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Gamakatsu Teams Series Round 1
  |  First Published: December 2008



A warm summer greeted 64 anglers in 32 teams for Round 1 of the Gamakatsu Teams Series. The Sports Fishing Magazines Clarence River event once again had anglers in anticipation of catching that big bag, and of course winning big prizes.

The pre fish for most competitors proved successful and some good-sized fish were being reported. However, on the event day the bigger fish decided to head to the hills and prove harder to catch then expected.

The popular spots were the usual Browns Rocks and the mix of walls on the lower parts of the river. For most teams getting the fish on the day involved sifting through all the small fish to catch those legals.

With over $7800 worth of prizes and a whole heap of giveaways, nearly every team in the field walked away with close to their entry fee in prizes. Also thrown in was a great free meal from the pub, and drinks were distributed out on the water and back at the weigh-in site.

There was a total of 132 fish caught with an average weight of 399g per fish; even though the fish were small their weight was good, indicating a healthy Clarence River system.

The winning bag was caught by Brenton Smith and Darren Painter of Team Big River Bait & Tackle 2, and weighed in at 2.99kg. They caught their quarry from the Browns Rocks area using Shake ‘n’ Bake blades and had to tough it out amongst all the small fish to catch their bag.

Their technique was simple but obviously effective. Positioning the lure just reaching the bottom with little movement, the fish would produce the smallest bumps and then load up the rod. They did not find any hot bites during the day, but rather just slugged it out and did not move from Browns Rocks.

Second place was earned by Brett Young and Mark Mulligan from the second team of Big River Bait & Tackle. Their bag weighed 2.745kg and was caught off middle wall. Like their team mates, they used Shake ‘n’ Bake blades with a simular technique. Most of their fish came early and they tried for the rest of the session to find a kicker fish but to no avail.

Big bream award was tied, with Team Gimp & Shrimp and Team Pfluger both catching a good bream of 820g. They shared the $250 cash and the $250 Flow-Rite voucher. Team Gimp & Shrimp caught their fish “up one of the creeks”, the team was very coy about their catch – must be because they want to fish it at the Classic Grand Final in a few weeks. Team Pfluger caught theirs in the last 10 minutes on the walls near Yamba, using a Gulp Shrimp with its tail cut off to expose the hook more to get those timid bites.

Kids Big Bag was won by Jay Gillespie from team Green Machine with a two fish weight of 1.085kg. Jay won over $250 worth of products from Gamakatsu, Atomic Guzzlerz and Atomic Hardz.

The next event will see the Evinrude E-Tec Ballina Round tie up with the Ballina River Festival. Having a tank and public weigh-in during the festival should prove great fun for the family with rides, bands and an assortment of other entertainment held at the site. – Gamakatsu

PlaceTeam NameAngler 1Angler 2F W(kg) Prizes
1Big River Bait and Tackle 2Brenton SmithDarren Painter5 2.990 $750 + Prizes
2Big River Bait and TackleBrett YoungMark Mulligan5 2.745 $420 + Prizes
3Gimp and ShrimpGlen SturrockAndrew Taylor5 2.485 $300 + Prizes
4Nitro Bass BoatsScott ButlerNathan Johns5 2.455 $150 + Prizes
5Anders Moore AccountingRod WalmseyG Byrne5 2.380 $100 + Prizes
6PfluegerStephen WilsonGavin Dunne5 2.375 $60 + Prizes
7On A BudgetScott LaneAnthony Zappia5 2.310 $60 + Prizes
8FishbrainArtie ReinstraMatt Bacic5 2.260 $60 + Prizes
9Logan River MarineCorey TarrAndrew Orley5 2.165 $60 + Prizes
10Yamba Bait and TackleMick LeaveyBen Lockwood5 2.070 $60 + Prizes
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