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National ABT BREAM Classic Championship - Final Results & Story
#551 - 0--bream--National ABT BREAM Classic Championship - Final Results & Story--2009-11-07 15:55:25
# Team Squidgy (Bill Karayannis and Chris Cleaver) have taken
out the 2009 ABT BREAM Classic Grand Final. Compiling a 8/10, 6.1kg tournament
bag over the two days of competition, Team Squidgy displayed their skill and
tenacity, overcoming a 680gram deficit
and taking the out the tournament. Securing the Skeeter prizeboat,
previously won by the same team in 2007, Team Squidgy were worthy victors of
the national team's title. - Having explored different locations during the prefish day, Team
Squidgy decided on the morning of the tournament to head to their location. "We
almost tossed a coin to decide where to head. In the end we travelled about 35
minutes, past Brooklyn, to a spot known as The
Vines. It is a section of rock wall, approximately 500 meters long, that falls
into around 40-50 foot of water", explained Cleaver & Karayannis.
"Sitting about 40 feet away from the wall, we would cast
fairly close and slowly hop our lures down the drop. The bream would often be
sitting on the drop-offs. Using a tandem approach one of us threw a Squidgy
Devilfish Vibe in copperhead colour or Koolabung vibe in green, whilst the
other angler used a Squidgy Pro Lobby in dusk colour rigged on a 2gram jighead
with size 2 hook."
Identifying bream holding on a drop-off between 18 and 30
feet, Team Squidgy went about their task. Employing a slow hop and lift
retrieve they would work their lures down the rock face till they hit the
bottom, before continuing the same retrieve back to the boat. Finding the bream
active, the team quickly accrued 4 fish before 9.30am.
"The change in the tide caused the bait in the area to
disappear and soon the water had changed to a shade of mud. We were determined
to fill our tournament limit, but it became a grind as the conditions quickly
deteriorated. Heading to some of our other locations proved fruitless, so we
headed back to the weigh in with 4 fish."
Weighing 4/5, 3.14kg Team Squidgy was in fourth position at
the end of day 1. With the Hawkesbury famed for its XOS bream, and the team
confident their location was still holding fish, the focus was on getting the
job done. Unfortunately for Karayannis, a family illness looked to derail the
momentum. Only leaving the hospital hours before the start of day 2,
Karayannis, albeit weary, made the decision to fish the final session in an
attempt to capture the title.
"Going through a tournament is tough at the best of times.
Mix in a family illness and trip to the hospital and everything is magnified. I
was almost willing to pull the plug come Sunday morning, but decided to finish
what we had started. Chris had a real positive energy which kept me going and
got me up for the challenge of the final day", explains Karayannis.
Heading directly to their day 1 location, Team Squidgy found
the bream active. Employing the same successful techniques from day 1 they soon
found fish and by 10am had four in the livewell. Knowing the tide change would wreak
havoc with their strategy, the team searched for their final fish but to no
avail. Banking on picking up their final fish elsewhere, Team Squidgy headed to
Pittwater in search of fish.
The decision ultimately paid dividends. At around 2pm with
hope fading, Team Squidgy found their final fish. Furthermore the 1.2kg bream
provided a kicker fish to the teams tournament limit. Heading back to the
weigh-in the team was confident that they had done what they could. Back a
Narrabeen the pressure was slowly building as anglers returned to decide the
victor of the event.
A number of teams had successfully found their tournament
limits. The question remained though, which teams had produced for both days of
the tournament? The number of bags over 3kg had decreased from day 1, and when
the day 1 leaders produced only 4 fish it was anybody's race. Heading to the
stage Team Squidgy held their collective breath in anticipation of the result.
Unfortunately one of the fish for Team Squidgy came up undersize,
leaving them with 4/5, 2.96kg. This sprung Team Squidgy into the lead and
within sight of a come from behind victory. The last of the competitors came
and left it became clear that Team Squidgy had one hand on the Skeeter prize.
As the final team arrived they were informed of the weight they needed. The
scales slowly climbed and stopped... short of the weight needed. With screams of
excitement reverberating around the weigh-in, Team Squidgy had taken out the
2009 National ABT BREAM Classic Championship!
"I didn't think we had a chance with eight fish for the
tournament. It is completely unexpected and unbelievable. Our mindset was to
just go out with a mate, to fish and enjoy ourselves. Being able to finish it
all off this way is special", explained Cleaver & Karayannis of their
Classic experience.
Having previously tasted victory in the 2007 Classic
Championship, it was a welcome return to the winner's dais for these amicable
anglers. The team actually used the Skeeter boat won in 2007 in competition,
and spoke of upgrading it to the new prize boat. "It may well be a fitting end
to her tournament career", enthused Cleaver. Thanking their sponsors and
acknowledging the depth of talent at the season ending championship, Team
Squidgy looked forward to further challenges come 2010.
