After a long absence the ABT BASS Tour returned to the Burnett Valley’s Bjelke Petersen Dam for the
final event of the 2008 MotorGuide BASS Electric Series, the MotorGuide BASS
Electric Convention, 27/28th September.
54 anglers from 23 qualifying rounds throughout the year
made the journey to the drought influenced impoundment, with two angling
sessions, Friday night trivia quiz and Saturday afternoon casting testing
anglers’ multitude of skills.
Jesper Noiesen claimed victory in the first of the two skins
based angling sessions, compiling a 2/2, 3.48kg bag to take away the first of
the three Blue Fin Boats 345 Trekker/ MotorGuide electric rigs on offer for the
event.
Fishing for an edge bite early Noiesen located a honey hole of
fish left of the main point upriver of the tournament start line.
“It was a small stretch of bank no more than 20 yards in
length”, explained Noiesen.
“I held the boat in the one position and made repeated fan
casts, worked the area over thoroughly”, he added.
With his boat in about 20 feet of water, Noiesen alternated
between a Jackall TN60 (colour- ghost atu) and a ½ oz TT jighead rigged Slider
(colour- smoke yellow core), casting the offering to the edge then working it
back with a slow rolling retrieve.
“The trick was to cast the lure tight to bank then work it
back to the boat following the contour of the bottom”, explained Noiesen.
The approach paid dividends, producing twenty fish for the
session, and a winning margin of just under one and a half kilos.
The tackle used by the session one winner included a 6’9″
G.Loomis Bronzeback rod, Daiwa Fuego reel, spooled with 10lb Penn braid and
14lb Nitlon leader.
The tightness of competition was evident in the minor places
with a meare ten grams separating second and third, with Evan Johnson claiming
the runner-up position with his 2/2, 2.00kg bag. Fishing upriver of the
tournament start-line Johnson fished for an edge bite early, working over a
small point located in one of BP’s many large bays.
“The kicker fish in my bag came at about 11.15am and fell to
a purple coloured Jackall TN60 hopped across the bottom in about 1.8 metres of
water”, explained Johnson.
Sunday produced another fog covered waterway for anglers,
with the field scattering to all parts of the dam in their quest for their
single biggest fish and the second Blue Fin/ MotorGuide bass rig.
Maclean’s Big River Bait and Tackle store proprietor Paul
Kneller waited until the final moments of the six hour session to finally add
something of worth to his livewell, landing his 1.82kg winning fish with only half
an hour to spare.
“I’d resigned myself to only getting the just legal fish I
had the well for the session”, explained the 2009 Toonumbar BASS Electric
organizer.
“I was day dreaming and casting with little enthusiasm when
the fish hit the lure with about half an hour to go”, he added.
The approach for Kneller and his fishing partner Brenton
Smith involved fishing the edges with a burn and kill reaction presentation.
Casting a Jackall TN60 tight to the edge (into 2 feet of water) Paul would give
the reel six quick burns of the handle then stop, allowing the lure to free
fall back down.
Once the lure was worked out from the edge he would free
fall the lure, sinking it towards the old creek bed and the fish that were
hanging on the breakline.
The tackle used by Kneller to score his session winning fish
included a G.Loomis IMX C722 rod, Daiwa Zillion reel, spooled with 20lb Sunline
Castaway line and 10lb Sunline FC Rock leader.
Just piped at the post by Kneller was 2008 Hinze Dam BASS
Electric place getter Graham Dodds from the Gold Coast, 1/1, 1.77kg. Fishing a
slow tapering shallow point in the middle reaches of the dam, Dodds opted for a
slow sinking Maria Blues Code minnow to tempt his fish.
“The retrieve was very similar to fishing a plastic with a
slow lift, twitch and jerk given to the lure after it sank to the bottom”, added
Doddsy.
The Friday night trivia quiz at the briefing tested anglers’
BASS knowledge with Matt Johnson and Paul Phillips claiming bragging rights
over the field with their 13/14 score.
Saturday afternoon’s casting competition once again produced
a comedic affair, with overruns, lost casting plugs and general mayhem
entertaining the gathered crowd. BASS young gun Joseph Urqhart showed a clean
pair of heals, compiling a 270 point total to leave the rest of the field in
his wake.
2008 Wivenhoe BASS Electric round winner Glyn Barkhuizen
claimed the final bragging rights across all activities, compiling a 367/400
total to relate Jake Schwerin and Paul Holmberg to second and third place
respectively. Writing his name in the ABT records book was Jesper Noiesen who
compiled the highest weight total across the two angling session to be crowned
champion for 2008.
