The Daiwa Bassin’ Qld Series continues to throw new twists and turns on the tournament scene. Round 5 of the series showed that the sheer size of the Lake Somerset bass can alter the playing field for the angler of the year title dramatically.

The turn-out was impressive, with 114 competitors in 63 boats including 19 juniors and sub-juniors fishing.

The fog that greeted anglers on Saturday morning looked like pea soup and the start was delayed two hours, but eventually the flotilla began making its way under idle, cautiously through the morning’s grey veil.

As the fog lifted around 10am many were surprised to see just how close they were to other boats. There was a last minute flurry as word started getting around as to who was catching what and where, and those with empty wells strove to catch up.

The Saturday night Bassination Session saw a host of prizes for each session given out. The anglers gathered to hear how the leaders had done it, and of course to take away a prize or two. The master of the ice jig, Trevor Stead and Dave Hislop, gave a clinic for those interested in the technique and a review of the various jigs on the market proving interesting for beginners and veterans alike.

The standout performance came from Martin ‘Harry’ Potter who was seen to throw his hands up, somewhere between bemused and bewildered, and say, “I caught 14 good fish on that spot and there was no-one near me”. His 4.235kg bag was enough to pull him into second place with 8.47kg overall.

Scott Dakin’s single fish was enough to bring his total to 8.44kg for third place. A happy, but slightly disappointed, Matthew Mott brought in a single fish for a fantastic 10.1kg total and first place.

Taking out the juniors with an impressive 8.32kg was Corey Cooper. And with a result that would have taken third in the seniors at 8.65kg, young Charlee Carey emerged as sub-junior champion. With results like that, if Charlee ever takes up the fly she will have trouble escaping the Crazy Charlee moniker.

Monica Knight once again topped the female anglers. The encouragement award winners seemed just as happy as these high achievers however, particularly Greg Brewer who took away the fantastic EvaKool Icebox. – Paul Martyna