critical to my success. I wear Tonics because I love my flats fishing and they let me see fish that I’m sure I would have missed with my old sunnies. The

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au glare reduction is amazing and they are easily my standout preference for sunglasses.

“Oh, and I guess I had luck on my side, too. You can have the best game plan in the world, have the best gear and know the place like the back of your hand but if the fish aren’t where you are, you’re going to struggle. ” Those of us who know and have fished with Chris realised very quickly he has a wealth of knowledge regarding many various fishing styles. Seeing as this year’s tournaments were completed, I was hoping

Chris would pass on a few gems of wisdom for aspiring anglers hoping to emulate his success.

Chuckling he replied, “Yeah, I suppose I can.

First, don’t worry about who you’re fishing against. You can’t control what they do, so just make it a competition against yourself and do the best you can.”

“Next, ensure you make a plan for the tournament and stick to it. It’s no using chopping and changing every thirty minutes and racing all over the place. Plus you

also, and this may sound contradictory to what I just said, you also have to be prepared to change your plan if the circumstances warrant it. You might have planned to fish surface all day because the fish were biting their heads off

the last time you were there but if you haven’t had a touch after thirty or forty minutes, you may need to re-think your strategy. Or you may notice on your sounder fish holding deep while you’re heading to your chosen spot. I’ll always

2014 ROUNDS AND RESULTS Round 1 .................. Glenelg, VIC ...................... 1st Round 2 ................... Bemm, VIC ...................... 3rd Round 3 .................... Marlo, VIC ....................... 9th Round 7 ................ Lake Tyers, VIC .................... 1st Round 9 ............ Georges River, NSW.............. 18th Round 14 .............. Paynesville, VIC .................... 1st Grand Final ........... Mandurah , WA .................... 1st GF RESULTS 2010 ...................... 9th 2011 .................... 36th 2012 .................... 12th 2013 ...................... 7th 2014 ...................... 1st throw a blade or vibe for five or ten minutes to see if they’ll bite or not.

“Learn to fish with different techniques too, because this can sometimes be a game changer. Take fishing with vibes as an example.

Many people fish them quite aggressively with quick, double hops. Sometimes this technique works but usually I employ a ‘finesse’ style of fishing while using these. I’ll work them with small, gentle lifts and hops. And if I’m fishing a rocky area, I’ll try to

Winning the 2014 Daiwa/Hobie Grand Final at Mandurah capped a stellar year for Burbidge.

walk the lure over the rocks. I call it a ‘soft hands’ approach.

You know how lots of the vibes have little bearings in them? Well I try to not make them rattle.

“And upgrade your hooks.

They’ve got to be good.

Just do it.”

This was all great information so I fired off three more questions: who do you look up to amongst all the other anglers, where are your favourite locations and what were 2014’s stand-out highlights apart from the Grand Final win and AOY? “Without a doubt the angler I admire and respect the most is Greg Lewis. I’ve never met anybody with the instinct and ability to find fish like he does. He’s a top bloke too and I only wish he had the opportunities to fish in a few more tournaments nowadays.

“Amongst my top locations is Mandurah but not just because I won there. It has everything you could want in a bream fishery. There’s sheds and pontoons, snags, undercuts and flats, just everything! It’s such a fishy-looking location.

“Next on my list would be Glenelg for the same set of reasons I suppose. My other selections would be Lake Tyers and Bemm. These places are open to you using a range of various techniques, which gives all anglers the chance to fish to their

2015 RND DATE

EVENT LOCATION

R01 FEB 07 - 08

VIC | Bemm River VIC | Marlo

HOBIE® KAYAK BREAM SERIES PRESENTED BY

RND DATE

EVENT LOCATION

Two

R09 JUN 28

NSW | Sydney Harbour

One

Two

R10 JUL 25 - 26

QLD | Gold Coast

Two

R03 MAR 14 - 15 VIC | Mallacoota

Two

R11 AUG 09

NSW | St Georges Basin

One

R04 MAR 22

NSW | Clyde River

One

R12 AUG 22 - 23

QLD | Redcliffe

Two

WA | Mandurah

One

R13 AUG 30

WA | Perth

One

VIC | Paynesville

Two

R14 OCT 17 - 18

NSW | Georges River

Two

NSW | Forster

Two

TBA NOV 14 - 15

Hobie Kayak Bream National Championship

Two

SA | Nelson

Two

R02 FEB 21 - 22

VIC State Title

National Qualifier Hobie Fishing Worlds Qualifier 1

R05 MAR 29 R06 APR 18 - 19 R07 MAY 16 - 17 R08 JUN 20 - 21

NSW State Title - Run by Southern Bream Series WA State Title - Run by WA Bream Classics National Qualifier

Hobie Fishing Worlds Qualifier 2 Run by Vic Bream

DAYS

strengths. Plus there are some mighty awesome fish in these systems, too.

“As for highlights, there are two that stand out for me.

My win in Paynesville and also winning it by a large margin (the nearest competitor was 1.34kgs behind Chris) really boosted my confidence.

“My selection to be part of the Australian Hobie Kayak Team fishing in the National Open Kayak Tournament in China was a dream come true for me. To represent your country is the pinnacle for our sport and to travel and fish with ten other like-minded and talented Aussie anglers was a truly unique experience. I’ll never forget it.”

To wrap it up, I asked Chris what his goals for 2015 are.

“Obviously I’d like to back up my performances from last year and win the AOY and Grand Final again, as well as staying number one in the rankings. Apart from those, I’d really like to take out the top spot at Marlo. That’s one place I haven’t conquered yet so to achieve that would be pretty special.”

