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Ford Ranger BREAM Grand Final Final Results


#313 - 0--bream--Ford Ranger BREAM Grand Final Final Results--2007-11-16 14:27:07

#The Ford Ranger BREAM Grand Final was the culmination of the 13 qualifiers held around Australia in 2007. 52 boats and 104 anglers came together at Rafferty's Resort on Lake Macquarie in New South Wales with the same goal - to win the highest award in tournament fishing, the ABT BREAM Grand Final.



Glorious weather greeted all anglers across the three day event, but come the Sunday Shootout only four anglers would make the cut and head out in the Quintrex 450 Hornet Trophy boats fitted with 60hp Mercury and Evinrude outboards. -
Stephen Wheeler, a late qualifier at the Port River round, AFC Champ Scott Towner, 2007 Vic AOY winner Cameron Whittam and the Club Marine Gold Coast Super Series winner Ben Godfrey were the survivors.



When interviewed before heading out on the final day, Wheeler said, "I have a few nerves, I am not a sponsored angler but feel confident fishing out of the Hornets as I have the same boat."



Towner, the only one to have experienced a cameraman on-board before, said that "the fishing will be tough, and the shut down bite needs the wind to change. I scored my spot on AFC making the top five a few years ago, now it's time to win".



Whittam had experienced this pressure before, being an accomplished tournament caster. "Yesterday I pulled off my spots because of the boat pressure, I didn't get my limit. If the wind changes direction I am confident of making a bag," he said.



Godfrey as a first year boater said, "I am keen to back up my Gold Coast win, less boats means my spots should fish better.



STEVE WHEELER, VIC.



Heading out in first place, Steve Wheeler used a Daiwa Procaster Z 6'10" matched to a Daiwa SOL 2000 spooled with 4lb Berkley Crystal Fireline and a long Berkley Vanish leader. Finding his limit on day one seemed easy fishing Berkley 2 inch Shrimp in lime tiger and mango ripple on the Swansea Bridge. He then headed out to some moored boats and scored several upgrades.



Day two, he headed straight to the bridge to only lure a solitary bream on a 3 inch Berkley Minnow in mouldy cheese colour. The remainder of his fish came of the flats on a clear shallow Jackall Chubby worked with a slow roll retrieve.



The final day saw more of the same flats fishing, but with no fish early his nerves were building. Moving to the bridge to see 20 plus people cheering he knew he was fishing a tournament and the pressure was getting to him.



CAM WHITTAM, VIC



Whittam has had a good year getting a first and second placing in the Victorian ABT BREAM rounds. He used a G Loomis dropshot rods matched to Daiwa Certate Finesse and Steez 2500 reels. He choose 4lb Berkley Crystal and Sunline V-Hard leader in 4 and 6lb ratings.



The first day Whittam moved to the sand flats to work deep diving Chubbies and Lucky Craft Sammies on the surface. Spending some time a Forster during the week it was an introduction to catching yellowfin bream on surface lures and the kicker fish for his first day bag was an impressive 36cm to the fork.



The second day he headed to the same flats and worked a Lucky Craft Bevy Pop S and a shallow Bassday Kangoku Crankbait only to pop-off a kilo fish at 1pm and only weigh in three bream.



The final day he tried the same flats but choose a smaller version of the Sammy in the Lucky Craft Pencil. Completing his milk run for the third day he found himself with no legals. He moved to Lucys Well where he found a fish and then to the Swansea Channel where he found a second but knew his bag was not enough.



SCOTT TOWNER, NSW



The experienced Towner used a Berkley Pro Tactic 2-4kg rod and Abu Garcia Cardinal 802 rod spooled with 4lb Stren Microfuse and 6lb Stren Magnathin mono leader for the top water bite.



Finding fish on the shallow weed beds was not a problem on day one using a Lucky Craft Pencil with a walk the dog retrieve and switching to an unweighted Berkley Shrimp when necessary.



Not having many spots up his sleeve, Towner headed to the same spots on day 2. Tough fishing and losing a kilo plus fish hurt his chances but he had made it through to the final day.



