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Squidgy Port Macquarie BREAM Challenge -Results & Story
#511 - 0--bream--Squidgy Port Macquarie BREAM Challenge -Results & Story--2009-06-13 16:06:43
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Port
Clear skies, crisp temperatures and consistent winter
breaming greeted anglers for the third NSW stop of the 2009 Ford Ranger BREAM
Series, when the tour traveled to the Hastings River
for the Squidgy Port Macquarie BREAM Challenge.
While the majority of the field reveled in the conditions
delivering 449 fish to the scales, it was AFC and ABT bream gun Scott Towner
(10/10, 5.22kg) who once again stood atop the winner's dais to secure his win
for the year. - Fishing his first tournament in two months Towner once again
showed that he's the benchmark when it comes to tournament breaming, securing
victory by 360grams over his nearest rival, event runner up Richard Potter (10/10,
4.86kg).
Fishing an area he located during his Friday prefish, Towner
focused his attention on a stretch of bank located upriver of the Hibbard
ferry.
"I couldn't catch any legal fish in water shallower than 15
feet, so I fished deeper, and that's something that I don't often do",
explained Towner.
Sticking to the 15-25 feet depth range Towner worked his way
along the bank with the current, making quarter casts towards the bank then
working the lure down the slope into deeper water. His lure of choice when
doing so included the ever-popular 2" Berkley Gulp Shrimp (colour- banana
prawn) and 3" Berkley Jigging Grub (colour- mouldy cheese) rigged on 1/8 oz,
size 1, Nitro Bream Finesse jigheads.
"The retrieve was a standard and lift and drop soft plastic
presentation", explained the 2009 Port Macquarie champion.
"I'd let the Shrimp sink to the bottom give it two small
hops, pause it, then let it sink back to the bottom", added the Towner.
The takes were text book with the bream hitting the lure on
pause.
"The hits were often very subtle with a small tap that you
had to follow up with a stall of the lure to get the fish to come back for a
second go", explained Towner.
Towner's delicate touch was spot on with the AFC angler
catching the event's only 3 kilo plus bag on day one and a consolidating and
event winning 2.20kg bag on day two.
"Day two was definitely a day of patience, I knew the fish
were still there, they just didn't want to bite as readily or as early as they
did on Saturday. So I stayed there working away waiting for them to come on",
explained Scott.
His focus paid off with the number one ranked BREAMer
claiming his fourth win on the Ford Ranger BREAM Tour.
The tackle used by Towner to claim another winner's cheque
included a Berkley Pro Tactic 690L Elite rod, ABU Soron STX20 reel, spooled
with 4lb Berkley Crystal Fireline and 4lb Berkley Trilene fluorocarbon leader.
With the Pflueger Lake Macquarie BREAM Super Series on then
horizon and a reinvigorated mindset thanks to some time away from the sport,
Towner is primed for strong finish to the season.
"I've done well on Lake
Mac in the past and I'm keen to get
stuck into to some serious fishing and consolidate by form as we head towards
to the Grand Final on Sydney
Harbour in November",
concluded Towner.
Claiming his best result to date in the Ford Ranger BREAM
Series was event runner-up Richard Potter of Sydney. For the 34 year old Signwriter is was
a tournament of consistency, with the self confessed ginger haired sticker monkey
weighing in 2.37kg on day one and 2.49kg on day two.
"It all started on the prefish when I cracked a pattern, and
it held on for the entire weekend", explained Potter.
Fishing upriver of the highway bridge Potter located schooled
fish holding on broken weed and rock in 10 to 12 feet of water.
An area no larger than 400 metres in length Potter opened
his account ripping and twitching a deep running Jackall Chubby in brown suji
shrimp colour.
"The fish were there you just needed to show them an
aggressive presentation to get them interested", explained Potter.
The approach delivered the desired result with Potter adding
a quick succession of fish to the well. Resting the spot for an hour between drifts,
Potter soon found that simply giving the bream a breather wasn't enough to keep
them biting.
"They got tired of the Chubby so I changed to a Jazz blade
and fished it slow and with little movement", explained Potter.
