Baden Sparrow, 4/6, 5.83kg, took out the TT Lures Lake Somerset BASS Pro on August 20-21.

Fishing near Cemetery Point, Sparrow compiled an impressive session one tournament limit and was never headed. While being unable to find his full tournament limits in the remaining two sessions Sparrow still bettered his nearest competitor by 460 grams.

“In the prefish I found good concentrations of big fish in a 30 foot flats area. I used a Nils-Master Ice Jig and had three fish fairly quickly, so it was an easy decision to return to the location come Saturday,” said Sparrow.

“I headed to my location first thing and sounded around the area. There was plenty of activity which is always a good sign. I had a little bass early (32m), but the larger fish were patrolling the edges of the schooling fish. Once I moved to the edges of the schooling fish the larger fish started biting, including my big fish of 2.5kg. The lure doing the damage was a medium size green and white Nils-Master Ice Jig. Later in the session this lure was changed to a soft plastic, a Keitech Fat Swing Impact in hasu colour rigged on a green 3/8oz Nitro jighead.

Sparrow employed a typical ice jig approach with subtle lifts off the bottom and the bites came as the jig drifted back to the lake bed. The plastic was receiving lots of hits and fouling so Sparrow changed how the plastic was rigged and was rewarded with four consecutive fish.

“In session two I headed back to my location. The fish weren’t as active and the spot was coming under more pressure. I secured a single bass of 620g and left the spot hoping that it would replenish overnight and would still produce on the final day.

“Day two saw the bite become tougher. The fish weren’t as active and it was a matter of mixing up my retrieves to try and attract interest. Eventually after and hour and a half of the session had passed I caught a bass (830g) on the ice jig. In the end it was enough to take out the win,” finished Sparrow.

Sparrow’s ice jig outfit consisted of a 6’6” Angler rod teamed with a Shimano Calcutta CT50 reel spooled with 4lb Platypus Super Braid and 8lb Sunline Rock FC leader. For plastics Sparrow used a 7’ Angler Stealth Elite rod teamed with a Shimano Stradic CI4 1000 reel spooled with 2lb Platypus Super Braid and 6lb Sunline Rock FC leader.

Jason Shepherdson, 5/6, 5.37kg, took out second place in the boater division. Shepherdson targeted Wyangy Creek and the rocky banks at The Spit to find his fish.

“In session one I headed to Bay 13 but was unable to find fish. I then went to Wyangy Creek where I targeted the edges with a Bassman 5/8oz spinnerbait in colour 29. The retrieve was a slow roll. There were dead trees in the water and the key was to get the spinnerbait to come over the trees and then fall back into deeper water. I caught one fish for the session,” said Sheperdson.

“In session two I headed back to Wyangy Creek but couldn’t find any fish. I then travelled to Red Rock where I targeted schooling fish. Using a Smak ice jig in purple colour I was able to catch one fish. The technique was small lifts followed by a pause. After about three hours I headed to The Spit where I targeted rocky banks using Bassman spinnerbaits. This resulted in my second fish.

“In session three I headed back to Red Rock where I found fish, hooked them but was unable to land any. I went back to The Spit and used the Smak ice jig in 20-24’ of water. The fish were smaller schooled fish that were holding tight to structure, so it was a matter of staying in the zone till the bites came”.

Shepherdsons outfit consisted of a 7’4” Barrabass spin stick XFB 843 10-17lb rod from Brad Clark teamed with a Shimano twin power 2500 reel spooled with 10lb Castaway braid and 7lb Sunline Vhard leader.

David McDonald, 6/6, 6.93kg, took out the non-boater division. Fishing with Steve Kanowski on day one and Baden Sparrow on day two, McDonald produced quality fish each session to secure the win 1.33kg ahead of the nearest competitor.

McDonald’s outfit consisted of a 7’ G.Loomis baitcaster rod teamed with a Shimano Core 50 reel spooled with 10lb Sunline Super PE braid and 11lb Unitika FC leader.

“I want to thank both my boaters. I had a great time and they put me tight amongst the fish each session. I am very keen on fishing the Grand Final. Hopefully I can catch some good fish and give a good account of myself”.

Joshua Evans secured the event Big Bass and in the process took out 6th place in the non-boater division. In the first session Evans produced two fish for a 4.18kg total. Most astonishing was the largest fish in the bag, a bass of 3.53kg, which dwarfed the smaller companion. This bass went on to secure the Big Bass for the tournament and in the process rewrite the ABT record books as the largest bass caught in an ABT tournament.

The 3.53kg bass bettered the previous mark of 3.37kg caught by Tony Evans (no relation) at the same venue in 2004.

The TT Lures Lake Somerset BASS Pro was the last remaining qualifying event for 2011. The results ultimately determined the overall 2011 BASS angler of the year. Congratulations to Matthew Mott for securing the prestigious 2011 BASS AOY title.

For more information check out www.australianbass.com.au or contact ABT on (07)3387 0888 (B/H). – ABT

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