2023 ABT Tournament Angler Guide

ALOHA

STYLE: WORLD CUP

calendar of events

Tournament Angler Guide

Daiwa BREAM Series

Qualifier

Date State Location

Round 1 4-5 February WA Swan River; Perth

Round 2 14-15 February VIC Gippsland Lakes; Metung

Round 3 18-19 February VIC Mallacoota

Round 4 6-7 May NSW Hawkesbury River; Pittwater

Round 5 3-4 June NSW Lake Macquarie; Wangi Wangi

Round 6 17/18 June WA Blackwood River

Round 7 22/23 July QLD Gladstone

Round 8 12-13 August QLD Gold Coast; Southport

Grand Final 10-12 November NSW Port Stephens; Soldiers Point Australian Open 2-4 May NSW Sydney Harbour; Drummoyne Samaki Queensland Open 24/25 June QLD Gold Coast / Moreton Bay

13 Fishing BASS Pro Series

Qualifier

Date State Location

Round 1 8-9 February VIC Lake Blue Rock Round 2 11-12 February VIC Glenmaggie Dam

Round 3 20-21 May QLD Boondooma Dam Round 4 23-24 May QLD Somerset Dam Round 5 9-10 September NSW Hunter River Round 6 12-13 September NSW Lake St Clair Grand Final 28-29 October QLD Boondooma Dam BASS Australian Open 22-23 April NSW Clarence River

Mercury Avator BASS Electric Series

Qualifier

Date State Location

Round 1 26 Feb NSW Richmond River Round 2 26 March NSW Clarence River

Round 3 7 May QLD Lake Macdonald Round 4 20 August QLD Hinze Dam Grand Final 8 October QLD Wyaralong Dam

Zerek BARRA Series

Event

Date State Location

Round 1 29-30 September QLD Lake Tinaroo

Round 2 1 October QLD Lake Tinaroo

Round 3 23 November QLD Teemburra Dam

Round 4 24 November QLD Kinchant Dam

Round 5 26 November QLD Peter Faust Dam

Round 6 28-29 November QLD Peter Faust Dam

BARRA Australian Open 24-26 February QLD Awoonga Dam

2023 West Australian Bream Classics

Event

Date Location

Boat Round 1 1-2 April Nornalup Inlet; Walpole Boat Round 2 4 June Peel Inlet; Mandurah Boat Round 3 15 October Swan River; Perth Kayak Round 1 12 March Collie River; Eaton Kayak Round 2 6-7 May Blackwood River; Augusta Kayak Round 3 15 October Swan River; Perth Kayak Grand Final 4-5 November Blackwood River; Augusta Boat Grand Final 2-3 December Oyster Harbour, Albany

2023 Vic Bream Classics

Event Date Location

Round 1 25-26 March Marlo Round 2 6-7 May Mallacoota Round 3 17-18 June Hopkins Round 4 26-27 August Metung Round 5 14-15 October Nelson Grand Final 25-26 November Mallacoota

www.vicbreamclassics.com.au

Facebook: WA Bream Classics

BREAM QUEENSLAND OPEN abt abt

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES

All ABT species have momentum in 2023

rounds that we have had in the past on the Hawkesbury, Richmond and Clarence Rivers and offers anglers new challenges.

It seems that after the big 2022 for ABT, which was a serious catch-up year for all of us post-COVID lockdowns, 2023 promises to carry on the momentum. As this year’s Tournament Angler Guide in being finalised, entries are just being opened and they are pouring in!

ABT’s Tournament Director, Nicholle Smith has set 100% of this year’s calendar and I reckon it looks pretty good.

The 13 Fishing BASS Pro Series consists of three road trips this year with a new ABT arena. There’s two events in Victoria, two in NSW and two in Queensland. The Hunter River promises to be as fun as the other river

The popular ANZAC Day weekend will see the Rapala BASS Australian Open return to the Clarence River in northern NSW. The prestigious, boater-only, 100% payback event will feature live scoreboards and the best coverage we can assemble.

Daiwa Australia are back headlining the BREAM Series and the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open. The Open returns to a three days on Sydney Harbour format, which means that the Hawkesbury BREAM event can happen that weekend.

