Peter Price drew first blood at the opening round of the 2012 JM Gilles BARRA Tour with victory in the Classic Lures Peter Faust Evening Event, 28/29 September.

Compiling a 10/10, 882cm limit to secure the win Price relegated Craig Griffths to second place and a strong finishing Jon Millard to third.

Fishing the western side of the lake to catch his fish Price had a selection of locations, each suited to a specific bite window during the session.

“The idea was to hit each spot when it was at its best,” said Price.

Locking in two standout spots for the event, Price’s approach involved anchoring the boat a cast length out from a weed edge then peppering the edge.

“The areas had deep timber (30-40ft) nearby, then shallowed up until it hit the weedline. The barra would come up out of the deep creek and feed in the shallows,” said Price.

With his boat anchored and his bite zone identified Price would cast a Reidy’s Judge hardbody tight to the edge, rip it or drawn it down until it bumped bottom, then stall it so it would float back up.

“It was important to bump the bottom then give the lure a chance to float back up. It was on the pause that most of the hits came.”

The approach delivered 5/5, 456cm limit on day one and a 5/5, 426cm limit on day two.

“It was a harder on day two, I didn’t get my fifth fish until the last hour of the session. It was also made harder by the fact that the wind was blowing from a different direction (northeast). This meant it took longer to get the boat anchored in just the right position to fish the area properly,” said Price.

With a two wins from two starts, Price will be looking for a solid result at Teemburra to claim the Northern BARRA AOY Title. With the 2011 Southern BARRA Tour AOY trophy already on his mantelpiece, Price will be one to watch for a hot year on the tour.

The win not only delivered Price back-to-back wins, his other being the final round of the 2011 BARRA Tour, but it was also Price’s first full limit in a BARRA Tour event.

“I’ve been working hard at my barra fishing for many years and fishing the BARRA Tour ever since it began so to finally get my full bag is very satisfying.”

Price’s tackle selection was 7’ Live Fibre Venom, 3000 Shimano Sustain, 20lb Sunline PE line, 45lb Schneider leader, and Reidy’s Judge in krypotonite colour. Front treble fitted with a size 1 Owner and the two rear trebles fitted with size 2 Owners.

Price worked his lure tight to the bottom because he believed the fish were still tuned in to eating redclaw.

Rolleston barra gun Craig Griffiths secured another podium finish on the BARRA Tour with second on a red hot Peter Faust Dam. Compiling a 8/10, 824cm limit during the event, Griffiths found the size but struggled to get the number on a tough day two.

“I got the big fish bites, I just didn’t get enough of them,” said Griffiths.

Five of his eight fish were over a metre long, which gives testament to the quality of fishing on offer at Faust.

The approach Griffths used to catch his fish involved fishing a wind blowing edge adjacent to a timber laden flooded creek.

“The fish would come out of the deep and move into the shallow to feed,” said Griffiths.

While the approach may seem typical, it was the twist that Griffiths gave it that made the world of difference.

“Rather than anchoring the boat in the deep and cast up into the shallows, I anchored the boat in the shallows (10ft) and cast out into the deep,”

Bringing his lure up the slope into the shallows proved the difference with Griffiths catching a 5/5, 522cm limit on day one, and two fish over a metre on day two.

The lure he used for the approach was the ever-popular Squidgy Slick Rig 130 in black and gold and modified with some slits in the tail for added vibration.

“The retrieve was full of movement. I’d cast it out, let it sink, then twitch and roll it up of the bottom, then stop and let it sink back down. It didn’t stop there, I’d also twitch it as it sank back down,” said Griffiths.

It was on the twitchy sink that many of the fish bit the lure.

While the technique was red hot in session one, it was in session two that things got harder.

“On day one you could see a lot of fish on the sounder as they moved through. The wind changed on day two, the fishing got tougher and you couldn’t find a fish with your sounder,” said Griffiths.

With only five bites and three landed fish for the session it wasn’t enough for him to hold his day one lead, and as a result he slipped to second.

Another solid result chalked up on the BARRA Tour, Griffiths is certain to continue his march up the rankings ladder.

Griffths’ tackle selection was 10-20lb Dobyns rod, 3000 Shimano Stella reel, 30lb Sufix 832 PE line, 50lb YGK leader, Squidgy Slick Rig 130, black and gold fitted with a 1oz Area 51 jighead. Tail dipped in chautreuse dye and S Factor applied.

He positioned his boat in shallow water, cast into deep water and worked his lure up the slope.

Karim De Ridder from Townsville claimed the Big Barra Prize at Peter Faust with his 115cm fish caught on a Squidgy Slick Rig 130 in session one. Falling to a slow-rolled and hopped presentation, it came at approximately 9.30pm and was the kicker fish that delivered him sixth place for the event.

Attention now turns to the Mackay area with anglers heading to Teemburra Dam for the Killalure Teemburra Dam Evening Event. Log in to www.australianbarra.com.au to check out all the results and see who claims the BARRA Tour Northern AOY title.

Results