The final activity of the weekend was the random draw of the
third and final Blue Fin Boats 345 Trekker/ MotorGuide electric boat package,
with Bundaberg basser Chris Horne the lucky winner of the ready-to-go bass rig.
Blue Fin Boats representatives Marg, Alan and Darryl McMahon flew the flag for
the company and were on hand for the presentation of the prize boats to the
lucky winners.
“It was a fun weekend allround and it was great to see three
worthy and happy anglers drive away with the prize boats”, expressed a
contented Darryl McMahon. MotorGuide representative Nick Webb was equally
satisfied with the Convention and the year on the MotorGuide BASS Electric
Tour.
“The MotorGuide BASS Electric Series represents grass roots
bass fishing at its’ best, and for us is one of the best ways to get our
products known and into the hand of those that use them”, explained MotorGuide
Marketing Manager Nicholas Webb.
Attention now turns to the 2009 BASS Electric calendar, with
dates, venues and times set to be released in late 2008. For more information
on the forthcoming series stat tuned to www.australianbass.com.au.
Session One Results
| Place | Angler | Fish | Weight (kg) | Prizes |
| 1 | Jesper Noiesen | 2 | 3.48 | 435 Blue Fin Trekker/ Motor Guide electric motor |
| 2 | Evan Johnson | 2 | 2 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 3 | Tim Steenhuis | 2 | 1.99 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 4 | Paul Phillips | 2 | 1.75 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 5 | Adrian Wilson | 2 | 1.7 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 5 | Matt Johnson | 2 | 1.7 | |
| 7 | Ian Galloway | 2 | 1.65 | |
| 8 | David Trinder | 2 | 1.46 | |
| 9 | Michael Skinner | 2 | 1.4 | |
| 10 | Paul Holmberg | 2 | 1.3 | |
| 11 | Shane Anderson | 2 | 1.23 | |
| 12 | Dan Molloy | 1 | 1.16 | |
| 13 | Johnathon Box | 1 | 1.05 | |
| 14 | Les Barber |
1 | 1.02 | |
| 15 | Jay Gillespie |
1 | 0.93 | |
| 16 | Rex Mildren | 1 | 0.92 | |
| 17 | Steve McLean | 1 | 0.84 | |
| 18 | Glyn Barkhuizen | 1 | 0.81 | |
| 19 | John Schwerin | 1 | 0.79 | |
| 20 | Daryl McMahon | 1 | 0.78 | |
| 21 | Chris Horne | 1 | 0.77 | |
| 22 | David Mann | 1 | 0.74 | |
| 23 | Paul Kneller |
1 | 0.73 | |
| 24 | Hans Jensen | 1 | 0.68 | |
| 24 | Jake Schwerin | 1 | 0.68 | |
| 26 | Rob Hinton | 1 | 0.67 | |
| 27 | Charles West | 1 | 0.65 | |
| 27 | Howard Althaus | 1 | 0.65 | |
| 27 | Joseph Urquhart | 1 | 0.65 | |
| 27 | Will Schloss | 1 | 0.65 | |
| 31 | Barry Oxford | |||
| 31 | Brenton Smith |
|||
| 31 | Darren Harris | |||
| 31 | David Bullard | |||
| 31 | David Mudd | |||
| 31 | Dean Buchanan |
|||
| 31 | Dean Wilson | |||
| 31 | Graham Dodds | |||
| 31 | Jason Lyons |
|||
| 31 | Jason Simpson | |||
| 31 | Jason Whitesides | |||
| 31 | Ken Fitzgibbon | |||
| 31 | Ken Murray | |||
| 31 | Kerry Ehrlich | |||
| 31 | Mick Henare | |||
| 31 | Paul Cooper | |||
| 31 | Paul Gillespie |
|||
| 31 | Paul McKay | |||
| 31 | Peter Parkinson | |||
| 31 | Roy Souter | |||
| 31 | Shaun Falkenhagen | |||
| 31 | Simon Barkhuisen | |||
| 31 | Tom Reynolds | |||
| 31 | Tony Thorley |
Session Two Results
| Place | Angler | Fish | Weight (kg) | Prizes |
| 1 | Paul Kneller |
1 | 1.82 | 435 Blue Fin Trekker/ Motor Guide electric motor |