With the incredible knowledge and skills that Chris has at his disposal, as well as an infectious drive and determination to keep increasing his abilities as an angler, I can almost see Chris on the top of that podium at Marlo now.

DAYS

Run by Southern Bream Series QLD State Title

Run by Southern Bream Series National Qualifier

Run by WA Bream Classics National Qualifier To Be Announced

All dates and venues subject to final council approvals, water permits and weather forecast prior to the event and are subject to change. Organisers & Hobie Cat Australasia cannot be held responsible for events outside our control should a change of date / venue be required.

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2014 ABT Rankings and Angler of the Year Anglers shared in the spoils and rewards in 2014 with plenty of bream, bass, barra anglers making hay as the sun shone on the ABT tournament trail.

Warren Carter (1st ranked boater) and Scott Butler (2nd

ranked boater and boater AOY champion) shone on the bream side of the ledger, while Dean Silvester (1st ranked boater) and Mark Lennox (champion AOY boater) stood up to be counted in the BASS Pro Series.

Shaun Falkenhagen had a dream year in 2014 claiming the BASS Electric AOY crown to accompany his BASS Pro Grand Final non-boater win, while bass young gun Jordan Renz claimed the BASS Electric number one ranking.

Victoria’s Chris Burbidge was untouchable in a kayak claiming the Grand Final, AOY and number one BREAM Kayak ranking in the Hobie Kayak BREAM Series while Glen Hayter had an equally impressive year to

claim the BASS kayak AOY and number one ranking crowns.

Fresh from a red-hot Rapala BARRA Tour Ben Durkin and Matt McArthur finished the year as the Team of the Year, while William

Reichard and Ken Elliot grabbed the number one ranking courtesy of a red-hot 2014 tour.

For full rankings, records, and earnings of each species and series visit www. abt.org.au.

BREAM BREAM PRO RANKINGS 2014 Boater 1 Warren Carter .............................................. 238 2 Scott Butler ................................................. 231 3 Kris Hickson .................................................219 4 Russell Babekuhl ........................................ 203 5 Ross Cannizzaro ..........................................198 6 Cameron Whittam ........................................180 7 Chris Wright .................................................173 8 Steve Morgan ...............................................142 9 Jamie McKeown ..........................................136 10 Brad Hodges ................................................136 Non Boater 1 Brad Roberts ...............................................160 2 Tanya Konsul ................................................157 3 Rebecca Fazio .............................................155 4 Mark Cribbes ...............................................135 5 Chris Findlay ................................................130 6 Simon Johnson ............................................126 7 Grayson Fong............................................... 117 8 Callum Dowell .............................................. 115 9 John Galea ................................................... 115 10 Andrew Williams ........................................... 114

BREAM PRO AOY 2014 Boater 1 Scott Butler ................................................. 294 2 Warren Carter .............................................. 281 3 Cameron Whittam ....................................... 281 4 Russell Babekuhl ........................................ 280 5 Anthony Thorpe ........................................... 271 6 Tom Slater ................................................... 263 7 Heath Blaikie ............................................... 260 8 Daniel Brown ............................................... 257 9 Chris Seeto ................................................. 253 10 Mark Healey ................................................ 253 Non Boater 1 John Galea ................................................. 288 2 Simon Johnson ........................................... 277 3 Grayson Fong.............................................. 275 4 Jonathan Thompson ....................................274 5 Brad Roberts .............................................. 258 6 Bernard Kong .............................................. 253 7 Clint Voss ..................................................... 253 8 Zac O’Sullivan ............................................. 252 9 Trevor Harris ................................................ 247 10 John Thorley ................................................ 245

BREAM KAYAK RANKINGS 2014 1 Chris Burbidge ............................................ 355 2 Stephen Maas ............................................. 304 3 Stewart Dunn .............................................. 303 4 Michael Maas .............................................. 293 5 Jason Meech............................................... 290 6 Patrick McQuarrie ....................................... 281 7 Shane Owens .............................................. 262 8 Andrew Death ............................................. 253 9 Simon Morley .............................................. 253 10 Josh Carpenter ........................................... 249 BREAM KAYAK AOY 2014 1 Chris Burbidge ............................................ 490 2 Stephen Maas ............................................. 487 3 Stewart Dunn .............................................. 483 4 Mat Cameron ...............................................476 5 Michael Maas .............................................. 475 6 Jason Meech............................................... 472 7 Jon Clisby ................................................... 465 8 Patrick McQuarrie ....................................... 463 9 Kane Terry .................................................... 461 10 Scott Sandilands ......................................... 458

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BASS BASS KAYAK RANKINGS 2014 1 Glen Hayter ......................... 258 2 Dave Mann .......................... 240 3 Mick Skinner ....................... 189 4 Alan Britcliffe ....................... 180 5 Richard Somerton ............... 147 6 Peter Bostock ..................... 136 7 Duane Macey ...................... 128 8 Ben Davidson ...................... 124 9 Jonathan Chen .................... 121 10 Anthony Correnti ................... 98

BASS ELECTRIC RANKINGS 2014 1 Jordan Renz ........................ 379 2 Mitchell Renz ...................... 323 3 Joseph Urquhart ................ 308 4 Adrian Wilson ..................... 306 5 Tom Reynolds ..................... 296 6 Adrian Manolea ................... 282 7 Christian Manolea ............... 278 8 Dave Mann .......................... 275 8 Tim Steenhuis ..................... 275 10 Brett Kleinschmidt ............. 273

BASS KAYAK AOY 2014 1 Glenn Hayter ....................... 296 2 Richard Somerton ............... 295 3 Dave Mann .......................... 289 4 Alan Britcliffe ....................... 285 5 Mick Skinner ....................... 277 6 Ben Davidson ...................... 251 7 Denis Metzdorf ................... 191 8 Chesney Fung ..................... 191 9 Jordan Garnsworthy ........... 187 10 Jason Garner ...................... 184

BASS ELECTRIC AOY 2014 1 Shaun Falkenhagen............. 486 2 Peter Bostock ..................... 475 3 Adrian Wilson ...................... 461 4 Christian Manolea ............... 459 5 Adrian Manolea ................... 443 6 Jonathon Bale ..................... 422 7 Tom Reynolds ..................... 382 8 Callum Tewes ....................... 372 9 Nathan Swanson ................. 360 10 Ian Galloway ........................ 356

Warren Carter and Shaun Falkenhagen had a redhot 2014 on the BREAM and BASS Tours.

