The Austackle Round 1 event on beautiful Glenbawn Dam was the first in the series of three BETS bass events to be held over the year. Glenbawn Dam had been running hot and cold in the weeks leading up to the tournament, with the weekend prior being an absolute fishfest, with good numbers of good sized fish caught all over the dam.

The event weekend started with the news that last week’s hot was this week’s cold. Many prefishing anglers struggled for even a touch despite conditions being on the money. Session 1 was slightly more productive than expected however, with a good sprinkling of bag numbers and weights across the field. One bag stood head and shoulders above the rest however, and that was amassed by Troy Danes and Ryan Jones of Team Asakura/Abu Garcia. They set an overnight lead of some 800g with a 5.20kg bag of bass.

Cool and cloudy conditions for Session 2 saw the majority of the boats head to the back of the dam in search of active schooling fish. It was very much a hit and miss affair. Boats with three or four fish were just metres from teams struggling for a touch, and while the sounders showed plenty of bass the live wells were hard to fill.

The leading team, however, had their spot and had their fish by 8am. Using a mix of Gulp Minnow Grubs in black and Jackal ice jigs, Troy and Ryan repeated the form of Session 1. They ended up with an even bigger bag of 5.78kg, securing an opening win. With a 1.88kg thumper bass earning Ryan a $250 Austackle Lure Pack for Big Bass, the team walked away with $1800 for a solid effort in trying conditions. - BETS