It allows anglers from all across the country to travel once and fish twice … and we even hear that there’s a strong Victorian contingent coming up this year.

The BREAM Series features 8 events, with the two West Australian events tailored to leave several local anglers a great chance of qualifying for the BREAM Grand Final at Port Stephens in November.

Samaki, now a company that’s based in South East Queensland, still owns the BREAM Queensland Open and this live-scoreboard event is destined to be watched by breamers nationwide.

And, of course, the BARRA Tour continues to go from strength to strength.

The Venom Rods BARRA Australian Open shifts to February and locals are expecting record fields and payouts on Lake Awoonga.

The Zerek BARRA Series hasn’t changed at all. The format was a winner last year and rumour has it that there’s another handful

of International talent looking to compete this year. Either way, the series spans from Mackay to Cairns and visits tried and proven impoundments.

My #1 piece of advice for 2023? Get off the fence and enter. If you’ve been thinking about it, there’s no better time to give it a go and start your tournament fishing journey. Remember - it’s only you versus the fish at the end of the day. You just win some great prizes if you rise to the challenge the best.

Congratulations to the Grand Final Champions and Anglers of the Year for 2022. We gave away over $100,000 worth of boats, motors, trailers, batteries and electronics and nothing changed this year.

Finally, a big thank-you to Lowrance, who were the only 2022 sponsor that’s not continuing their journey

ABT TOURNAMENT SERIES APP

Practice makes perfect when using the ABT Tournament Series App.

The app is available to download through both the Google Play and Apple stores. A practice event has been set up for you to enter and get yourself familiar with the app functions and features.

with us. We appreciate your support over the years and you’re welcome back

at any time. We will see you on the water in 2023.

ABT Steve Morgan

Main: ABT BARRA Tour events draw anglers from far and wide to share amazing fishing experiences with their teammates.

Above: Braden Schuch won the BASS Pro Grand Final on the strength of his Day 1 catch. Brad Hodges is the Victorian man to beat at all Victorian BREAM events. He won a boat at Mallacoota in 2022. Peter Bostock added another BASS Electric Final win to his CV last year.

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TOURNAMENT LEVEL FISHING TACKLE

DESIGN - INNOVATION - EXCELLENCE

Atomic tackle is a 100% Australian owned tackle company making rods, lures and line. Instrumental in the early bream tournament scene, Atomic have grown to include products suitable for all levels of tournament fishing. With a guaranteed swimming action, and a huge choice, you can rely on Atomic when you absolutely have to catch fish.

BREAM BREAM RAPALA

Best Rapala bass baits 2023 - ask the pros

RAPALA AUSTRALIA Matt Osley

When it comes to fishing bass tournaments it can be a daunting process choosing the right lure or technique to use on any given day. Rapala has long been synonymous with quality and the ability to produce results in the tournament scene. I have spoken to some of the leading tournament anglers in the bass scene to find out what their favourite techniques and Rapala lures are for fishing in the ABT BASS events.

TOPWATER

Tim Morgan, former AFC Champion, is a huge fan of topwater fishing.

“It doesn’t matter what fish you are chasing the most exciting way to catch them is off the top.

There is nothing like getting on the water at first light with glassed out conditions and working your lure back over a shallow flat, next to a snag or off a weed edge with every twitch anticipating that aggressive top water explosion that gets the adrenaline going. Prime time for top water is early morning or late afternoon,

but you can catch fish on them all day, especially in overcast conditions.

I will always throw topwater when I can in a tournament as I believe that it is a great way to target big fish when the conditions are right.

Traditionally only a few of the dams visited in the ABT were good for topwater, but now with the inclusion of several river rounds it is going to play a much more important role. No matter what the topwater situation. Below are a few of my go-to topwater lures that have produced results in a tournament situation.”

SKITTER POP 7cm

The original Skitter Pop has not changed since its release in 1998 and would be my confidence topwater bait for chasing bass.

