The 2010 Quantum BASS Pro Series kicked off with the Rovex St Clair event attracting 127 anglers to the Feb 20-21 weekend. Ben Pepperall conquered the star studded field scoring his full limit of 6 bass for 5.04kg, winning the first place cheque of $3000 and a Quantum TE100 HPT reel.
The 35 year old Pot Line Operator at Tomago Smelter, Hexham used a proven technique from the Bassin NSW rounds at this same venue targeting suspended fish with Berkley camo grubs.
Arming himself with a Millerod Breambuster 6’9” rod and Daiwa SOL 2000 reel, he spooled this outfit with 4lb Berkley Fireline and 2lb Berkley Vanish leader.
“I headed straight across from the start line and fished a tree on a point that tapered off into 40-60 feet of water,” Pepperall said.
Rigging the Berkley Grubs on the ¼ Nitro jighead the aim was to keep the lure in front of the suspended fish.
“I would open the bail arm and watch the fish follow the lure on the sounder, feeling a whack, whack, I would click it over and wind the handle to hook the fish,” he explained.
With two fish early on Saturday, Pepperall moved to rest the area. He then scored one in the area in session 2 before moving to a bay to land his second. Sunday saw the same spot and technique to complete the limit and cement his victory.
Runner up Wayne Reed used a similar technique to Pepperall targeting suspended fish with Berkley Minnow Grubs in camo and banana prawn. Fishing an area left of the island across from the boat ramp; keeping his boat in 45ft he concentrated on the fish suspended on his sounder in 20-30ft.
Reed used a 6’10” Jigstick Kustom Fishing Tool from Duff Rods matched to a Daiwa Steez 2508 spooled with Sunline Super PE and 6lb FC Rock leader.
Watching intently on his sounder Reed dropped the plastics rigged on a 1/8 TT jighead to the schooled bass, giving the lure a little shake before a pause and slow retrieve.
“If I felt a few taps I would continue to roll the plastic,” he explained.
Session 2 and 3 limits where filled by utilising this technique against the timber up the back of the dam. His 6/6, 4.8kg bag securing the second grand final qualification from the first round of the 2010 season.
Champion Non Boater Hilton Smith hit some form after a long stint away from tournament fishing since his debut at Glenbawn some 10 years ago. His Sunday limit of 1.85kg overtaking the leader and securing a 820gram win and scoring the angler a bounty of prizes including an Engel MR40 Fridge, Quantum TE100 HPT reel and prize pack chock full of lures, lines, jigheads and plastics.
Fishing with Mark Mangold on Day 1 and then Matt Anderson for the Sunday session, Smith used a Berkley Dropshot rod ad Shimano Sedona 1500 spooled with 4lb Microfuse and 8lb Yozuri leader.
The technique employed by Smith was a simple slow rolled Berkley Camo Grub rigged on a 3/8 Nitro jighead in 20-30ft of water.
“I would slow roll the plastic above the weed beds, the slower the better,” explained Smith.
Brad Clark scored the 1.14kg Big Bass in session 2, claiming $250 and the Quantum reel working a Smak Mini Coop spinnerbait in KS colour rolling the lure through suspended fish in 30ft of water. While Mick Clarke joined the spoils with his 1.14kg fish earning him $250, caught during the Sunday morning session on a ½oz Bassman Spinnerbait in Blue Gill pattern in the timber.
Making the most of the Daylight Savings sunlight anglers fished three 5 hour long sessions from 6am till 7pm with a 3 hour lunch break on the Saturday, making the most of the bite period. Hot, dry conditions tested angler’s endurance especially when the bass where tight lipped. A total of 215 bass where brought to the scales for 151kg a gallant effort.
Attention now turns to the Megabass Megabucks event at Lake Glenbawn, Feb 23-24. For more information visit www.australianbass.com.au or ph ABT on 07 3387 0888 during business hours.