| 2 | Graham Dodds | 1 | 1.77 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 3 | Tony Thorley | 1 | 1.62 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 4 | David Trinder | 1 | 1.13 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 5 | Jake Schwerin | 1 | 1.09 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod |
| 6 | Simon Barkhuisen | 1 | 1.06 | |
| 7 | Matt Johnson | 1 | 1.05 | |
| 8 | Kerry Ehrlich | 1 | 0.95 | |
| 9 | Les Barber |
1 | 0.93 | |
| 10 | Glyn Barkhuizen | 1 | 0.92 | |
| 11 | John Schwerin | 1 | 0.88 | |
| 12 | Jason Simpson | 1 | 0.86 | |
| 13 | Brenton Smith |
1 | 0.85 | |
| 14 | Rob Hinton | 1 | 0.85 | |
| 15 | Paul Holmberg | 1 | 0.82 | |
| 16 | Ian Galloway | 1 | 0.8 | |
| 17 | Johnathon Box | 1 | 0.8 | |
| 18 | Dean Wilson | 1 | 0.78 | |
| 19 | Evan Johnson | 1 | 0.78 | |
| 20 | Ken Murray | 1 | 0.78 | |
| 21 | Hans Jensen | 1 | 0.76 | |
| 22 | Tom Reynolds | 1 | 0.76 | |
| 23 | Rex Mildren | 1 | 0.72 | |
| 24 | Shane Anderson | 1 | 0.72 | |
| 25 | Charles West | 1 | 0.7 | |
| 26 | Chris Horne | 1 | 0.69 | |
| 27 | Jay Gillespie |
1 | 0.68 | |
| 28 | David Mann | 1 | 0.66 | |
| 29 | Will Schloss | 1 | 0.65 | |
| 30 | Michael Skinner | 1 | 0.64 | |
| 31 | Jason Lyons |
1 | 0.6 | |
| 32 | Ken Fitzgibbon | 1 | 0.59 | |
| 33 | Paul Gillespie |
1 | 0.59 | |
| 34 | Shaun Falkenhagen | 1 | 0.58 | |
| 35 | Daryl McMahon | 1 | 0.51 | |
| 36 | Adrian Wilson | |||
| 36 | Barry Oxford | |||
| 36 | Dan Molloy | |||
| 36 | Darren Harris | |||
| 36 | David Bullard | |||
| 36 | David Mudd | |||
| 36 | Dean Buchanan |
|||
| 36 | Howard Althaus | |||
| 54 | Jason Whitesides | |||
| 36 | Jesper Noiesen | |||
| 36 | Joseph Urquhart | |||
| 36 | Mick Henare | |||
| 36 | Paul Cooper | |||
| 36 | Paul McKay | |||
| 36 | Paul Phillips | |||
| 36 | Peter Parkinson | |||
| 36 | Roy Souter | |||
| 36 | Steve McLean | |||
| 36 | Tim Steenhuis |
Overall Angling Results
| Place | Angler | F1 | W1 | F2 | W2 | TF | TW | Prize |
| 1 | Jesper Noiesen | 2 | 3.48 | 2 | 3.48 | Prize Pack & bass painting (donated by Dave Trinder) |
||
| 2 | Evan Johnson | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.78 | 3 | 2.78 | |
| 3 | Matt Johnson | 2 | 1.7 | 1 | 1.05 | 3 | 2.75 | |
| 4 | David Trinder | 2 | 1.46 | 1 | 1.13 | 3 | 2.59 | |
| 5 | Paul Kneller |
1 | 0.73 | 1 | 1.82 | 2 | 2.55 | |
| 6 | Ian Galloway | 2 | 1.65 | 1 | 0.8 | 3 | 2.45 | |
| 7 | Paul Holmberg | 2 | 1.3 | 1 | 0.82 | 3 | 2.12 | |
| 8 | Michael Skinner | 2 | 1.4 | 1 | 0.64 | 3 | 2.04 | |
| 9 | Tim Steenhuis | 2 | 1.99 | 2 | 1.99 | |||
| 10 | Shane Anderson | 2 | 1.23 | 1 | 0.72 | 3 | 1.95 | |
| 10 | Les Barber |
1 | 1.02 | 1 | 0.93 | 2 | 1.95 | |
| 12 | Johnathon Box | 1 | 1.05 | 1 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.85 | |
| 13 | Graham Dodds | 1 | 1.77 | 1 | 1.77 | |||
| 13 | Jake Schwerin | 1 | 0.68 | 1 | 1.09 | 2 | 1.77 | |
| 15 | Paul Phillips | 2 | 1.75 | 2 | 1.75 | |||
| 16 | Glyn Barkhuizen | 1 | 0.81 | 1 | 0.92 | 2 | 1.73 | |
| 17 | Adrian Wilson | 2 | 1.7 | 2 | 1.7 | |||
| 18 | John Schwerin | 1 | 0.79 | 1 | 0.88 | 2 | 1.67 | |
| 19 | Rex Mildren | 1 | 0.92 | 1 | 0.72 | 2 | 1.64 | |
| 20 | Tony Thorley | 1 | 1.62 | 1 | 1.62 | |||
| 21 | Jay Gillespie |
1 | 0.93 | 1 | 0.68 | 2 | 1.61 | |
| 22 | Rob Hinton | 1 | 0.67 | 1 | 0.85 | 2 | 1.52 | |
