With rising water levels at Lake Somerset, Harry Watson claimed his first victory of the 2007 BASS season by almost 2kg and took home $3000 for his troubles.

Enduring both wind and rain on the Saturday morning session, it looked like Stephen Kanowski was going to repeat his winning ways from the 2005 Somerset hot bite. With over a kilo lead, and no actively feeding schooled fish, he found the edge bite was a fickle trade.

Going out on Sunday morning, the water levels had risen enough to cover the green grass. The cloud cover had disappeared and as the sun rose a slight mist rolled across the water. Harry had the lead over fellow Boonah resident Mike Creighton by 10g, but with stories of lurking monsters it was anybody’s title.

Watson eventually had two bites and weighed in 3.39kg to clinch victory. His total for the weekend was 5/6 fish for a weight of 8.55kg. In second was Mike Creighton for 6/6 fish and 6.75kg and in third position, Tim Morgan 5/6 fish for 6.17kg.

Harry used a new G.Loomis 783 Pro Series Crankbait rod matched to a Shimano Chronarch MG50 spooled with 12lb Platypus Super Braid and 12lb Siglon fluorocarbon leader.

Fishing the same 100m stretch for the weekend, Harry’s reasoning was simple.

“I had caught fish there before, and after the first session I had nowhere else to go knowing the bite was tough,” he said.

Staying 50m out from a steep bank with surrounding rubble, Watson used his Lowrance sounders to locate fish at 6-8ft in 30ft of water. Selecting a Jackall TN60 in Gold Carp on Saturday and Tennessee Shad on Sunday, Watson’s technique involved letting the lure sink for 5-6 seconds after casting, followed by a slow retrieve.

Mike Creighton also used a G.Loomis Crankbait 783 matched to a Shimano Chronarch MG50 spooled with 20lb Basshard braid and 20lb Berkley Vanish leader.

“A perfect Jackall throwing outfit,” Mike believes. Throwing a Jackall TN60 in brown dog for the entire weekend, Creighton caught his bass off a rocky point that led to a bay with a quieter sloping bank.

“The bass were holding in the creek bed, with the active fish moving up into the shallower water,” he explained.

Casting 10-15ft from the waters edge, Creighton would count the lure down for 5 seconds, before starting a slow retrieve interspersed with the occasional short pause. Making sure he could feel the Jackall vibrate, the bass seemed to be following the lure and hitting it on the pause.

The winning non-boater was long time bass absentee Zach Kronk. Not having lost any of his polished skills, Zach was actually leading the entire 120-man field after Saturday’s two sessions. The only non-boater to score his full limit, he finished with 6/6 fish and a total weight of 7.57kg – almost 2kg ahead of his closest rival.

A popular choice for the weekend, Zach also used a G.Loomis 783 Crankbait rod matched to a Shimano Chronarch spooled with 20lb Spiderwire Stealth and 16kg Water King leader.

Throwing a Jackall TN60 in Gold Shiner, he would cast towards the bank with a fast retrieve at first, and then slowed the retrieve to keep the lure just above the bottom.

Several good size bass were weighed in over the weekend, but the Daiwa Big Bass prize finally was awarded to David Young’s solitary 2.7kg fish. Caught in 6ft of water up the back of Wyangy Creek, the bass took a Jackall TN60 in Golden Carp thrown on yet another G.Loomis Crankbait rod.

All eyes are now pointed towards the final qualifying event of the year, the Daiwa Lake Glenbawn BASS Major. With several big names anglers on AFC duties, the AOY title is up for grabs, with 2006 GF winner Tim Morgan currently one point in front of 2006 AOY champ Carl Jocumsen.

For more information, log onto www.australianbass.com.au or call ABT on 07 3268 7958.