| Quantum BASS Pro Series: Rovex St Clair BASS Pro Qualifier Boater Results |
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| Place | Angler | State | F1 | W1 | F2 | W2 | F3 | W3 | TF | TW | Payout |
| 1 | Ben PEPPERALL | NSW | 2 | 1.77 | 2 | 1.68 | 2 | 1.59 | 6 | 5.04 | $3000 + Quantum TE100 HPT reel |
| 2 | Wayne REED | NSW | 2 | 1.76 | 2 | 1.55 | 2 | 1.49 | 6 | 4.8 | $1600 + Quantum TE100 HPT reel |
| 3 | David GREEN | QLD | 2 | 1.3 | 2 | 1.66 | 2 | 1.62 | 6 | 4.58 | $1,200 |
| 4 | Craig SIMMONS | QLD | 2 | 1.92 | 2 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.35 | 6 | 4.47 | $1,000 |
| 5 | Tim MORGAN | QLD | 2 | 1.35 | 2 | 1.52 | 2 | 1.3 | 6 | 4.17 | $850 |
| 6 | Mike CONNOLLY | QLD | 2 | 1.3 | 2 | 1.94 | 1 | 0.84 | 5 | 4.08 | $700 |
| 7 | Carl JOCUMSEN | QLD | 2 | 2.09 | 2 | 1.85 | 4 | 3.94 | $700 + $675 1st Pro | ||
| 8 | Kerry SYMES | QLD | 2 | 1.36 | 2 | 1.78 | 1 | 0.73 | 5 | 3.87 | $600 |
| 9 | Brad SMITH | QLD | 2 | 1.67 | 2 | 1.39 | 1 | 0.71 | 5 | 3.77 | $600 |
| 10 | Mark MANGOLD | NSW | 2 | 1.31 | 2 | 1.43 | 1 | 0.97 | 5 | 3.71 | $500 |
| 11 | Peter ROBINSON | NSW | 2 | 1.41 | 1 | 0.71 | 2 | 1.33 | 5 | 3.45 | $500 |
| 12 | Simon BARKHUIZEN | QLD | 2 | 1.25 | 1 | 0.61 | 2 | 1.39 | 5 | 3.25 | $350 |
| 13 | Brad CLARK | QLD | 1 | 0.53 | 1 | 1.14 | 2 | 1.48 | 4 | 3.15 | $250 + 1.14kg BB ($250, Quantum TE100 HPT reel) |
| 14 | Mark CUTLER | NSW | 1 | 0.86 | 1 | 0.56 | 2 | 1.23 | 4 | 2.65 | $250 |
| 15 | Stephen ALMOND | NSW | 1 | 0.72 | 2 | 1.82 | 3 | 2.54 | |||
| 16 | Stephen KANOWSKI | QLD | 2 | 1.11 | 2 | 1.36 | 4 | 2.47 | |||
| 17 | Steven OTTO | QLD | 2 | 1.44 | 1 | 0.43 | 1 | 0.55 | 4 | 2.42 | |
| 18 | Matthew ANDERSON | NSW | 1 | 0.58 | 1 | 1.03 | 1 | 0.81 | 3 | 2.42 | |
| 19 | Gregg FLETT | NSW | 1 | 1.01 | 2 | 1.39 | 3 | 2.4 | |||
| 20 | David WILLIAMSON | NSW | 1 | 0.39 | 1 | 0.81 | 2 | 1.16 | 4 | 2.36 | |
| 21 | Daniel CLANCY | NSW | 2 | 1.21 | 1 | 0.98 | 3 | 2.19 | |||
| 22 | Michael PASCOE | NSW | 2 | 1.4 | 1 | 0.78 | 3 | 2.18 | $405 2nd Pro | ||
| 23 | Baden SPARROW | QLD | 2 | 1.34 | 1 | 0.84 | 3 | 2.18 | |||
| 24 | Glyn BARKHUIZEN | QLD | 1 | 0.47 | 2 | 1.65 | 3 | 2.12 | |||
| 25 | Mick CLARKE | QLD | 1 | 0.73 | 1 | 1.14 | 2 | 1.87 | 1.14kg BB ($250) | ||
| 26 | Matthew MOTT | QLD | 2 | 1.71 | 2 | 1.71 | |||||
| 27 | Stephen DUFF | Vic | 2 | 1.68 | 2 | 1.68 | |||||
| 28 | Adrian MELCHIOR | NSW | 2 | 1.63 | 2 | 1.63 | |||||
| 29 | Joel NORMAN | NSW | 1 | 0.75 | 1 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.55 | |||
| 30 | Michael HENARE | Qld | 1 | 0.45 | 2 | 1.02 | 3 | 1.47 | |||
| 31 | Mark REINBOTT | QLD | 2 | 1.38 | 2 | 1.38 | |||||
| 32 | Dan RYAN | NSW | 2 | 1.28 | 2 | 1.28 | |||||
| 33 | Gavin STICKLEN | QLD | 1 | 0.51 | 1 | 0.77 | 2 | 1.28 | |||
| 34 | Bill SCHLOSS | Qld | 1 | 0.73 | 1 | 0.55 | 2 | 1.28 | |||
| 35 | Spiro ZANTIOTIS | QLD | 1 | 0.78 | 1 | 0.49 | 2 | 1.27 | |||
| 36 | Steve ELDRED | QLD | 1 | 0.64 | 1 | 0.63 | 2 | 1.27 | $270 3rd Pro | ||
| 37 | Greg PARKES | NSW | 2 | 1.25 | 2 | 1.25 | |||||
| 38 | David REYNOLDS | Qld | 2 | 1.23 | 2 | 1.23 | |||||