With a limit soon in the well, and the end of the session
getting closer he swapped back to the deep crank in the hope of getting some
upgrades. The change proved spot on, with the Port Macquarie runner-up
upgrading multiple times to finish the day on a high.
Day two in contrast was much harder, with his deep Chubby
drawing no interest, and his non-boater boating fish before he'd put one in the
well.
"Jordon was whacking them on soft plastics so I swapped to a
banana prawn coloured 2" Gulp Shrimp rigged on 1/16 oz TT jighead and fished on
3lb fluro straight through", explained Potter.
The decisive change delivered Potter his limit by 8am and an
upgrade by 9am.
Potter's choice of tackle was comprised of a G.Loomis
TSR862GLX rod, matched to a Daiwa Steez 2508 reel spooled with 10lb Castaway PE
and 4lb fluorocarbon leader when fishing a crankbait. A G.Loomis DSR820 rod and
Daiwa Steez 2508, spooled with 10lb Castaway when fishing blades, while his
soft plastic outfit included a G.Loomis SR841 IMX rod, matched to a Daiwa 1003
Luvias reel spooled with 3lb Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon.
On the non-boater front 34 year old Brisbane resident and Acupuncturist Grayson
Fong clamed his maiden victory in the category, compiling a 10/10, 4.19kg limit
to secure the win and a berth into the Ford Ranger BREAM Grand Final.
Fishing with 4th placed boater Chris Russell on
day one and Port Macquarie local Steve Gardoll on day two, Fong found a gun
technique on day one and stuck with it for the entire weekend.
Fishing four feet deep weed flats near Dennis
Bridge and Edgewater Caravan
Park, Fong slow rolled a
shallow running Jackall Chubby (colour- suji shrimp) to fill his bag each day.
"They were honing in on the Chubby and hitting the lure
numerous times before hooking up", explained Fong.
Boating a dozen fish on day one and another 25 on day two,
Fong was the only non-boating angler who managed to catch their full limit for
the tournament.
The gear he used to do so included a G.Loomis DSR820 rod,
Daiwa 2500 Sol reel, spooled with 4lb Berkley Fireline and 6lb Yamatoyo
fluorocarbon leader. Fishing only his third event as non-boater, Fong now has his eyes set on the Gold Coast Super
Series in September, his first event as a boater.
The Go-So Big Bream for the tournament was caught by Mark
Holman, with the prize winning fish captured on day two from one of the Hasting River's many oyster racks. Weighing in at
0.96kg and delivering Holman $500 it was welcome reward for the standout fish
of the tournament and a healthy injection of money for an angler who's
tournament year has been plagued by outboard breakdowns.
Squidgy valued added the prize pool for the weekend, with
two Squidgy Big Bream Bonuses on offer each day for the largest fish caught on
a Squidgy product. The largest fish each day saw the victor win a Shimano rod/
reel combo plus an assortment of Squidgy products and merchandise, while the
runner-up carried away a bounty of Squidgies.
Day one saw Scott Dwyer (0.81kg) and Kris Hickson (0.57kg)
claim honours, while day two say Go-So Big Bream winner Mark Holman (0.96kg)
and David Poulton (0.48kg) end the weekend on a high note with their booty of
prizes.
Anglers and spectators were treated to the Shimano and
Squidgy show during the tournament with the Shimano display van featuring
prominently on Port Macquarie's Town Green and showing off all the latest
products available from the Shimano stable.
The next round of the Ford Ranger BREAM Series sees the tour
travel Lake Macquarie for the final NSW round of the
year, 27/28th June . For entry and event information visit www.bream.com.au or phone ABT (07) 3387
0888.
