Basstasstic Qualifying Round One a Huge Success

ROUND one of the Basstasstic qualifying rounds was held at Bjelke-Petersen Dam on March 5 and 6.

A large number of anglers turned up to fish the event and the big new meeting room at the dam was very much appreciated.

The weather was good on day one but the fish were not so helpful. Even though the fishing was tough, anglers were having a great time on the water. Matt Burke of Toowoomba was the leader after session one with 730 points.

Close behind him were Brett Renz of Bundaberg with 724 points and newcomer Clinton Ruhl of Borgeeh with 713 points. In session two, Brett brought in the best bag with 728 points.

Matt also caught a good bag with a tally of 716 points. Steve Broker of Hervey Bay had a good round and scored 714 points. At the end of the day and after two sessions the score board saw Brett Renz sitting in the number-one spot and Matt Burke in second.

At this point the other anglers were asking themselves what lure was doing it for the winners. On Saturday night talk around the camp was about what lures were catching fish. Soft plastics were doing fine and some anglers said you must use a grey or white colour while others said use any colour as long as you match it to a 1/2oz jig head.

Bucking the plastics trend, Matt Burke said he was using Smak Smakos spinnerbaits. Day two brought good weather and very little change in the fish bite.If anything, the fish in some areas were shut down and had clearly had enough of the busy boat traffic.

Jamie Facer of Pine Mountain was the session winner, with two good size BP bass of 401mm and 400mm to give him a bag total of 801 points. Mitchell Renz of Bundaberg came home strongly with a score of 775 points but the weekend belonged to his dad, Brett Renz.

Brett’s session three score of 721 points was enough to push him over the line for the tournament win.
With a total score of 2173 points, it was a great effort. Jamie Facer’s big session three bag saw him storm home to second place with 2089 points.

A big thanks to Corey and Niki Goldie for hosting the tournament at Yallakool Caravan Park on BP Dam. Not only did they make all feel welcome but they put on great meals for everyone to enjoy over the weekend.

The next Basstasstic qualifying round will be held at Boondooma Dam from April 16 to 17. As they also manage the Boondooma facilities, Corey and Niki will be cooking the food again, so book now.

It is sponsorship that makes these tournaments successful, so thanks to the major sponsor for 2016, Evakool, as well as Berkley, Shimano, Lowrance, BCF Wanderer products, Bush ‘n Beach Fishing magazine, Jarvis Walker, Smak Lures, Trevor’s Leathers and Compact Fishing Australia.

Compact Fishing will be displaying a range of Nifty Boat inflatable dinghies at Boondooma and at the end of the season one lucky angler will be driving home with a Nifty Boat in tow.

For more information visit basstasstic.com