| 39 | Toby WILSON | NSW | 1 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.53 | 2 | 1.23 | |||
| 40 | Scott DAKIN | QLD | 1 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.49 | 2 | 1.09 | |||
| 41 | Peter LEGGETT | Qld | 1 | 1.04 | 1 | 1.04 | |||||
| 42 | Kylie CORNISH | NSW | 1 | 1.03 | 1 | 1.03 | |||||
| 43 | Wayne BEAZLEY | NSW | 2 | 1.05 | -0.1 | 2 | 0.95 | ||||
| 44 | Ken MURRAY | Qld | 1 | 0.75 | 1 | 0.75 | |||||
| 45 | Steven RICHARDS | NSW | 1 | 0.71 | 1 | 0.71 | |||||
| 46 | Mick ELSLEY | NSW | 1 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 | |||||
| 47 | Peter JENKINS | NSW | 1 | 0.61 | 1 | 0.61 | |||||
| 48 | Steve LOWCOCK | NSW | 1 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.6 | |||||
| 49 | Josh CARPENTER | Qld | 1 | 0.59 | 1 | 0.59 | |||||
| 49 | Ron JONES | NSW | 1 | 0.59 | 1 | 0.59 | |||||
| 51 | Dale MULLINS | QLD | 1 | 0.55 | 1 | 0.55 | |||||
| 52 | Garry HARDMAN | NSW | 1 | 0.53 | 1 | 0.53 | |||||
| 53 | Bruce ANDERSON | NSW | 1 | 0.46 | 1 | 0.46 | |||||
| 54 | Malcolm STEWART | NSW | 1 | 0.42 | 1 | 0.42 | |||||
| 55 | Aaron MOGG | Qld | |||||||||
| 55 | Jody VERNON | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | William LOUDON | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Justin SCOTT | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Mark LENNOX | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | David YOUNG | QLD | |||||||||
| 55 | John BRIDER | Qld | |||||||||
| 55 | Allan PRICE | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Brent POWER | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Bob SCHMAHL | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Ross MURRAY | Qld | |||||||||
| 55 | Greg BEATTIE | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Mike CREIGHTON | QLD | |||||||||
| 55 | Gill NEZIZ | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Paul COOPER | QLD | |||||||||
| 55 | Alan MCNAMARA | NSW | |||||||||
| 55 | Brooke KENNETT | NSW | |||||||||
| Quantum BASS Pro Series: Rovex St Clair BASS Pro Qualifier Non-Boater Results |
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| Place | Angler | State | F1 | W1 | F2 | W2 | F3 | W3 | TF | TW | Payout |
| 1 | Hilton SMITH | NSW | 1 | 0.86 | 2 | 1.43 | 2 | 1.85 | 5 | 4.14 | Engel MR40 Fridge, Quantum TE100 HPT reel, prize pack |
| 2 | Thomas STONEHAM | QLD | 2 | 1.51 | 2 | 1.81 | 4 | 3.32 | G.Loomis GCR783 rod, Quantum TE100 HPT reel, prize pack | ||
| 3 | Glen CASEY | NSW | 2 | 1.37 | 2 | 1.11 | 1 | 0.73 | 5 | 3.21 | Lamiglas XC665BA rod, prize pack |
| 4 | Peter KELLEHER | NSW | 1 | 0.45 | 2 | 1.15 | 2 | 1.4 | 5 | 3 | Shimano Twin Power 2500 reel, prize pack |
| 5 | Paul BERRY | NSW | 1 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.74 | 1 | 0.75 | 3 | 2.19 | TT lure pack & prize pack |
| 6 | Aaron BOOBY | NSW | 1 | 0.51 | 2 | 1.42 | 3 | 1.93 | Ugly Fish sunglasses pack & prize pack | ||
| 7 | Sam CROSS | NSW | 2 | 1.27 | 1 | 0.61 | 3 | 1.88 | Spotters pack & prize pack | ||