| Ford Ranger BREAM Series: Squidgy Port Macquarie BREAM Challenge Boater Results | |||||||||
| Place | Angler | State | F1 | W1 | F2 | W2 | TF | TW | Payout |
| 1 | Scott TOWNER | NSW | 5 | 3.02 | 5 | 2.2 | 10 | 5.22 | 2650 + Skeeter Bonus + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 2 | Richard POTTER | NSW | 5 | 2.37 | 5 | 2.49 | 10 | 4.86 | 1400 + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 3 | Kristoffer HICKSON | NSW | 5 | 2.56 | 5 | 2.14 | 10 | 4.7 | 1000 + 764 1st PRO + 250 Mercury Bonus + 250 Motorguide Bonus + Squidgy BB S1 2nd (0.57kg) + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 4 | Chris RUSSELL | NSW | 5 | 2.47 | 5 | 2.12 | 10 | 4.59 | 950 + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 5 | Craig SIMMONS | QLD | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | 1.98 | 10 | 4.48 | 800 + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 6 | Dean SEABORN | NSW | 4 | 1.45 | 5 | 2.92 | 9 | 4.37 | 650 |
| 7 | David WELFARE | NSW | 5 | 2.15 | 5 | 2.21 | 10 | 4.36 | 550 |
| 8 | Ben GODFREY | Qld | 5 | 2.76 | 4 | 1.59 | 9 | 4.35 | 400 |
| 9 | Russell BABEKUHL | NSW | 5 | 2.19 | 5 | 2.15 | 10 | 4.34 | 400 |
| 10 | Daniel BROWN | NSW | 5 | 2.41 | 4 | 1.88 | 9 | 4.29 | 300 |
| 11 | Martin RICHARDSON | NSW | 5 | 2.12 | 5 | 2.03 | 10 | 4.15 | 300 |
| 12 | Mark MANGOLD | NSW | 5 | 2.27 | 4 | 1.78 | 9 | 4.05 | |
| 13 | Chris CLEAVER | NSW | 5 | 2.97 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3.97 | |
| 14 | Neil CHEGWIDDEN | NSW | 3 | 1.33 | 5 | 2.62 | 8 | 3.95 | |
| 15 | Darren BORG | QLD | 5 | 1.93 | 3 | 1.67 | 8 | 3.6 | |
| 16 | Mark DUNPHY | NSW | 5 | 2.28 | 2 | 1.16 | 7 | 3.44 | |
| 17 | Todd SIMPSON | NSW | 2 | 1.05 | 4 | 2.24 | 6 | 3.29 | |
| 18 | Stephen WILSON | QLD | 5 | 2.31 | 2 | 0.89 | 7 | 3.2 | |
| 19 | Andrew HOWARD | NSW | 4 | 1.93 | 3 | 1.19 | 7 | 3.12 | |
| 20 | Tristan TAYLOR | Qld | 3 | 1.15 | 5 | 1.92 | 8 | 3.07 | |
| 21 | Anthony THORPE | NSW | 3 | 1.63 | 3 | 1.37 | 6 | 3 | |
| 22 | Michael TORLEY | QLD | 4 | 1.82 | 3 | 1.14 | 7 | 2.96 | |
| 23 | Aaron HORNE | NSW | 2 | 0.92 | 4 | 2.02 | 6 | 2.94 | |
| 24 | Mark HOLMAN | NSW | 3 | 1.54 | 2 | 1.35 | 5 | 2.89 | 500 Go-So Big Bream + Squidgy BB S2 1st (0.96kg) |
| 25 | Brett WILSON | NSW | 5 | 2.13 | 2 | 0.72 | 7 | 2.85 | |
| 26 | Wayne BALE | NSW | 3 | 1.42 | 3 | 1.17 | 6 | 2.59 | |
| 27 | Anthony NYBERG | NSW | 4 | 1.75 | 2 | 0.78 | 6 | 2.53 | |
| 28 | Stephen GARDOLL | NSW | 3 | 1.17 | 3 | 1.22 | 6 | 2.39 | |
| 29 | Scott DWYER | NSW | 4 | 2.32 | 4 | 2.32 | Squidgy BB S1 1st (0.81kg) | ||
| 30 | Brian EVERINGHAM | NSW | 4 | 2.29 | 4 | 2.29 | |||