BASS BASS PRO RANKINGS 2014 Boater 1 Dean Silvester ................221 2 Stephen Kanowski .........213 3 David Young ....................193 4 Mark Lennox ..................181 5 Barry Reynolds ..............164 6 Adrian Melchior ..............163 7 Steven Otto ....................149 8 Peter Phelps ...................145 9 Matthew Mott .................143 10 Matt Johnson .................137

BASS PRO AOY 2014 Boater 1 Mark Lennox ..................282 2 David Young ....................281 3 Craig Simmons ..............274 4 Barry Reynolds ..............274 5 Glyn Barkhuizen .............271 6 Joe Allan ........................266 7 Mark Reinbott ................263 8 David Lane .....................261 9 Karen Fontaine ...............261 10 Stephen Kanowski .........258

Non Boater 1 Ben Scotman .................173 2 Shaun Falkenhagen........168 3 Terry Alwood ..................155 4 Dane Radosevic .............154 5 Duane Macey .................152 6 Ray Holmes ....................146 7 Dave Hedges..................143 8 Warren Howe .................141 9 Peter Holmes .................138 10 Stephen Mclean .............121

Non Boater 1 Ben Biggs ......................273 2 Ben Lockwood ...............265 3 David Williamson ............265 4 Liam Fitzpatrick .............264 5 Ray Holmes ....................262 6 Duane Macey .................259 7 Tom Deer ........................258 8 Allan Price ......................258 9 Mike Connolly ................256 10 Peter Holmes .................252

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Chris Burbidge was untouchable in a kayak in 2014, while Steve Kanowski and Mark Lennox dominated the Toray BASS Pro Series.

BARRA BARRA RANKINGS 2014 1 Willem Reichard .......................................................................................192 1 Ken Elliot ..................................................................................................192 3 Matt McArthur .........................................................................................187 3 Ben Durkin ...............................................................................................187 5 Craig Griffiths ...........................................................................................173 6 Trent Power ..............................................................................................161 6 Donovan Power ........................................................................................161 8 Jon Millard ..............................................................................................156 9 Neil Wilson ...............................................................................................148 9 Geoff Newby ............................................................................................148 BARRA TOY 2014 1 Ben Durkin .....................Matt McArthur ................................................. 298 2 Ken Elliot ........................Willem Reichard ............................................... 295 3 Geoff Newby ..................Neil Wilson ....................................................... 291 4 Jon Millard .....................Ethan Farrell ..................................................... 289 5 Justin Welsh ...................Cameron Johnson ........................................... 285 6 Craig Griffiths .................Karim Deridder ................................................ 282 7 Trent Power ....................Donovan Power ............................................... 278 8 Patrick Morgan ...............Jarrod Dalton ................................................... 272 9 Ben Willcox ....................Matt Zahl ......................................................... 271 10 Peter Price .....................Aaron Dial ........................................................ 269

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Rising to the top of the pack Dean Silvester

In tournament angling there’s no bigger prize than an Angler of Year title. The ultimate reward for the best performing angler across the tournament season, it’s an accolade that all tournament pros aspire to win. In 2014 NSW’s Mark Lennox added the AOY shield to his trophy case, a trophy case that also holds his 2012 Grand Final trophy.

LET’S GET STARTED Mark’s first tournament was in 2003 where he competed as a non-boater, and by his own admission was a late starter, beginning his tournament career at the ripe old age of 45. The tournament that kick started his career was a Lake Glenbawn BASS Pro event and he was fortunate enough to be partnered with 2000 ABT BASS Pro Grand Final winner John Schofield, and from that very first event he was hooked.

While Mark’s first experience in tournament angling was positive he didn’t rush head on into it, and opted instead to take things steady as he learnt the ropes.

“I fished one event in my

first year, then spent a few years as a non-boater before stepping up to mix it with the big boys as a boater”, explains Lennox.

Mark’s progression and evolution as an angler was seamless and in 2012 he had his first major break through

winning the BASS Pro Grand Final on a challenging Lake St Clair. This coming of age win announced him as serious contender on the BASS Pro scene. With aspirations to win the AOY title, Mark knew consistency was the key to achieving such a lofty title.

“You can afford to have one bad event a year, but you can’t afford to have any more than that. You need to be consistent and firing on all guns to be in with a chance of winning”, explains Mark.

Any that’s exactly what transpired in 2014, with Lennox discovering the consistency he was looking for in only his 6th year as an ABT tournament angler. His consistent year kicked off at round one at Lake Glenbawn with Lennox nailing down a 4th place.

“There’s a lot of ups and downs in fishing, so to start the year with a top five was very satisfying. With a 4th to my name I began to set my sights on the AOY, and started to focus on what I needed to

Steve Kanowski holds the Grand Final shield aloft while Mark Lennox proudly displays his Angler of the Year shield.