It is such a versatile lure and can be fished several ways. If you want to cover a lot of ground you can do a long cast, hold your rod tip up high and walk the dog back with a slow wind and slight rod twitches. This will usually encourage very aggressive strikes and depending on how hard you twitch the rod the cup face can either spit out a small amount of water for a more

subtle presentation or a large amount of water if the fish are more active.

As the sun rises the fish will hold closer to the structure and in shade pockets. The Skitter Pop is also perfect for chasing these fish as you can cast as close as possible to where you think the fish are holding and let the lure sit there for a few seconds then give the rod tip a twitch, pause again and give another twitch this will keep the lure in the strike zone longer and entice the bass to hit.

I think one of the main reasons the Skitter Pop is so good is that it is made of balsa and is very natural and can get even the most

heavily pressured fish to bite.

MAXRAP

WALK’N ROLL

10cm

A lot of people will look at this lure and think it is too big for bass, but it has been a great producer over the past couple of years.

I really like using this lure in dams when I want to cover a lot of water as it is tail weighted , weighs 13g and casts like a bullet. It has a really easy walk-the-dog action and the small cup on the face spits water as it walks. On the pause it sits almost vertical in the water a has a great hook up rate if a fish hits it on the pause. This lure is particularly deadly in the northern impoundments where it imitates larger

baitfish like garfish, bony bream, or terrestrial animals like lizards.

BX SKITTER FROG 5cm

The BX Skitter Frog has been out for a couple of years now and it is the lure to use when the weed or

lilies are too thick to throw anything else.

With the upturned double hook on the back, it will effortlessly glide over lilies and weed beds allowing you to pause the lure in the gaps before wind over the lilies again and into the next gap. It will allow you to target fish other anglers wont cast at.

You can also fish the lure well in open water with a constant wind which will have the lure dive under come back up spiting water before diving again and the rubber skirt on the back will pulse in the water and look like frog legs kicking. Some of the top water hits I have had on these are unbelievable.

JERKBAITS

Jerkbait fishing is one of Matthew Langford’s, AFC Champion Angler and

Main: Rapala’s Tim Morgan lives the brand - it’s rare for him to throw anything that’s not a part of the Rapala family of products.

Above: The original Skitter Pop has not changed since its release in 1998. It is such a versatile lure and can be fished several ways.

The BX Skitter Frog is the lure to use when the weed or lilies are too thick to throw anything else.

BARRA BARRA

Guide, favourite styles for chasing Australian bass.

“The anticipation and strike on a jerkbait from an angry bass is insane and this style of fishing can often be very productive.

When it comes to fishing jerk baits in bass tournaments, I often rely on two models, the Rapala X-Rap 06 and the Rapala RipStop. Both have earned their sports in the tackle box by producing quality bass in tournament situations.”

structure.

A long cast and a slow crank to get the bait down to the desired depth, with a succession of small twitches and pauses of the rod tip is perfect to draw a strike from a hungry predator lurking up shallow.

I’ll normally fish the X-Rap around shallow points, rocks, weed or flooded grass. The greatest attribute of the X-Rap is its ability to get numbers of fish, but the best thing, especially

Tournament Angler Guide

is clear but if the water is stained bright colours like ‘Clown’ really stand out and gets the bites when needed.

SQUARE BILLED CRANKS

Mick Johnson –Tournament Angler says that square billed crankbaits have been around for a long time and they are still a favourite go-to bait for anglers looking to fish heavy structure with a hard bodied lure or those wanting to cover a lot of water in a short amount of time. These square billed cranks can be used in nearly all fishing arenas, including lakes, rivers, impoundments, and estuaries with great success.

“When choosing the ideal square billed crank bait, I look forfour things; structure deflecting ability, castability, buoyancy, and of course the lure action.”

BX Brat

The Rapala BX Brat ticks all the boxes!

fish this lure confidently without the fear of getting tangled up and hooking all the “wrong” things!

need a colour that silhouettes.

The RipStop is a great jerkbait because you can really rip the bait during the retrieve to get it to act like a startled or wounded baitfish.

X RAP 6

When I first started fishing for bass a friend of mine told me that I would win a tournament one day on an X-Rap 06 because he had so much confidence in them. That was about 10 years ago.