Continuing to target the flats area he raised a few fish early on the final day only to find the bite to switch off like a light switch. Three days of boats hitting the shallows with the same pattern had pressured the bream and his day was not to be.



BEN GODFREY, QLD



In contrast Ben Godfrey was the only competitor in the Sunday Shootout that had caught his full limit. He used G Loomis Dropshot rods matched to Daiwa SOLs, one with 2lb Crystal Fireline and 3lb Sunline Rock leader, the other with 1lb Crystal Fireline and 2lb leader.



He chose to fish the Swansea bridge on the bottom of the runout on day 1 with a 1/8 TT jighead size 1 hook rigged with Berkley 2 inch Shrimp in molting and new penny. A long cast was the key finding the back of the pylons and holding the boat in the current while the plastic drifted 30-40 metres behind into the deep eddies. Day one saw Godfrey with his bag by 7.45am and three upgrades by 9am.



The second day meant more of the same, however there was more run. This was fine with him as it suited his deep water style. Starting with a 1/8 jighead and changing constantly to a lighter weight as the tide slowed was the key. As the competitors moved in on him he fished deeper in the eddies finally moved to the Swansea flats were he upgraded his bag with a 29 and 30cm specimens caught on a shallow Jackall Chubby.



Starting the last day in 4th place, Godfrey stuck to his game plan of fishing the bridge. He found the fish were smaller in size, but switching to a 1/6th TT jighead and throwing closer to structure brought out the bigger fish and was content when he had his bag by 8.30am. Moving to the flats, he found the weekend boat traffic too much. Was his bag enough to contend with the experienced Towner?



It was always going to be close but the result was clear, 15/15, 6.89kg, Godfrey had enough to take out the Quintrex Boat package and score an invitation onto AFC next season.



As a first year boater and clinching the biggest win of what could well be a lengthy career in tournament fishing, Godfrey is adamant the win will not sink in for days to come.



"Lake Macquarie proved to be a tough arena. I am over the moon about AFC, but it will be tough work to keep up with caliber of those boys," Godfrey said.



"As a young bream angler I am keen to give it to those big names," he continued.



RHODES NON-BOATER CHAMP



The Non Boater battled proved tough but a clear cut leader at the end of the two days was Drew Rhodes of Newcastle with 10/10 fish for 5.41kg.



He used a custom built Samurai blank with recoil guides matched to a Shimano Biomaster 2000 reel spooled with 4lb PE Braid and 4lb Yamatoyo leader.



Fishing with Nigel Webster on Day 1 meant working the flats with 1/40th fine wire jigheads rigged with Berkley Minnows in pumpkinseed and mouldy cheese colours. Casting the plastic out and giving it a light shake as the current took the bait lured several good sizes bream.



Day 2 saw Drew heading out with Tim Morgan working the flats with surface lures (Smith Towadis) and unweighted 3" Berkley Jigging Grubs.



"I thought I was a good chance of winning the boat, but didn't want to get too disappointed," he said.



"I don't want to seat in that hot seat again, it really gets your stress levels going," he joked.



Drew qualified as a non boater at the Clarence and will use the Quintrex package to fish a few more tournaments next year, but first things on the cards is a family holiday to Ballina towing the new prize.



That concludes another year in the ABT BREAM tournament angling calendar. With the 2008 dates soon to be released it will mean another excited year of tribulations and sob stories. Stay tuned to www.bream.com.au for further info.