THE CHAMP’S MUST-HAVE BAITS

Hopping a Yamba Prawn Blade is one of Lennox’s favourite and most effective bassing techniques.

Unique handcrafted lures made by an Aussie fisherman for Aussie Fisherman

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• Megabass Pop X – the benchmark in surface lures that can be walked and popped.

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• Beatle Spin – slows down presentation for plastics and blades and adds extra vibration.

• Jackall TN50 and 60s – a legend on the tournament trail that bass can’t resist. do to win”, explained Lennox.

With a steely focus on what he had to do Lennox put into place a series of events, a system that would ultimately lead to him win the Angler of the Year trophy at the Lake Wivenhoe Grand Final in September.

GETTING SET Mark’s pursuit of the AOY crown began with his system for success, a planning process that saw small and big goals as the focus for achieving success.

like trying to make the top ten or top five at each round of the year”, explained Lennox.

Researching results and write-ups from past events Lennox armed himself with as much knowledge and information as he could. He combined this with his own on water notes, both good and bad, and formulated a knowledge base that he would then apply on water and in the heat of battle. Lennox’s goal setting and system paid off with him racking up three top

Each event result and goal achieved helped Lennox grow in confidence and evolve as an angler, and when it comes to setting the goals that helped him achieve this Mark has a few tips for those driven to achieve and improve when it comes to their fishing.

“Goals do not have to be long winded or complicated.

The goals for each event are pretty simple, catch a limit each session, and make the top ten”.

Preparation is another key ingredient to success for Lennox and it starts with making sure he has everything he needs to fish at his best.

“I don’t want to be distracted by not having something that I need, and for me it starts with lures and leaders. I make sure I have enough of the lures that I’m going to need, to run out of a must-have lure is an angler’s worse nightmare.

Once I have my lures sorted I’ll make sure my leaders are perfect and flawless. To lose

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Mark heads back to the scales to weigh another limit of bass.

Contact Brian Bochow 0400 291 029 or email bj-spinnerbaits@hotmail.com 16

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“I’m a big one for setting goals, so I set up small ones, like catching two fish in the next session that I’m about to fish, through to bigger goals

ten finishes for the year.

A long time practioner of goal setting, it was in 2014 that his planning and preparation really came home to roost.

a fish through a failed knot or a broken leader that was preventable is unacceptable”, explained Mark.

Researching tournament

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au venues is another high priority for Mark.

“When I have to fish a new lake I start by looking at a map so I can understand the area”, states Lennox. He will also run through past editions of Fishing Monthly magazines, as most tournament venues have a monthly update on areas that are fishing well and prospective lures for that time of year.

With this information Mark will then hit the tournament venue to prefish.

“I like to do the prefish two weeks prior to an event.

This enables him me to put all my research into play and then formulate a plan for the prefish the day before the event”, explains Mark.

STAYING CALM Anglers compete in tournaments for different reasons and for Lennox it is the feeling of satisfaction that from comes from everything coming together when he’s on the water. The cooker pressure of tournament angling can bring a heavy weight of stress through, a weight that many anglers struggle with, Mark however has found a way to deal with it.

“The stress that you feel during a tournament is to be expected, and being successful is about managing this stress and not letting it override your clear decision making and onwater performance”, explained Mark.

Accepting of what’s required of him mentally

Lennox strives to stay calm and relaxed off the water then switched into focused

tournament mode once the tournament starts.

“Once I am on the water

A top ten at round one at Glenbawn was the beginning of Mark’s red-hot year that included his AOY win and a top ten at every event.

THE RESULTS THAT MATTER

Mark used both soft plastics and hard bodies to catch his bass in 2014.

• R1 Lake Glenbawn: 4th place • R2 Lake Boondooma: 10th place • Grand Final: 7th place • AOY: 282/300 points

I focus entirely on my plan for the session and what I need to do to put fish in the boat”, explains Mark.

When it comes to the techniques that he uses, especially during the prefish, Mark rarely relies on just one technique for any given location, believing instead to be adept at a host of different techniques to maximise on water success.

Once Mark identifies the best technique or techniques, and has his game plan set he’ll stick to it, even if the fishing is slow he will stick with the technique only changing it with a lighter line or smaller presentation. This set game plan allows Mark to keep a clear head, “having too many options messes with my head, so I try and keep it as simple as I can”, explains Mark.

Lennox rarely has a fall back plan, and in the case when everything falls apart he simply reinvents himself and changes what he’s doing on the run.

THE HOME FRONT Tournaments are a rocky road filled with highs and lows.

Lennox draws much of his strength and support from his highly supportive wife Julie.

While Mark’s wife and his support network of family and friends provide an invaluable, and essential support foundation for his tournament angling it’s his inner drive that fuels his angling appetite.

“No one drives me to succeed, it’s my own personal challenge”.

When it comes to achieving and succeeding in his angling challenge Mark follows a few important rules: • Be confident in your decisions • Have the ability to forget past fishing experiences and start fresh every time.

• Keep focused on why you are tournament fishing.

• Fish the last hour of a session harder than the first hour • Have a personal commitment to make it happen.

• Be persistent • Be respectful to other anglers If there is one thing Lennox has learnt in his 6 years competing it is that success is more about the decisions you make before you hit the water, rather than on it.

“The level of skill and competition is only getting stronger in tournament angling.

Access to information has never been easier, the fishing gear and technology has never been better or more advanced, and the challenge to consistently place high in a field of talented anglers has never been greater, and I can’t see it getting any easier. To get your name on the AOY trophy takes only the very best performance, and that’s what I’ll be striving for again in 2015”, concluded Lennox.