When I first started fishing with lures, X-Rap jerkbaits were what you thew if you wanted to catch a fish, whether it was a barramundi, bass or saratoga

Now that I fish predominantly for Australian bass, nothing has changed. The profile of the lure can mean the difference between catching and not and the X-Rap has that fish catching profile.

For the southern impoundments in NSW and Vic the smaller X-Rap 06 is a perfect representation of a small baitfish, whether it’s a gudgeon, smelt, gar or juvenile redfin the X-Rap 06 is my go-to when I’m fishing down south. Add an incredible darting, twitchy, wounded baitfish action and you have the whole package.

Generally, if I’m fishing an X-Rap, I’m fishing it shallow and the best time to fish shallow is when the water is cold. Jerk baiting in winter is the best time to do it and I’m always fishing it tight to the edge or tight to

in a tournament is it draws out the bigger fish too.

THE RAPALA RIPSTOP

Like the X-Rap 06 is the RipStop and the Ripstop Deep. I tend to use these baits in our northern dams here in QLD where the bait is somewhat bigger to those of the in the southern impoundments. Here I’m trying to imitate a larger bait fish like a garfish, bony or giant gudgeon.

The RipStop is a great jerkbait because you can really rip the bait during the retrieve to get it to act like a startled or wounded baitfish. Again, I will use the RipStop over the cooler months and target, rock walls, weed beds or submerged trees. A long cast followed by brief wind to get the bait down to the desired depth followed by sharp and erratic twitches is the key to draw a strike.

The great thing about the RipStop is that it comes in a deep version as well. So, when that sun has risen, I will tie on the deeper version and target the steeper rock walls. Using Garmin LiveScope I can also target the tops of deeper trees to draw the bass out from their ambush positions. They come in a variety of colours, I prefer the natural colours when the water

Firstly, the weight of the Rapala BX Brat adds to its appeal. Weighing in at 10g it is the perfect lure to throw on either a baitcaster or spin outfit. Long and accurate casts are very important and allow anglers to target tight structure and keep their lure in the strike-zone longer. This weight also adds to the stability in the water, keeping it from becoming unbalanced even on the quickest retrieves, making it fast and hassle free when searching for productive areas.

The key to successful crankbaiting is making sure the lure is hitting cover or deflecting off some form of structure to initiate a strike. The Rapala BX Brat’s square bib gives it the ability to hit and deflect around structure up to 6ft down, allowing anglers to

Being made with a premium Balsa wood inner core and hard plastic shell the BX Brat’s construction enhances the action and buoyancy of this crankbait. This unique buoyancy gives it the ability to stay upright as it “crawls” over cover without snagging up making it perfectly suited for working in and around rocks, lay down timber, standing tree tops and even weed-beds.

Its flat sides and wide action not only gives off erratic flashes and tail kicks, it displaces a lot of water for a lure of its size giving off that wounded bait fish feel.

Colour can play a big part in getting the bites in certain situations and the BX Brat comes in a wide range of attractor and natural colours and even darker colours for when the water is discoloured, or when you

Being able to cover water quickly, accurately and hassle free is paramount when in a time limited tournament situation and throwing the Rapala BX Brat is a great way to do it! Recently at Somerset Dam the BX Brat came into its own when the fish were up in the shallows, and you needed a lure that was going to get up there and not get snagged. The BX Brat was that lure and resulted in some large bass hitting the deck (Editor’s note: Mick won that event).

DEEP CRANKING

If someone asks Mitchell Petty, Tournament Angler, what his go-to tournament bass lure was it would be hard to go past the Rapala DT (Dives-To) range.

The Rapala DT crankbaits come in a range of different models that dive to a particular depth dictated by their model number. A DT20 will dive to 20ft where as a DT08 will dive to 8ft on the cast which is incredibly

helpful if you need to target suspending fish or structure at a particular depth. Built utilising premium Balsa wood the DT range not only behaves differently from other crankbaits on the market, but it also has very different underwater acoustics as well.