| 23 | Chris Horne | 1 | 0.77 | 1 | 0.69 | 2 | 1.46 | |
| 24 | Hans Jensen | 1 | 0.68 | 1 | 0.76 | 2 | 1.44 | |
| 25 | David Mann | 1 | 0.74 | 1 | 0.66 | 2 | 1.4 | |
| 26 | Charles West | 1 | 0.65 | 1 | 0.7 | 2 | 1.35 | |
| 27 | Will Schloss | 1 | 0.65 | 1 | 0.65 | 2 | 1.3 | |
| 28 | Daryl McMahon | 1 | 0.78 | 1 | 0.51 | 2 | 1.29 | |
| 29 | Dan Molloy | 1 | 1.16 | 1 | 1.16 | |||
| 30 | Simon Barkhuisen | 1 | 1.06 | 1 | 1.06 | |||
| 31 | Kerry Ehrlich | 1 | 0.95 | 1 | 0.95 | |||
| 32 | Jason Simpson | 1 | 0.86 | 1 | 0.86 | |||
| 33 | Brenton Smith |
1 | 0.85 | 1 | 0.85 | |||
| 34 | Steve McLean | 1 | 0.84 | 1 | 0.84 | |||
| 35 | Dean Wilson | 1 | 0.78 | 1 | 0.78 | |||
| 35 | Ken Murray | 1 | 0.78 | 1 | 0.78 | |||
| 37 | Tom Reynolds | 1 | 0.76 | 1 | 0.76 | |||
| 38 | Howard Althaus | 1 | 0.65 | 1 | 0.65 | |||
| 38 | Joseph Urquhart | 1 | 0.65 | 1 | 0.65 | |||
| 40 | Jason Lyons |
1 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.6 | |||
| 41 | Ken Fitzgibbon | 1 | 0.59 | 1 | 0.59 | |||
| 41 | Paul Gillespie |
1 | 0.59 | 1 | 0.59 | |||
| 43 | Shaun Falkenhagen | 1 | 0.58 | 1 | 0.58 | |||
| 44 | Barry Oxford | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Darren Harris | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | David Bullard | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | David Mudd | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Dean Buchanan |
0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Jason Whitesides | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Mick Henare | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Paul Cooper | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Paul McKay | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Peter Parkinson | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 44 | Roy Souter | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 41 | 34.8 | 35 | 30.4 | 76 | 65.2 | |||
| 0.85 | 0.87 | 0.86 |
Overall Convention Results
| Place | Angler | S1 Ranking | D2 Ranking | Quiz Ranking | Casting Ranking | Total Score | Prizes |
| 1 | Glyn Barkhuizen | 83 | 91 | 95 | 98 | 367 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Casting), Prize Pack & Marz Lures Collection (donated by Dave Trinder) (Overall) |
| 2 | Jake Schwerin | 77 | 96 | 83 | 95 | 351 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S2), Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Overall) |
| 3 | Paul Holmberg | 91 | 86 | 83 | 91 | 351 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Overall) |
| 4 | Brenton Smith |
70 | 88 | 95 | 96 | 349 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Casting), Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Overall) |
| 5 | Charles West | 74 | 76 | 95 | 98 | 343 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Casting), Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Overall) |
| 6 | Chris Horne | 80 | 75 | 95 | 92 | 342 | 435 Blue Fin Trekker/ MotorGuide Electric Package (Random Draw) |
| 7 | Tim Steenhuis | 98 | 56 | 95 | 91 | 340 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S1) |
| 8 | Jay Gillespie |
86 | 74 | 95 | 84 | 339 | |
| 9 | Will Schloss | 74 | 72 | 98 | 88 | 332 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Trivia) |
| 10 | Simon Barkhuisen | 70 | 95 | 95 | 71 | 331 | |
