Darren ‘Dizzy’ Borg, the 2005 NSW Lowrance BREAM Angler of the Year, claimed his first BREAM Qualifier title, securing the victory on his home waters of the Clarence River.

Compiling a 10/10, 6.04kg bag, Borg was thrilled to say the least. With a clean sweep of prizes and Sponsor Bonuses, Borg won $3000 for first place, $200 for the Mercury Bonus, a free Grand Final entry for the Angler Rods Sponsor’s Bonus and a $500 TT Prize Pack. It was due reward for a well planned game plan.

With his game plan written down on a palm card to keep him on track, Borg fished deep water locations for the tournament, eventually finding the larger fish at the Browns Rocks area in the lower reaches of the river.

Opting for a bigger bait, Borg used a 3” Berkley Gulp Shrimp in nuclear chicken colour rigged on a 1/16oz TT jighead.

“I worked the plastic with the current, hopping it just enough so it didn’t snag,” Borg explained.

“My largest fish didn’t come on a soft plastic though, but instead fell to a Tiemco Sinking Minnow hard body,” he said.

The secret to success was the addition of Dizzy Wax, in spice flavour, that was added every second cast to his soft plastic and hard-bodied lures.

The outfits that delivered Borg his first BREAM victory were comprised of Angler Rods DCX 840 and 841 spin rods, matched with Quantum Energy PT10 reels, spooled with 4lb Berkley Fireline, and topped off with 4 and 6lb Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon leader.

Champion Non-Boater for the weekend was Wayne Lodington who compiled the only full limit for the division, a 10/10, 4.73kg bag, that scored him a swag of prizes including a Millerod Bream Buster rod, Shimano Aeronos spin reel and a Berkley shirt.

Fishing the Broadwater both days, Lodington cracked the pattern, finding his fish under a school of baitfish that was pinpointed by birds working the surface. Using a 3” Atomic Jerk Minnow in CPH (Carolina pumpkin holographic) colour rigged on the new 1/8oz Gamakatsu Lead Belly jighead, Lodington sunk the plastic horizontally through the suspended bait to the bream waiting below.

To compile his tournament winning limit Lodington used a Samurai S002X 7ft rod matched to a Pflueger President reel, spooled with 4lb braid and 8lb fluorocarbon leader to catch his fish.

The Go-So Big Bream title was won by Anthony Wishey, who claimed the prize with a 1.05kg specimen lured from the Lawrence and Brushgrove area of the Clarence River. Using a 3” Berkley Bass Minnow rigged on a 1/32oz Nitro jighead, Wishey presented his lure deep into the shade, and tight against the reedy bank to tempt his $500 kicker fish.

The Reef Science Display Tank was a hit with the local community of Maclean, with some spectators travelling from as far away as Coffs Harbour to see the action over the weekend. ABT would like to thank all the local sponsors for their support of the event, including Maclean Services Club, Maclean Bowls Club, Maclean Cellars, Corbett Earthmoving, and Paul and Sheryl from Big River Bait and Tackle.

For more information visit www.bream.com.au or phone ABT on (07) 3268 3992 (b/h) or 0427 32 64 64 (b/h). – ABT