ON A day that saw anglers battle bad weather and undersize fish at Cressbrook Dam, Withcott resident and local carpenter Zach Kronk (2/2, 2.89kg) won his first ever ABT event, defeating a very large BASS Electric field. Kronk easily relegated Kerry Ehrlich (2/2, 1.59kg) to second place, on his path to victory.

Kronk fished the upper reaches of the dam, making the long run to the Cressbrook Creek, and the well known Eagles Nest area. This was a decision many anglers chose not to make, with increasing winds predicted for later in the day.

Targeting the weed beds on the more gentle sloping points, Zach’s technique involved casting jighead-rigged soft plastics down the face of the weedline, and working them back with a standard jigging retrieve.

“The important thing was to find the best expanses of weed,” he explained, “and once located the fish were pretty much forthcoming”.

The approach saw Kronk land over 30 fish for the morning, with the majority taken in the first hour of the session.

He used a Slider Grub, in pumpkinseed, rigged on a 1/4oz Gamakatsu Flathead jighead. His outfit consisted of a G.Loomis GL2 7’ Popping Rod and Daiwa Regal Z 1500 reel, loaded with 4lb Fireline and topped with a length of 12lb Nitlon as leader.

Second-placed Kerry Ehrlich also favoured Kronk’s choice of location. Ehrlich focused on steeper sloping points to find success in the more substantial weed bed formations.

Ehrlich used a jighead-rigged soft plastic to fill out his bag for the day, casting it up against the weedbeds and allowing it to drop right to the bottom before beginning a jigging retrieve.

Kronk’s largest fish for the day bricked him in the weeds, but he was eventually able to coax it out and into the landing net. It didn’t come easy; it took around 10 minutes to extract it from the sanctuary of the weeds.

The addition of this 1.69kg fish to Kronk’s bag earned him the Big Bass prize for the tournament.

As with all BASS Electric events for the year, the first five place getters qualify for the Electric Convention at the end of the season. The next qualifying event – Round 8 of the BASS Electric Series – will be held at Toonumbar Dam on June 13. For more information contact Danny Robinson on _____________, or for information on any of the BASS Pro or BREAM events contact Simon Goldsmith, (07) 3268 3992 b/h. – ABT