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The year of the Falken ABT

Charles West

As the BASS Electric rounds started at Lake Danjeera and took us to Bundaberg’s Isis Balancing Storage, the qualifying rounds distilled the next Angler of the Year for 2014 in Shaun Falkenhagen. With a smaller roster of events for the 2014 season, it was going to be important to make every event count for points.

Shaun’s late-season Lake Macdonald round was the

most important event for him, as it was where he gained crucial points that put him in the lead in the AOY race.

With the last event at Isis (which he didn’t attend), you can only imagine Shaun’s anticipation on waiting to hear the results from that event. It turned out that his anxiety was unfounded as he held on to the top spot and the 2015 title.

As an Angler of the Year winner you need to be consistent with every tournament you attend. Shaun showed that it is important to bring bass to the weigh-in at

Shaun lists pre-fishing as a vital element to his success.

every event you fish. Shaun fished 6 out of the 12 events and in each event he fished, he delivered bass to the scales.

Tallying 4 out of 6 events placed in the top 5, Shaun ended up with 486 points¸ only 11 points in front of his next competitor. I got the chance to talk to Shaun about his success and about the fundamentals that made his year fall into place. There is a pile of information that he was willing to share with us; his outlook, tools of his trade and some points of interest on which dams he fished and placed. Here a few questions we put to Shaun to help us see how he achieved AOY for 2014.

Why where you so successful in 2014?

The success for Shaun in 2014 came down to knowing the dam or lake he was fishing, by practice.

“I try to pre-fish most dams leading up to the event I’m about to compete in,” Shaun said. However given work and family commitments this is not always the case.

“Over the last few years I have started to get an understanding of most of the SEQ dams we fish and what the fish might be eating and the locations they could be in”.

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We’re sure to see Shaun on the winner’s podium many more times in both Electric and BASS Pro events.

Shaun noted a few things he asks himself when going for a pre-fish before a tournament.

• Is it an edge bite?

• Are the bass schooled in deep water, making it a deep bite?

• What depth of water should I concentrate in?

• What structure (if any) should I look for? This is particularly import for dams with weed growth.

“Having thought about the above I start to narrow down the areas to look for and the techniques I should be concentrating on before I hit the dam,” he continued.

LAKE MACDONALD BREAKDOWN Here is a little breakdown on Shaun’s tournament day at Lake Macdonald, to see how he fishes and puts bass to the scales.

“Given my poor finish at Lake Moogerah, I needed a good result at Macdonald to keep me in AOY calculations”. The following is Shaun’s approach to the pre-fish and tournament day and how he tried to adapt with the changing conditions.

The pre-fish Shaun pre-fished the dam once, a few weeks leading up to the event. The day started really slowly for him. He fished the edges with lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits trying to find a pattern. After several hours without a bite he decided to look deeper closer to the creek bed. Shaun quickly caught several small, but legal fish on a blade.

“I left this area knowing I had at least one plan,” he said.

With Shaun knowing that in most years, the tournament’s Big Bass come off the edges, he decided to try the edges again, using a suspending jerkbait to try and tempt any fish sitting in the weed. Shaun quickly caught 8 good fish in several locations.

One thing that stood out for Shaun was that all these fish came off shallow, healthy weed. Edges with little weed produced nothing for Shaun.

6 MUST-HAVE BAITS Here are Shaun’s 6 must have baits and outfits to match.

“These depend on what dam I will be fishing, however to narrow it down to 6 lures and outfits, these are my go to techniques”.

CRANKBAITING: OSP High Cut colour #T-53 Barrabass XP902 7’3 Spin Shimano CI4 1000 Toray 10lb Radius PE 8lb LEX 8lb Leader SOFT LIPLESS CRANKBAIT: Jackall Mask (Gold fleck black head) Barrabass XSB842 7ft Spin Shimano CI4 2500 Toray 15lb SeaBass PowerGame 12lb SuperHard Toray Leader LIPLESS CRANKBAIT Imakatsu Piranha lipless crankbait BarraBass Crankbait 6’10 Baitcast Daiwa Alphas Finesse Toray 10lb Radius Toray 10lb Superhard Leader ROLLING PLASTIC Keitech Swing Impact Fat 2.8inch Ayu on a 3/8 Impact Tackle painted jig head BarraBass IP841 7ft Spin Daiwa Certate 1003 Toray 6.5lb Sea Bass Shallow Finesse Toray LEX 8lb Leader BLADE Dressed 3/8 NexGen blade Barrabass XSB822 6’10 Spin Daiwa sol 1500 Toray 10lb Radius Toray 10lb Superhard Leader TOPWATER OSP Bent Minnow 76 colour H22 Barrabass XO 7’3 Spin Shimano CI4 1000 Toray 10lb Radius PE LEX 11lb Leader Going into the event, Shaun had plan A (jerkbaits to the shallow, weedy edges) and plan B, (blades deep near the creek bed).

Tournament day Tournament day arrived and the first thing Shaun noticed when he arrived at the dam that morning was the lower water level when compared to the prefish several weeks earlier.

The tournament started and he headed straight to his first area, however, the lower

water levels meant the fish had moved from his shallow weedy edges that he had previously found and caught good bass on in the pre-fish.

After 3 to 4 hours passed with no results, Shaun made the decision to try Plan B, a deeper presentation, hoping that he could at least fill his bag of 2 bass.

Shaun went on to catch his bag limit (2/2) with a kicker fish of 1.6kg. Shaun managed 5th place.

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Winning the BASS Electric AOY is all about consistently finishing in the Top 5 for multiple events.

“Given the poor start I had, I was happy to come away with a top 5,” he said.

