Team Humminbird followed up on their form from last year’s clean sweep in BASS Megabucks to finish on top at Lake Borumba with 12/12, 14.73kg.

With plenty of limits making their way to weigh master, it was AFC duo Tim Morgan and Carl Jocumsen who landed the heaviest bag of the three session skins event with 4/4, 5.97kg.

Runners up were, Matthew Mott and Paul Cooper of team Minn Kota (12/12, 13.51kg) and Lowrance’s Gavin Dunne and Dave Young (12/12, 11.34kg).

Twenty-two teams competed at the 2007 event; let’s look at each session and what techniques were employed to grasp the $1500 cheque on offer.

WINNER: bassin.com.au (Justin Scott/Dan Ryan) 4/4 fish for 4.730kg.

This team used a G.Loomis 783 Crankbait rod matched to a Daiwa Steez reel and a G.Loomis Mossyback rod matched to a Team Daiwa Z baitcaster reel. Both were spooled with 10lb braid and 10lb Nitlon leader.

Fishing the gentle sloping banks before the timber, the duo struck early with three fish in the first 20 minutes. Throwing a combination of colours in the popular Jackall TN60 including matt black, HL ayu and bone, the pair worked on a procedure of Scott slow rolling the bottom and Ryan working the top of the water column.

“My retrieve consisted of four winds then a pause till the lure hit the bottom and then continuing this pattern, whilst Dan performed a constant roll back to the boat,” Justin explained.

“Once the sun hit the water on the banks the bites stoped, so we moved to the shady area of the timber and upgraded to our biggest bass of the morning,” he continued.

WINNER: Team Humminbird (Tim Morgan/Carl Jocumsen) 4/4 fish for 5.970kg.

Both used the same rod reel combination of an Ian Miller Blademaster Lite Spiralwrap matched to a Shimano Mag50 Chronarch spooled with 10lb Berkley Fireline and 14lb Unitika leader.

Working the rock walls with the soft Jackall Mask Vibe 60’s, Tim chose black while Carl opted for ayu. As the depth varied, when deeper than 30ft the team threw the lures parallel to the bank and when shallower casted towards the bank hopping the lure down the slope.

“The key was to keep the lure in the strikezone,” Morgan explained.

“Keeping the line tight, the bites came on the top of the hop, where you had to strike. Most of the fish ran to deeper water, but we had two bust offs when the fish made it back to the snags,” he continued.

Scoring two big bass of 1.8kg and 1.795kg, the pair are still arguing who landed the bigger of the two.

WINNER: Power and Money (Wayne Gordon/Ross Murray) 4/4 fish for 4.925kg.

After failing to land a legal fish in the second session, the Power and Money team were out to redeem themselves in the third and final skin. Starting in the bay near the boat ramp the team quickly secured their limit using Jackall TN60s.

Gordon used a G.Loomis Megabass 6’6” rod with a Daiwa Viento reel spooled with 14lb braid and 14lb Nitlon leader. Murray chose to use an Ian Miller Blademaster Lite rod matched to a Daiwa Fuego reel spooled with 8lb Stren braid and 16lb Yamatoyo fluorocarbon.

Moving to the entrance of the timber the pair found a flat in 20ft of water that dropped off to 30ft. While scoring plenty of yellowbelly on the flat, the duo found some good bass in the deeper water and upgraded several times.

Swapping to Jackall Mask Vibs in ghost black and crystal shad, the retrieve consisted on several short sharp jerks once in the strike zone to entice the hungry bass.

Finishing on top and pocketing a handy $2750 for the midweek event, both Morgan and Jocumsen enjoyed themselves out on the water.

Moving into the BASS Pro Grand Final both anglers felt that the time on the water helped them relax and perhaps find some form going into the grand final. – ABT

Results