Team Squidgy/Hunts Marine (Scott Lear & Vicki Winter)
led the competition after day one, but were unable to find their 5/5 tournament
limit on Sunday. The teams 9/10, 5.86kg fell an agonisingly 240grams short of
Team Squidgy's two day total. Humble in defeat both Lear and Winter typified
the camaraderie and sportsmanship visible in tournament fishing today. "We just
couldn't get the last fish we needed and Team Squidgy found the one that made
the difference. That's fishing", lamented an upbeat Lear.
Fishing a weed bed located at Barrenjoey Head, both Lear and
Winter found fish holding in 4-10 feet of water. Using a Squidgy Pro Lobby in
dusk colour or Juro Firebait rigged on a 1/28th TT Hidden Weight
jighead, both anglers would work the lure over the top of the weed using small
hops. Bites came progressively throughout the day with the team able to get
their limit and upgrade a further 7 times throughout the session.
Heading to the same location on day 2, the pressure began to
show as the bites became harder to come by. With two fish by 12pm and the tide
beginning to change the team moved around the headland to Careel Bay.
Two bream quickly found their way into the livewell, but as the tide turned
bites stopped and try as they might Team Squidgy/Hunts Marine were unable to
find their fifth keeper. "As the adage goes no fun, no fun. And that exactly
how it panned out", explained Lear.
Lears outfit consisted of a Hastings 1-3kg 7" rod teamed
with a Shimano Fireblood reel spooled with 2lb Nitlon FC straight through.
Winter used a Shimano T-Curve 1-3kg 7" rod teamed with a Shimano Stella 1000
reel spooled with 2lb Nitlon FC straight through. "We work well as a team. She
is a great partner in crime. We both look forward to coming back in 2010 with a
vengeance", explains Lear of his team mate Winter and their plans for future
tournaments.
The events Big Bream was claimed by Western Australian Peter
DeGroot of Team Challenge Batteries, with a day 1 beast of 1.36kg. Caught off a
rock headland in Morning
Bay, Pittwater, the bream
fell to a 2" Berkley Gulp Shrimp in banana prawn colour rigged on a 1/12th size 1 Nitro jighead. Caught tight to the shore, the bream went deep and had
DeGroot on the electric with rod tip in water trying to prise it from its lair.
Eventually succumbing, the elated DeGroot quickly netted the bream, eliciting
joy from his teammate. Securing him a great swag of prizes courtesy of Engel,
DeGroot showcased the talent pool that makes tournament fishing competitive in
all its forms.
ABT now looks forward to events remaining in 2009, including
the season ending Barramundi Tour and Hobie Kayak Series. If you are interested
in tournament fishing or getting involved with ABT tournaments visit
www.bream.com.au or phone ABT (07) 3387
0888 (B/H).
Place |
Team |
F1 |
W1 |
F2 |
W2 |
TF |
TW |
Payout |
|
|
|
1 |
SQUIDGY: Bill
Karayannis & Chris Cleaver |
4 |
3.14 |
4 |
2.96 |
8 |
6.1 |
Skeeter SX170, 90hp
Evinrude |
|
|
|
2 |