Shaun’s a great example on how it’s vital to have more than one plan of attack and to catch other bass in different locations in your practise, in case the arena changes. As our dams are for water usage in many forms, water level can be an issue whether rising or falling. These weather events change the behaviour of bass and where they will hold and feed.

“I believe luck plays some part in fishing the bass tournaments, however, you also need to make your own

luck by putting yourself in the right area at the right time,” Shaun said.

How did you evolve to become so successful?

“I think time on the water has a big part to play,” Shaun answered. “Spending time on a dam is helpful with knowing where the bass

are holding and feeding in different weather and seasons of the year.”

Shaun has fished quite a few non-boating BASS Pro events, which have helped him enhance his understanding on how other anglers go about their day on the water and picking up on little techniques

SHAUN’S 2014 RESULTS Clarrie Hall Dam .................................................2nd Hinze Dam ...........................................................6th Maroon Dam ........................................................4th Wivenhoe Dam ...................................................2nd Lake Moogerah .................................................23rd Lake Macdonald ..................................................5th

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Non-boating in some of the BASS Pro powerboat events has added an extra dimension to Shaun’s understanding of SEQ bass and the techniques needed to catch them. that they use.

“I try and take this knowledge and then apply it to my tournament fishing,” Shaun said.

Shaun also has the flexibility to try and to adapt his techniques, lure selection and locations to suit the mood

of the fish and the conditions of the day. It’s important to keep an open mind when bass fishing, as one day a certain lure may work and the next it doesn’t.

Shaun has shown over the years of tournament fishing that he is definitely evolving

and I’m sure he will continue to do this – he is a consistent and determined angler.

What are your tips for an angler who aspires to achieve to your level?

• Learn from others around you.

• Ask questions of your fellow anglers.

• Try to non-boat some BASS pro events • Spend time on the water trying different techniques.

“We all have bad days on the water, try and learn from these bad days,” is Shaun’s advice.

I’ve had the chance to fish with Shaun in a bass event and we had a good chat about some of the techniques he uses and I would have to say he does have a good knowledge and understanding of our SEQ dams and lakes and how to fish them in those tough days of tournament fishing.

Shaun is a well-developed bass angler who we will see for years to come and surely will see on the podium many more times. With the 2015 BASS Electric session about to start, we will see how Shaun goes and see if he can do it again. It won’t be easy to do. With a lot of great anglers and new up and coming anglers it is a tough field to compete in. Anyone can win it.

So let the season begin….

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Hayter hauls to the top ABT

Josh Carpenter

For any competitive angler in Australia these days there are two benchmarks for success, winning the Grand Final and winning the Angler of the Year title. Grand Final wins are certainly an accomplishment but to win an AOY takes a season of dedication. Through ups and downs it takes true grit to make it to the top of that table.

Those sound like inspiring ideals but as with all three BASS tours there is more to it than just hard work and the studious pursuit of success.

The BASS tours have become known as much for their camaraderie and mateship around the campfire as well as the “who shares wins” motto being put into practice. For current Hobie Kayak BASS AOY champion Glenn Hayter success in 2014 centred on having fun and enjoying the moment, as he fished his way to a near perfect AOY point score (296/300 points).

Four unique fisheries, in three different states provided a challenging landscape for anglers in 2014, a landscape that Hayter would ultimately

dominate on his way to AOY glory.

A FALSE START TO A GOOD YEAR Tallowa Dam in southern NSW Shoalhaven area played host to the opening round. Tallowa is probably

the lake. I wasn’t able to get on the water on the prefish the day before the tournament but I was confident of getting a bag. Unfortunately the dam water level had dropped leaving the weed beds high and dry. I had heaps of fun

Hayter’s win in the final round at Lake Toonumbar secured. him the 2014 Hobie Kayak BASS AOY title.

Quality bass in the heat of battle was the hallmark of Hayter’s 2014 season. the greatest bass fishery no one has ever heard of due to it being closed to both combustion engines and electrics. By far the most expansive arena and Glenn’s local round.

“I prefished before the ban came into effect and found plenty of fish around the weed beds of my favourite arm of

catching carp on plastics and topwaters but struggled to catch a bass until the last hour when I started to throw a Jackall TN60 and managed two legals”.

An 18th place was not what Glenn was looking for on his home water, but as a longtime tournament angler with a ten plus year history

fishing the BASS Electric and BASS Pro circuits, he knew that one result does not determine a season.

GETTING BACK ON THE HORSE Blue Rock Dam in Victoria has come online in the last few years as a tournament arena for all iterations of bass fishing, from powerboats through to electric events as well as kayak events, and for Glenn it was where he shrugged off a slow start and mounted his campaign for the AOY title.

“During the prefish I found fish on the edges holding in the shade and during the comp worked that pattern with a Jackall TN60 rigged with a beetle spin. I caught half a dozen legal fish including my biggest at about 11.30am in the last bit of shade I could find”.

A third place finish and a boost to his confidence was all Glenn needed to get him back on track.

the day before had largely vanished. I put together a bag by 8am nonetheless, and then headed into the timber in search of upgrades. It paid off and I picked up a quality fish on a Jackall Ice Jig. It was good enough for another third place and set the scene for the final round”.

FINISHING IT OFF The final round at Toonumbar beckoned and provided Glenn with his ultimate challenge and in the end his ultimate reward in this best three-from-four points race.

“After having a bad start at Tallowa earlier in the year I knew I needed a second place or higher finish to rundown Richard Somerton for angler of the year. Past sessions on Toonumbar, included the 2013 BASS Kayak Grand Final and past BASS Electric events showed me that a bag of fish over 38cm each was definitely do-able. I went out for a prefish and found them

smelt colour on a 1/20oz TT jighead. In the end I got an upgrade 50m from the start line at 12.30 to give me two 39’s and a 40 for my bag and giving me first place by 1cm”.