| 11 | Jesper Noiesen | 100 | 56 | 78 | 95 | 329 | 435 Blue Fin Trekker/ Motor Guide electric motor (S1), Prize Pack & bass painting (donated by Dave Trinder) (Overall Angling) |
| 12 | Ken Murray | 70 | 83 | 78 | 88 | 319 | |
| 13 | Hans Jensen | 77 | 80 | 70 | 91 | 318 | |
| 14 | Paul Gillespie |
70 | 69 | 95 | 84 | 318 | |
| 15 | Dean Wilson | 70 | 83 | 66 | 88 | 307 | |
| 16 | David Bullard | 70 | 56 | 78 | 99 | 303 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Casting) |
| 17 | Dean Buchanan |
70 | 56 | 83 | 88 | 297 | |
| 18 | Joseph Urquhart | 74 | 56 | 66 | 100 | 296 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Casting) |
| 19 | Paul Cooper | 70 | 56 | 98 | 71 | 295 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Trivia) |
| 20 | Dan Molloy | 89 | 56 | 78 | 71 | 294 | |
| 21 | David Mudd | 70 | 56 | 83 | 84 | 293 | |
| 22 | Matt Johnson | 96 | 94 | 100 | 0 | 290 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Trivia) |
| 23 | Paul McKay | 70 | 56 | 78 | 81 | 285 | |
| 24 | Graham Dodds | 70 | 99 | 95 | 0 | 264 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S2) |
| 25 | Paul Kneller |
78 | 100 | 78 | 0 | 256 | 435 Blue Fin Trekker/ Motor Guide electric motor |
| 26 | Rob Hinton | 75 | 88 | 0 | 93 | 256 | |
| 27 | Paul Phillips | 97 | 56 | 100 | 0 | 253 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Trivia) & Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S1) |
| 28 | Johnathon Box | 88 | 85 | 78 | 0 | 251 | |
| 29 | John Schwerin | 82 | 90 | 66 | 0 | 238 | |
| 30 | Les Barber |
87 | 92 | 58 | 0 | 237 | |
| 31 | Michael Skinner | 92 | 71 | 70 | 0 | 233 | |
| 32 | Tom Reynolds | 70 | 80 | 83 | 0 | 233 | |
| 33 | Shaun Falkenhagen | 70 | 67 | 95 | 0 | 232 | |
| 34 | Kerry Ehrlich | 70 | 93 | 66 | 0 | 229 | |
| 35 | Jason Simpson | 70 | 89 | 66 | 0 | 225 | |
| 36 | Mick Henare | 70 | 56 | 98 | 0 | 224 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (Trivia) |
| 37 | David Mann | 79 | 73 | 70 | 0 | 222 | |
| 38 | Barry Oxford | 70 | 56 | 95 | 0 | 221 | |
| 38 | Roy Souter | 70 | 56 | 95 | 0 | 221 | |
| 40 | Ken Fitzgibbon | 70 | 69 | 70 | 0 | 209 | |
| 41 | Steve McLean | 84 | 56 | 66 | 0 | 206 | |
| 42 | Jason Lyons |
70 | 70 | 66 | 0 | 206 | |
| 43 | Darren Harris | 70 | 56 | 78 | 0 | 204 | |
| 44 | Howard Althaus | 74 | 56 | 66 | 0 | 196 | |
| 45 | David Trinder | 93 | 97 | 0 | 0 | 190 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S2) |
| 46 | Evan Johnson | 99 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 182 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S1) |
| 47 | Ian Galloway | 94 | 85 | 0 | 0 | 179 | |
| 48 | Tony Thorley | 70 | 98 | 0 | 0 | 168 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S2) |
| 49 | Shane Anderson | 90 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 168 | |
| 50 | Rex Mildren | 85 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 163 | |
| 51 | Adrian Wilson | 96 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 152 | Prize Pack & Shimano Eclipse rod (S1) |
| 52 | Daryl McMahon | 81 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 147 | |
| 53 | Peter Parkinson | 70 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 126 | |
| 54 | Jason Whitesides | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 |