| 31 | Stuart BUCKINGHAM | NSW | 5 | 2.22 | 5 | 2.22 | |||
| 32 | Troy COSTELLO | NSW | 3 | 1.33 | 2 | 0.8 | 5 | 2.13 | |
| 33 | Wayne REED | NSW | 4 | 1.97 | 4 | 1.97 | |||
| 34 | Matthew FINNEY | NSW | 4 | 1.96 | 4 | 1.96 | |||
| 35 | Shaun CHAPMAN | NSW | 4 | 1.94 | 4 | 1.94 | Atomic Bonus | ||
| 36 | Daniel CUPITT | NSW | 3 | 1.77 | 3 | 1.77 | |||
| 37 | Yilmaz NEZIZ | NSW | 4 | 1.74 | 4 | 1.74 | |||
| 38 | Ian SEETO | NSW | 4 | 1.73 | 4 | 1.73 | |||
| 39 | Peter MACOR | NSW | 2 | 1.07 | 1 | 0.57 | 3 | 1.64 | |
| 40 | Adam WARD | NSW | 3 | 1.46 | 3 | 1.46 | |||
| 41 | David POULTON | NSW | 1 | 0.44 | 2 | 0.85 | 3 | 1.29 | Squidgy BB S2 2nd (0.48kg) |
| 42 | Jonathon FITZGIBBON | NSW | 3 | 1.27 | 3 | 1.27 | |||
| 43 | John TIMBRELL | NSW | 3 | 1.23 | 3 | 1.23 | |||
| 44 | Mark HEALEY | NSW | 2 | 0.74 | 1 | 0.4 | 3 | 1.14 | |
| 45 | David MCKENZIE | Qld | 2 | 1.01 | 2 | 1.01 | |||
| 46 | Paul MARSH | NSW | 1 | 0.58 | 1 | 0.34 | 2 | 0.92 | |
| 47 | Warwick CREGAN | NSW | 1 | 0.51 | 1 | 0.36 | 2 | 0.87 | |
| 48 | Stephen KANOWSKI | QLD | 1 | 0.52 | 1 | 0.31 | 2 | 0.83 | |
| 49 | Gary NEWELL | NSW | 2 | 0.75 | 2 | 0.75 | |||
| 50 | Mitchell BIRT | NSW | 1 | 0.62 | 1 | 0.62 | |||
| 51 | Darryn LOVE | Qld | 1 | 0.54 | 1 | 0.54 | |||
| 52 | Chris FINDLAY | NSW | |||||||
| 52 | John SMALL | NSW | |||||||
| 52 | Noel LATIMER | Qld | |||||||
| 55 | Patrick MORGAN | Qld | -0.1 | -0.1 | |||||
| Ford Ranger BREAM Series: Squidgy Port Macquarie BREAM Challenge Non-Boater Results | |||||||||
| Place | Angler | State | F1 | W1 | F2 | W2 | TF | TW | Payout |
| 1 | Grayson FONG | Qld | 5 | 2.23 | 5 | 1.96 | 10 | 4.19 | Jarvis Marine Water Snake, Prize Pack, + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 2 | Troy VANKAMPEN | NSW | 5 | 2.08 | 3 | 1.31 | 8 | 3.39 | Shimano Raider rod, Shimano Twin Power reel, Prize Pack + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 3 | Robert BLACKEBY | NSW | 3 | 1.05 | 5 | 2.31 | 8 | 3.36 | Shimano Raider rod, Tica Gainer reel, Prize Pack + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 4 | Bradley WORBOYS | NSW | 5 | 2.53 | 2 | 0.76 | 7 | 3.29 | Team Daiwa Sol rod, Prize Pack + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 5 | Nathan MCINNES | NSW | 5 | 2.46 | 1 | 0.73 | 6 | 3.19 | TT Lures Pack, Prize Pack + $50 Port Macquarie Tackle Voucher |
| 6 | Jordan FUSSELL | NSW | 2 | 0.88 | 5 | 2.26 | 7 | 3.14 | Spotters Prize Pack, + Prize Pack |
| 7 | Michael MAAS | QLD | 1 | 0.43 | 5 | 2.32 | 6 | 2.75 | Berkley Attack Rod, + Prize Pack |
| 8 | Chris SEETO | NSW | 1 | 0.6 | 4 | 2.09 | 5 | 2.69 | Ugly Fish Eyewear, + Prize Pack |