Victories can often come down to mere centimetres and one single seemingly insignificant bite, and Hayter’s victory at Toonumbar, and in turn his Angler of the Year title, was exactly that. Being in position to claim event wins and tour titles however don’t come from single fortuitous moments but instead comes from consistent performance, diversity in ability and highly evolved angler skills. All three feature in Glen’s angler arsenal, and are attributes that will see him as the man to watch, and catch on the 2015 Hobie Fishing Kayak BASS tour.

IT’S TOURNAMENT TIME When bassing socially Glen finds it hard to go past throwing a topwater

Hayter caught his fishing throughout the year on a variety of techniques and lures.

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CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN AT MOOGERAH After a little advice from local Charles West on where the fish might be Glenn went out for the prefish day and found good schools of fish but found them hard to tempt.

“I went out on comp day and the schooled fish from

in both the same spots as the last two times I had been there.

“In the tournament I couldn’t have had a better start getting a 36cm and a 40cm fish in the first three casts and I had a 38, 39 and 40cm bag by 8.30 fishing the shaded weed beds. I probably caught 25-30 fish for the day all on Gulp! 3” minnows in

in the shade or running and gunning for active fish with finesse plastics. When on the tournament clock though his thoughts change and a much broader selection of bass baits come out to play.

“I love a buzzbait for prefishing because it is a great tool for searching the edges. They don’t have a great

abt.org.au THE ROAD TO VICTORY R1 ........Tallowa Dam, NSW: ......................18th place R2 ........Blue Rock Dam, VIC .....................3rd place R3 ........Moogerah Dam, QLD: ..................3rd place R4 ........Toonumbar Dam, QLD..................1st place hookup rate which means I don’t burn fish on the prefish day and at least have some chance of catching them during the comp. This also means I don’t fish it in the comp itself because of that poor hookup rate”.

When riverine styled lakes are on the menu Hayter ties on a lure that has become legendary on the bream scene, but not as well know on the bass trail.

“In the more “river like” dams I like to fish weedbeds with 3” minnow plastics on light jigheads. I’ll also upsize my bait in such locations and throw a Jackall TN60, rigged with, and without, a beetle spin”.

As Glen moves out from the edge and starts to take things a little deeper he’ll flip open his tackle box and reach for a blade.

“I prefer an Impact

Tackle Bladez on big open flats with 10-20ft, and will try and cover as much water as possible but when fishing schooled fish”.

On specific deepwater structure such as standing timber Glen likes using ice jigs in conjunction with his sounder. A combination that enables him to pin point fish and take his lure directly to them. Finally, a 3 inch curl tail grub rigged on a 1/4oz jighead rounds out his deep water arsenal and his must-have bass baits, a collection that Glen has refined and defined over many years, and many hours on the water for ultimate tournament success.

Hayter’s win in the final round at Lake Toonumbar secured. him the 2014 Hobie Kayak BASS AOY title.

PICK A BOX Glen’s must-haves in his tackle box when packing for the tournament trail.

Impact Tackle Bladez Jackall TN60, rigged with and without a beetle spin blade 3” minnow rigged on a lightweight jighead 3” Curl Tail Grub rigged on a 1/4oz jighead Jackall Ice Jig abt

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Points decision for BARRA Team of the Year Chris Byrnes

The 2014 Rapala BARRA Tour witnessed red hot fishing across all three North QLD barra venues.

The battle for the Team of the Year (TOY) title was tightly fought, with multiple teams still in the reckoning at the start of the final session at Peter Faust Dam. In the end Team BTD Lures, comprised of Ben Durkin and Matt McArthur, were the worthy recipients of the TOY title.

BTD Lures put themselves in the box seat from the start of the tour with victories in the first two events at Teemburra and Kinchant Dams. However a tougher bite at Peter Faust Dam saw the team fall down the standings after the first session, potentially resulting in the team being PLACE

TEAM

overtaken by competitors sitting a mere four points behind. However, the team quickly regathered and caught the fish to rocket them into overall third place at the event, and securing the team their first Team of the Year title.

ABT asks the team the hard questions in an effort to uncover the secrets of their 2014 success, the key factors in their development, tips to assist anglers looking to compete in tournaments and the must have lures that delivered their maiden Team of the Year title.

Q: Why were you so successful in 2014?

The team’s success in 2014 can be attributed to a number of factors. Both team members, in their own right, have extensive experience on the water fishing socially and in tournament conditions. But it was their time and experience fishing

together that solidified their tournament success.

Whether it was working together with a particular lure or trying different approaches both anglers understood that an effective team can entice bites when the fishing is tough, or extend a bite window for longer than normal.

The team readily admitted that they had made mistakes in the past, but importantly had learnt from them. Further to this the team highlighted the importance of making a plan and then sticking to it.

“In past events we made decisions that came back to haunt us, however we learnt from our mistakes rather than dwell on them.

Instinct and gut feel aren’t tangible elements, however they play an important role when you are on the water.

One of the keys for us as a team is to remain focussed; it is a tournament after all!

ANGLER 1

ANGLER 2

Team BTD Lures dominated at Kinchant, catching a 112cm average to claim their second win on the tour.

A CLOSE CALL It came down to the last session in the last event, with Team BTD Lures rallying when they needed to win a tightly fought Team of the Year title.