SQUIDGY/HUNTS MARINE:
Scott Lear & Vicki Winter |
5 |
3.86 |
4 |
2 |
9 |
5.86 |
2 x 35lt Engel
Fridges |
|
|
|
3 |
NITRO
MARINE/MERCURY/UGLY FISH: Scott Butler & Scott Platell |
5 |
2.84 |
5 |
2.84 |
10 |
5.68 |
2 x 44lb Jarvis
Marine Watersnakes |
|
|
|
4 |
SQUIDGY PRO RANGE:
Craig Simmons & Kristoffer Hickson |
5 |
3.18 |
5 |
2.48 |
10 |
5.66 |
2 x Lowrance X125
Sounder |
|
|
|
5 |
MEGABASS/HUMMINBIRD:
Michael Starkey & Tim Morgan |
5 |
3.1 |
5 |
2.56 |
10 |
5.66 |
2 x Engel 67lt esky |
|
|
|
6 |
FISH-A-FARE: Shane
Barling & Trent Stephenson |
4 |
2.18 |
5 |
3.4 |
9 |
5.58 |
|
|
|
|
7 |
CULBURRA BAIT AND
TACKLE: Grant Kime & Scott Brown |
5 |
2.86 |
5 |
2.58 |
10 |
5.44 |
|
|
|
|
8 |
FISHING MONTHLY:
Steve Morgan & Szarn Tink |
4 |
2.18 |
5 |
3.06 |
9 |
5.24 |
|
|
|
|
9 |
BERKLEY B":
Russell Babekuhl & Trent Fahey" |
5 |
2.16 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
5.16 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
TACKLE WORLD - MARKS
POINT: Mark Healey & Adrian Neoh |
5 |
2.44 |
5 |
2.46 |
10 |
4.9 |
|
|
|
|
11 |
WINDSOR BAIT &
TACKLE: Ben Turbott & Aaron Horne |
5 |
2.58 |
5 |
2.18 |
10 |
4.76 |
|
|
|
|
12 |
BERKLEY A: Scott
Towner & Mark Mangold |
5 |
3.1 |
3 |
1.6 |
8 |
4.7 |
|
|
|
|
13 |
NOWRA MARINE &
TACKLE: Simon Pender & Brad Balding |
5 |
2.6 |
4 |
2.08 |
9 |
4.68 |
|
|
|
|
14 |
CEPAC TOWBARS: Kevin
Tormey & Stephen Wheeler |
3 |
1.68 |
5 |
2.82 |
8 |
4.5 |
|
|
|
|
15 |
ZERO: Michael Milburn
& Daniel Bray |
5 |
3.38 |
1 |
0.78 |
6 |
4.16 |
|
|
|
|
16 |
BANANA BOAT: Simon
Sczepaniak & Brett Perry |
4 |
3.01 |
1 |
0.66 |
5 |
3.67 |
|
|
|
|
17 |
PFLUEGER/TT LURES:
Darren Borg & Stephen Wilson |
5 |
2.8 |
1 |
0.52 |
6 |
3.32 |
|
|
|
|
18 |
SABT: Tom Deer &
Richard Braund |
2 |
1.28 |
3 |
1.96 |
5 |
3.24 |
|
|
|
|
19 |
HIGHLAND SCOTCH
WHISKY: Alan Loftus & Ross Cannizzaro |
2 |
1.02 |
5 |
2.1 |
7 |
3.12 |
|
|
|
|
20 |
BREAM ON: John
Startin & Beau Startin |
4 |
1.82 |
3 |
1.26 |
7 |
3.08 |
|
|
|
|
21 |
DENTISTS ON
BROADBEACH/FISHIN.COM.AU: Grayson Fong & Nigel Seeto |
5 |
2.52 |
1 |
0.4 |
6 |
2.92 |
|
|
|
|
22 |
PORT MACQUARIE BREAM
CLASSIC/PORT TACKLE: Wayne Bale & Jeff Brunsdon |
3 |
1.34 |
4 |
1.5 |
7 |
2.84 |
|
|
|
|
23 |
PURE FISHING/TACKLE
POWER: Mitchell Birt & Chris Russell |
5 |
2.76 |
|
|
5 |
2.76 |
|
|
|
|
24 |
MITCHELL FISHING AND
OUTDOORS: Aaron Dyer & Graeme Dear |
3 |
1.74 |
1 |
0.8 |
4 |
2.54 |
|
|
|
|
25 |
SMACK THAT: Brad
Hodges & Michael Hodges |
2 |
0.9 |
3 |
1.6 |
5 |
2.5 |
|
|
|
|
26 |
MEGABASS: David
McKenzie & Tristan Taylor |
3 |
1.48 |
2 |
0.94 |
5 |
2.42 |
|
|
|
|
27 |
DAVE BUTFIELDS TACKLE
WORLD ST MARYS: Matt Simonis & Andy Parkinson |
4 |
1.92 |
1 |
0.36 |
5 |
2.28 |
|
|
|
|
28 |
STRIKE PRO: Greg
Woods & Steven Smith |
2 |
0.74 |
2 |
1.46 |
4 |
2.2 |
|
|
|
|
29 |
DUFF KUSTOM RODS:
Nicholas Reay & Andrew Rollison |
3 |
1.72 |
1 |
0.46 |
4 |
2.18 |
|
|
|
|
30 |
GREEN MACHINE: Paul
Gillespie & Jay Gillespie |
4 |
1.82 |
1 |
0.32 |
5 |
2.14 |
|
|
|
|
31 |
PRO NITRO: Chris