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Place Angler State F1 W1 F2 W2 F3 W3 TF TW Payout
1 Ben GODFREY Qld 5 2.3 5 2.3 5 2.29 15 6.89 Quintrex 450 Hornet Trophy, 60 hp Mercury, Lowrance sounders & Minn Kota Riptide electric motor
2 Stephen WHEELER VIC 5 2.81 4 2.34 2 1.05 11 6.2 35 litre Engel fridge
3 Scott TOWNER NSW 5 3.51 3 1.36 2 0.96 10 5.83 $1,000
4 Cameron WHITTAM VIC 5 3.06 3 1.68 2 0.77 10 5.51 $1,000
5 Roderick WALMSLEY QLD 5 2.55 5 2.01 10 4.56 $1,000
6 Andrew ORLEY Qld 4 2.29 5 2.17 9 4.46
7 Nigel WEBSTER QLD 5 2.89 4 1.53 9 4.42
8 Shaun CLANCY VIC 5 2.42 3 1.93 8 4.35
9 Daniel BROWN NSW 5 2.35 4 2 9 4.35
10 Gary NEWELL NSW 3 2.87 3 1.36 6 4.23
11 Tim MORGAN QLD 2 1.42 5 2.52 7 3.94
12 Steve ELDRED QLD 5 2.69 1.2 5 3.89
13 Steve STEER TAS 3 1.31 5 2.49 8 3.8
14 Szarn TINK WA 4 1.97 1.75 4 3.72
15 Chris BRITTON QLD 1 0.61 5 2.97 6 3.58
16 Mark GERCOVICH Vic 4 1.53 5 2.05 9 3.58
17 Mark DUNPHY NSW 3 1.94 4 1.62 7 3.56
18 John BALCOMB NSW 5 3.11 1 0.37 6 3.48
19 Anthony WISHEY QLD 5 3.36 5 3.36
20 Ian MILLER NSW 4 2.56 1 0.7 5 3.26
21 Craig SIMMONS QLD 5 2.15 1 0.98 6 3.13
22 Andrew HOWARD NSW 3 2.22 0.86 3 3.08
23 Shaun OSSITT SA 4 1.45 3 1.52 7 2.97
24 Warren CARTER Vic 4 1.82 2 0.99 6 2.81
25 Patrick SULLIVAN TAS 5 2 2 0.74 7 2.74
26 Robert KWIATKOWSKI Qld 5 2.66 5 2.66
27 Andrew HOMANN NSW 3 2.1 1 0.54 4 2.64
28 Stephen WILSON QLD 4 2.03 1 0.49 5 2.52
29 Gavin DUNNE QLD 4 2.11 1 0.4 5 2.51
30 Jarrod HEALEY Vic 4 1.99 1 0.51 5 2.5
31 Chris HORNE Qld 5 2.42 5 2.42
32 Russell BABEKUHL NSW 5 2.31 5 2.31
33 Darren BORG NSW 5 2.25 5 2.25
34 Don JOHNSTON WA 1 0.49 4 1.56 5 2.05
35 Drew GRIFFITH Qld 2 0.91 3 1.12 5 2.03
36 Richard POTTER NSW 2 1.44 1 0.51 3 1.95
37 Alain DAURIAN ACT 3 1.27 1 0.68 4 1.95
38 Clayton GUSMERINI NSW 3 2.07 -0.2 3 1.87
39 Jack OLMOS NSW 3 1.47 1 0.39 4 1.86
40 Graham GREEN WA 2 0.81 1 0.73 3 1.54
41 Jeff MURRAY WA 4 1.48 4 1.48
42 Kristoffer HICKSON NSW 1.4 1.4
43 Mark MANGOLD NSW 2 1.22 2 1.22
44 Shane DYASON Vic 3 1.18 3 1.18
45 Leon BETTSON WA 2 1.07 2 1.07
46 Wayne FRIEBE Vic 1 0.57 1 0.42 2 0.99
47 Michael COLLINS NSW 2 0.92 2 0.92
48 Adam WARD NSW 2 0.81 2 0.81
49 Greg WOODS TAS 2 0.79 2 0.79
50 David O'REILLY WA 1 0.43 1 0.43
51 Stephen DUFF Vic 1 0.39 1 0.39
52 David FLETCHER QLD
TOTAL FISH 275 145.44
AVERAGE W 0.528872727