| 8 | Matt HAWKLESS | Qld | 2 | 1.08 | 1 | 0.62 | 3 | 1.7 | Squidgies tackle bag & prize pack | ||
| 9 | Peter MESSENGER | NSW | 2 | 1.03 | 1 | 0.51 | 3 | 1.54 | Squidgies tackle bag & prize pack | ||
| 10 | Vicki WINTER | NSW | 1 | 0.93 | 1 | 0.52 | 2 | 1.45 | Engel Cooler bag & prize pack | ||
| 11 | Paul DUNLOP | NSW | 2 | 1.35 | 2 | 1.35 | |||||
| 12 | Karen FONTAINE | NSW | 1 | 0.65 | 1 | 0.69 | 2 | 1.34 | |||
| 13 | Luke NOVAK | NSW | 1 | 1.11 | 1 | 1.11 | |||||
| 14 | Ashley SIMS | Qld | 1 | 0.78 | 1 | 0.78 | |||||
| 15 | Jamie HARDMAN | NSW | 1 | 0.73 | 1 | 0.73 | |||||
| 16 | Paul PIPER | NSW | 1 | 0.71 | 1 | 0.71 | |||||
| 17 | Karen BERRY | NSW | 1 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.7 | |||||
| 18 | Scott MCKENZIE | NSW | 1 | 0.68 | 1 | 0.68 | |||||
| 19 | Arthur ALLEN | Qld | 1 | 0.67 | 1 | 0.67 | |||||
| 20 | Jay WELCH | NSW | 1 | 0.67 | 1 | 0.67 | |||||
| 21 | Dean WALTON | NSW | 1 | 0.64 | 1 | 0.64 | |||||
| 22 | Rodney GLOVER | 1 | 0.63 | 1 | 0.63 | ||||||
| 23 | Bernard AUSTIN | NSW | 1 | 0.62 | 1 | 0.62 | |||||
| 24 | Bronte BARTLETT | NSW | 1 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.6 | |||||
| 25 | Matt JOHNSON | Qld | 1 | 0.57 | 1 | 0.57 | |||||
| 26 | David ASEGUINOLAZA | NSW | 1 | 0.57 | 1 | 0.57 | |||||
| 27 | Rhys TIGGEMAN | NSW | 1 | 0.53 | 1 | 0.53 | |||||
| 28 | Shane TURNER | NSW | 1 | 0.51 | 1 | 0.51 | |||||
| 29 | David LEE | Qld | 1 | 0.49 | 1 | 0.49 | |||||
| 30 | Deborah KOWALCZYK | NSW | 1 | 0.48 | 1 | 0.48 | |||||
| 31 | Howard ALTHAUS | Qld | 1 | 0.47 | 1 | 0.47 | |||||
| 32 | Benjamin CAMPBELL | QLD | 1 | 0.46 | 1 | 0.46 | |||||
| 33 | Gerard HENRY | NSW | 1 | 0.45 | 1 | 0.45 | |||||
| 34 | Luke MULHOLLAND | NSW | 1 | 0.41 | 1 | 0.41 | |||||
| 35 | Brian BOCHOW | SA | |||||||||
| 35 | Mick SELLING | ||||||||||
| 35 | Aaron BURGESS | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Anthony BULL | Qld | |||||||||
| 35 | John PICTON | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Steve MCCORMACK | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Ross CORNER | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Olliver MCKAY | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | John LOUDON | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Corey DAVIES | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Malcolm DRAPER | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Neil HOCKEY | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Gus DUNN | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Blake LAMBERT | ||||||||||
| 35 | Andrew STUBBS | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Greg ESLICK | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Ian WRATTEN | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Richard WILKINS | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Michael BRITTEN | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Jayson DEFORREST-HADDLETON | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Russell BABEKUHL | NSW | |||||||||
| 35 | Mark WALSH | NSW | |||||||||
| 80 | 54.2 | 73 | 51.8 | 62 | 44.8 | 215 | 151 | ||||