Elliot & Leon Bettson |
2 |
1.18 |
2 |
0.86 |
4 |
2.04 |
|
|
|
|
32 |
HUMMINBIRD: Shaun
Clancy & Wayne Friebe |
1 |
0.56 |
2 |
1.34 |
3 |
1.9 |
|
|
|
|
33 |
CHALLENGE BATTERIES:
Peter Degroot & Oliver Seear |
2 |
1.86 |
|
|
2 |
1.86 |
|
|
|
|
34 |
FLOWIN: Brendon
Hughes & Scott Greentree |
3 |
1.46 |
1 |
0.34 |
4 |
1.8 |
|
|
|
|
35 |
RIP N" LIPS:
Warren Carter & Craig Seignior" |
3 |
1.38 |
1 |
0.38 |
4 |
1.76 |
|
|
|
|
36 |
MERIDIEN
MARINAS/NITRO STATE TEAM: Stuart Bible & Darrin Crowley |
1 |
0.64 |
1 |
0.96 |
2 |
1.6 |
|
|
|
|
37 |
BASSDAY: Steve Eldred
& Dale Mullins |
3 |
1.46 |
|
|
3 |
1.46 |
|
|
|
|
38 |
BIG RIVER BAIT &
TACKLE: Brenton Smith & Darren Painter |
2 |
0.66 |
2 |
0.76 |
4 |
1.42 |
|
|
|
|
39 |
RACK RAIDER: Rod
Jordan & Mitchell Jordan |
3 |
1.36 |
|
|
3 |
1.36 |
|
|
|
|
40 |
BALLINA MARINELAND:
Michael Corbett & Jake Stewart |
|
|
3 |
1.34 |
3 |
1.34 |
|
|
|
|
41 |
BIG RIVER BAIT &
TACKLE - SHAKE & BAKE: Brett Young & Mark Mulligan |
1 |
0.38 |
2 |
0.88 |
3 |
1.26 |
|
|
|
|
42 |
CRUST GOURMET PIZZA:
Ian Seeto & Chris Seeto |
3 |
1.24 |
|
|
3 |
1.24 |
|
|
|
|
43 |
TYRE POWER: Dean
Gamble & Dean Truman |
1 |
0.42 |
1 |
0.68 |
2 |
1.1 |
|
|
|
|
43 |
SKEETER
BOATS/WWW.BASSBOATSHOP.COM.AU: Josh Batterson & Matthew Webb |
1 |
0.48 |
1 |
0.62 |
2 |
1.1 |
|
|
|
|
45 |
COMPLEAT ANGLER
BATEMANS BAY: Jason Mayberry & Craig Johnson |
2 |
0.98 |
|
|
2 |
0.98 |
|
|
|
|
46 |
GIMP & SHRIMP:
Glen Sturrock & Andrew Taylor |
2 |
0.9 |
|
|
2 |
0.9 |
|
|
|
|
47 |
THE OLD BOYS: Brian
Pelle & Mark Geddes |
2 |
0.88 |
|
|
2 |
0.88 |
|
|
|
|
48 |
TEAM SOC: Graeme
Taylor & Chris Burbidge |
|
|
2 |
0.8 |
2 |
0.8 |
|
|
|
|
49 |
KOOLABUNG LURES: Mark
Saxon & Eddie Studman |
|
|
2 |
0.78 |
2 |
0.78 |
|
|
|
|
49 |
BREAM BROTHERS:
Andrew Dyson & David Appleyard |
1 |
0.38 |
1 |
0.4 |
2 |
0.78 |
|
|
|
|
51 |
YAMBA BAIT &
TACKLE: Mick Leavey & Ben Lockwood |
|
|
2 |
0.7 |
2 |
0.7 |
|
|
|
|
52 |
FISHERMANS PARADISE:
Simon Osborn & Bronte Kent |
1 |
0.64 |
|
|
1 |
0.64 |
|
|
|
|
53 |
SHIMANO/ATOMIC: David
O'Reilly & Andrew Herden |
|
|
1 |
0.58 |
1 |
0.58 |
|
|
|
|
54 |
ASSASSIN/BAY AND
BASIN MARINE: Bradley Braddick & Craig McCormack |
1 |
0.38 |
|
|
1 |
0.38 |
|
|
|
|
55 |
CRC TACKLE GUARD:
Darryl Schroder & Dominic Vassallo |
|
|
1 |
0.36 |
1 |
0.36 |
|
|
|
|
55 |
WHYALLA SPORTSFISHING
TEAM: Stuart Duncan & Wesley Jones |
|
|
1 |
0.36 |
1 |
0.36 |
|
|
|
|
57 |
ATOMIC HARDZ: Graham
Franklin & Philip Nix |
2 |
0.94 |
|
-0.75 |
2 |
0.19 |
|
|
|
|
58 |
GRAB A
GRANNY/MANDURAH MAINE CENTRE: Steve Yarwood & Andrew Manson |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
59 |
RAPALA: Michael
Collins & Joe Crust |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
60 |
ATOMIC GUZZLERZ:
Aaron Sharp & Robert March |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
61 |
BENDIGO RANGER:
Trevor Yates & Phil Oliver |
|
-0.05 |
|
|
|
-0.05 |
|
|
|
|
62 |
NISSAN: Jack Olmos
& Andrew Chambers |
|
-0.25 |
|
|
|
-0.25 |
|
|
|
|
--comments-->0--3982--6