Non-Boater Results




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Place Angler State F1 W1 F2 W2 TF TW Payout
1 Drew RHODES NSW 5 2.89 5 2.52 10 5.41 Quintrex 450 Hornet Trophy, 60 hp E-Tec, Humminbird sounders & Minn Kota Riptide electric motor
2 Matthew CAMPBELL VIC 5 2.42 5 2.49 10 4.91 35 litre Engel fridge
3 Mark HEALEY NSW 5 3.06 3 1.52 8 4.58 $200
4 Tan TRIEU VIC 5 2.31 5 2.17 10 4.48 $200
5 Arthur HATZIPETROW Qld 3 2.1 5 2.3 8 4.4 $200
6 Chris ELLIOT WA 5 2.55 4 1.75 9 4.3
7 Daniel BRAY NSW 5 3.51 1 0.51 6 4.02
8 Ricky COOPER NSW 3 2.87 3 1.12 6 3.99
9 Brett WILSON NSW 3 1.94 5 2.05 8 3.99
10 Warwick LYNDON QLD 5 2.42 4 1.56 9 3.98
11 Norm KEMP NSW 4 1.97 5 2.01 9 3.98
12 Tom WEIERS NSW 4 1.82 4 2 8 3.82
13 Chris MAAS Qld 5 2.66 2 0.92 7 3.58
14 Damien DOMAGALA VIC 1 0.57 5 2.97 6 3.54
15 Murray JEFFERY WA 4 2.56 1 0.98 5 3.54
16 Daniel CLIFTON TAS 4 2.03 2 1.4 6 3.43
17 Vicki WINTER NSW 5 3.36 5 3.36
18 Dion VAIL VIC 5 2.35 2 0.99 7 3.34
19 Roger THORNTON VIC 4 1.53 4 1.62 8 3.15
20 Brad SMITH QLD 2 0.79 4 2.34 6 3.13
21 Jordan TRUSTY VIC 4 1.45 3 1.68 7 3.13
22 James GRAHAM WA 5 3.11 5 3.11
23 Brad HODGES VIC 2 1.42 4 1.53 6 2.95
24 Paul GILLESPIE NSW 5 2.15 1 0.7 6 2.85
25 Mike SUTCLIFFE 5 2.3 1 0.54 6 2.84
26 Dean HAMMOND NSW 5 2.81 5 2.81
27 Andrew DIBLEY Vic 2 1.44 3 1.36 5 2.8
28 Ben TURBOTT NSW 4 1.99 1 0.73 5 2.72
29 Peter KELLEHER QLD 5 2.69 5 2.69
30 Craig JOHNSON NSW 5 2 1 0.68 6 2.68
31 Miriam MELIS ACT 5 2.25 1 0.37 6 2.62
32 Daniel BONASERA WA 1 0.49 3 1.93 4 2.42
33 David SEAMAN NSW 4 2.29 4 2.29
34 Thuan HUYNH VIC 2 0.91 3 1.36 5 2.27
35 Steve REILLY NSW 3 2.22 3 2.22
36 Grant MANUSU NSW 4 2.11 4 2.11
37 Ian FILLEUL WA 3 2.07 3 2.07
38 Lucas SMITH VIC 3 1.27 2 0.74 5 2.01
39 Neil CHEGWIDDEN NSW 4 1.48 1 0.4 5 1.88
40 Steve JOY VIC 2 1.22 1 0.39 3 1.61
41 Stuart PARKS WA 3 1.47 3 1.47
42 Alex BARONOFF QLD 2 0.81 1 0.51 3 1.32
43 James YEUNG NSW 3 1.31 3 1.31
44 Richard ROBSON NSW 1 0.39 0.86 1 1.25
45 Nik BYRNE TAS 1.2 1.2
46 Karen BERRY NSW 3 1.18 3 1.18
47 Andrew FAWCETT NSW 2 1.07 2 1.07
48 Trent FAHEY NSW 1 0.61 1 0.42 2 1.03
49 Justin GORNALL NSW 2 0.81 -0.2 2 0.61
50 Matthew FINNEY NSW 1 0.49 1 0.49
51 Tony ZANTIOTIS QLD 1 0.43 1 0.43
52 Robert MARCH Qld




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