| 9 | Leon BETTSON | WA | 4 | 1.75 | 2 | 0.85 | 6 | 2.6 | Berkley Landing Net, + Prize Pack |
| 10 | Brett CASTELLI | NSW | 5 | 2.15 | 1 | 0.42 | 6 | 2.57 | Berkley Bait Net, + Prize Pack |
| 11 | Chris LONNE | QLD | 5 | 2.56 | 5 | 2.56 | |||
| 12 | Tom SLATER | QLD | 4 | 1.94 | 1 | 0.61 | 5 | 2.55 | |
| 13 | Tony NEAL | NSW | 3 | 1.31 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2.31 | |
| 14 | Tony MOORE | QLD | 3 | 1.38 | 1 | 0.44 | 4 | 1.82 | |
| 15 | Glen STURROCK | NSW | 3 | 1.35 | 1 | 0.41 | 4 | 1.76 | |
| 16 | Mark LENNOX | NSW | 3 | 1.09 | 1 | 0.62 | 4 | 1.71 | |
| 17 | Robert BUCKHAM | NSW | 2 | 0.85 | 2 | 0.83 | 4 | 1.68 | |
| 18 | Karen BERRY | NSW | 2 | 0.82 | 2 | 0.83 | 4 | 1.65 | |
| 19 | Craig THOMPSON | NSW | 2 | 1.05 | 1 | 0.58 | 3 | 1.63 | |
| 20 | Geoffrey BORG | NSW | 1 | 0.75 | 2 | 0.81 | 3 | 1.56 | |
| 21 | Chris GATES | NSW | 4 | 1.47 | 4 | 1.47 | |||
| 22 | Paul DUNLOP | NSW | 2 | 1.45 | 2 | 1.45 | |||
| 23 | Glenn WILBOW | NSW | 1 | 0.45 | 2 | 0.84 | 3 | 1.29 | |
| 24 | Andrew PRINCE | NSW | 1 | 0.5 | 2 | 0.79 | 3 | 1.29 | |
| 25 | Philip NIX | NSW | 2 | 0.82 | 1 | 0.4 | 3 | 1.22 | |
| 26 | Chris POPPETT | NSW | 3 | 1.21 | 3 | 1.21 | |||
| 27 | David WALMSLEY | NSW | 1 | 0.4 | 2 | 0.75 | 3 | 1.15 | |
| 28 | Anthony DUFF | NSW | 2 | 1.05 | 2 | 1.05 | |||
| 29 | Simon MCALPIN | NSW | 2 | 1.04 | 2 | 1.04 | |||
| 30 | Paul KIRKMAN | 1 | 0.55 | 1 | 0.44 | 2 | 0.99 | ||
| 31 | John GLOVER | NSW | 2 | 0.98 | 2 | 0.98 | |||
| 32 | Nick LOTOTZKY | NSW | 2 | 0.95 | 2 | 0.95 | |||
| 33 | Trent FAHEY | NSW | 1 | 0.46 | 1 | 0.49 | 2 | 0.95 | |
| 34 | Steve REILLY | NSW | 2 | 0.93 | 2 | 0.93 | |||
| 35 | Bernard KONG | NSW | 2 | 0.9 | 2 | 0.9 | |||
| 36 | Josh MATTHEWS | NSW | 2 | 0.89 | 2 | 0.89 | |||
| 37 | Shayne GILLETT | NSW | 1 | 0.51 | 1 | 0.51 | |||
| 38 | Peter MUDDLE | NSW | 1 | 0.43 | 1 | 0.43 | |||
| 39 | Rodney THORPE | NSW | 1 | 0.4 | 1 | 0.4 | |||
| 40 | Brendan CROFT | NSW | 1 | 0.36 | 1 | 0.36 | |||
| 41 | Billy TAMAYO | 1 | 0.36 | 1 | 0.36 | ||||
| 42 | Tony THORLEY | NSW | 1 | 0.32 | 1 | 0.32 | |||
| 43 | Tim LESTRANGE | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Craig AINSWORTH | ||||||||
| 43 | Clint WRIGHT | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Peter RICH | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Shaun EGAN | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Peter MCKINNON | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Paul PIPER | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Rod RILEY | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Peter CHRISTENSEN | NSW | |||||||
| 43 | Tracey MAMMEN | QLD | |||||||
| 449 | 208 | 0.462427617 | |||||||