R1

R2

R3

TOTAL

1.............. BTD Lures ......................................Ben Durkin .......Matt McArthur ...............100 ............... 100 ............... 98 .................... 298 2.............. Nomad Tackle/Hydrowave.............Ken Elliot ..........Willem Reichard ............98 ................. 98 ................. 99 .................... 295 3.............. Toray ..............................................Geoff Newby ....Neil Wilson ....................97 ................. 99 ................. 95 .................... 291 4.............. Bass Mafia Outdoors/Rapala ........Jon Millard........Ethan Farrell ..................93 ................. 96 ................. 100 .................. 289 5.............. Minnkota-Toray ..............................Justin Welsh .....Cameron Johnson .........95 ................. 93 ................. 97 .................... 285

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But equally important is enjoying the time fishing together and not stressing when things don’t go your way. If either of us loses a fish you can expect to get a polite mouthful from your partner. In the end we keep having fun regardless,” explained McArthur.

Q: How did you evolve to become so successful?

The team members met fishing ABT barramundi tournaments, albeit fishing with different partners.

Striking up a friendship both anglers fished socially in the off season and shared information and techniques.

The team members were

equally passionate, however factors for both anglers changed which impacted on their ability to fish tournaments.

After a two year hiatus they found themselves ready to compete again and sought each other out to form a team.

“After having two years off with family and financial difficulties we were both looking forward to the challenge. I believe that a steadfast dedication to barra fishing over the years has given us the ability and resolve needed to compete at this level of competition.”

“We both feel the same

way about tournament fishing in that if we don’t have the time to fully dedicate ourselves then we’d rather not do it. In this case though the timing was right to get together and fish the BARRA Tour. I realise it is a major commitment, both financial and personally, to get away and fish these tournaments. As we always say we don’t do anything by half, but having fun and enjoying the time spent on the water barra fishing both social and tournament is always a highlight of the year and remains a key focus,” explained Durkin.

Q: What are your tips for an angler who aspires to achieve to your level?

The first point highlighted was experience, with both anglers recognising that there is no substitute for time on the water. A high level of dedication, especially in regards to tackle maintenance, was instrumental to performance.

“Every box needs to be ticked in regards to tackle, knots, hooks, rings, there can’t be any weak links in

IN AUSTRALIA

www.bassmafiaaustralia.com Two wins and a 3rd place secured the TOY title for Team BTD Lures.

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au your setup. Anglers should also enjoy the buzz of tournament fishing rather than feel overwhelmed by the occasion. Tournament buzz can’t be replicated, it is unlike recreational fishing and is something to be embraced rather than feared,” explained McArthur.

Tournaments are the benchmarks for angling with no mistakes going unpunished. There can be negative experiences; however anglers need to overcome these in order to progress.

“Tournaments can be a hard learning curve. I have seen them break an angler’s spirit. However that is the nature of all competition.”

Also to contend with are

the fact that you are often competing against a field of like-minded anglers.

“The reality is that you won’t always have a spot to yourself and you can’t spit the dummy when things don’t go to plan,” explained McArthur.

Finally the decision to move locations in a tournament situation, whilst difficult, should be based on information rather than chance.

“When you move location in a tournament it should be a decision based on facts and experience.

This is also where instinct plays a crucial role.

A team will often live or die by their decisions during a tournament,”

The BTD General, in shallow and deep, was a go-to lure for Durkin and McArthur. explained McArthur.

Q: What are your six must-have tournament baits to have your box?

Squidgy Slick Rig – Black/Gold “This lure has the runs on the boards. It is a go to baitfish profile and is a confidence lure for many anglers. The black/gold colour stands out in all conditions. A safe bet in all situations.”

Samaki Vibelicious “A vibration style lure.

A great go to lure with a smaller profile. This lure is adaptable to different

It was barra action aplenty on the BARRA Tour for Team BTD.

weather situations and varying conditions.”

BTD General – Standard and deep bib “This is a versatile lure that has a good vibration and fantastic water displacement. With these two lures an angler can effectively target different many depths, with 15-20 feet deep being ideal for these lures.”

BTD Jack Attack “This is smaller lure with a compact profile. It is a very good lure for the barramundi, especially at Teemburra Dam. This lure was a point

of difference for our team and tempted many a fussy eater to respond.”

Reidys Big B52 – Black/Silver “This is a good reliable jerkbait. This lure has much history and has proved its consistency for many years. It also has the added benefit of being able to be upgraded or downgraded with hooks without affecting the lures action.”

Key Point “Ultimately the key with this lure selection is versatility. The ability to use the same lure in multiple situations is one of the determining factors when it comes to selecting our top lures.”

Benn Durkin releases another XOS barra to swim another day.

X-STRENGTH | X-ACTION | X-APPEAL 10cm | 14g | 1.0-1.5m

DEEP 3D HOLOGRAPHIC EYES

FLOATING

6X VMC PERMA STEEL TREBLE HOOKS

INTEGRATED MOLDED BIB

1mm THROUGH WIRE CONSTRUCTION

For stockist information telephone 02 9780 8200 www.rapala.com.au

fishing line recommended

rapala.com.au

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TAG 2015

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HERE’S A PAIR

NOBODY SAW COMING

We’ve refined the technology and dramatically improved the reliability to bring you the next generation of electric trolling motors so advanced and so precise, the fish will never hear you coming. From the durable and versatile all new X3, through to the wireless, stealth-like Xi5, this pair delivers the ultimate fishing experience, so you can now focus purely on the catch.

Visit mercurymarine.com.au for your nearest Motorguide dealer.

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TAG 2015 abt

The perfect companion to the Xi5, Pinpoint GPS takes boat control to the next level.

With an ultra-precise receiver and two digital compasses, it teams up with your trolling motor to deliver best-in-class boat navigation.