Crankbaits are still one of the most successful lures in the bass tournament scene, particularly in the United States and consistently win tournaments. It’s not hard to see why Australian bass also love crunching these lures when you see them in the water.

The action of the Rapala DT range can be attributed to 2 main features, the Rapala DT lip design and the complex balsa wood body construction.

The ultra-thin polycarbonate lip of the DT lure allows the lure to dive exceptionally fast keeps them in the strike zone longer meaning more time the lure stays in front of the fish.

The DT Series may look simple enough on the outside but under that quality Rapala finish is a balsa wood construction featuring a combination of carefully placed internal weights, reinforced bib and slight internal rattle that is perfectly tuned for maximum sound performance that bass have no trouble honing in on. Even the design of the slender tail creates the ultimate swimming action.

The other key feature of balsa wood is the unusually high degree of buoyancy. This allows for an effective, tight, wobbling action. This unique action makes the DT a great choice especially in cold water to trigger those lethargic fish to strike.

Here in Australia the DT range consists of 2 models the DT20 and the DT08 and both can be very effective in different situations.

When crankbaiting, fishing structure and making contact with the structure is essential. Deflections and erratic

For the southern impoundments in NSW and Vic the smaller X-Rap 06 is a perfect representation of a small baitfish.

The key to successful crankbaiting is making sure the lure is hitting cover or deflecting off some form of structure to initiate a strike.

The Rapala DT crankbaits come in a range of different models that dive to a particular depth dictated by their model number.

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lure movements from the bait hitting a rock, stump, or any other structure can initiate a bass to strike. The DT range however is also deadly in open water and many tournament bags have been caught crankbaiting open water schools of bass.

Being able to look at your sounder and see the depth suspended fish are

another rod all day.

METAL SPOONS

Slow rolling metal spoons is one of Mick Horn, Tournament Angler, favourite ways to target Australian bass:

This technique has led to some of the best sessions and landed some of my biggest bass to date. There are a few different styles of metal

sitting at and grabbing a crankbait that will dive to those fish is very useful.

The ability for crank baits to work year-round is their drawcard and a reason you should have one tied on a rod every time you head out in search of bass. One downside to crank baiting is it is very addictive, you won’t want to pick up

spoons on the market and Rapala has a few of the right models to cover all situations when fishing for bass in tournaments.

My favorite spoons come from the Storm stable, The Koika, The Rocker and the newer Storm Trick Metal. These three spoons have a quicker fall to other spoons on the market however still

TOURNAMENT MUST HAVES

produce the bite triggering flutter on the drop. They are also highly versatile for spoons allowing anglers to use them at a variety of different depths throughout the water column. Whether they are sitting close to the bottom or suspended on a flat or off a point you can let these sink quickly to the desired depth and work them in or through the schools.

The Koika, Rocker and Trick Metal all have a slightly different profiles and will work better in different scenarios. They all can be worked with multiple hops varying from small hops to long draws and even erratic, vertical style hops. Remember everyday will be different depending on the activity level and reaction of the fish so let them tell you what the preferred action will be.

My most productive retrieve would consist of casting these out as far as possible and letting them sink to the bottom. Make sure you are paying attention to the line on the fall as the flutter action of these spoons will often get bitten on the initial drop so engage the reel if you see any tick in the line or the line speed up.

Once the spoon has hit bottom, I like to start the retrieve with a couple of lifts then go into a slow roll through the school. If you feel like the spoon is above the school let the lure

fall back down with an open bail arm and repeat back to the boat. The speed of the retrieve can be a governing factor in getting bites, and at times a burn and kill retrieve can be deadly. Again, every day will be different so mix it up and find out which one gets them fired up to eat these spoons.

The other spoon that is landing me some serious bass lately is the Rapala Nauvo Spoon. The Nauvo comes in two sizes an 18g and 37g model. These spoons have a larger surface area and have a wider, slower flutter on the drop which can call those bigger fish from some distance.

This technique is a lot slower to reach the bottom due to the wider flutter holding the spoon in the strike zone longer than other spoons on the market.

The Technique is similar to the Storm spoons, however I add longer draws on the lifts as the fall is when the bites come. The retrieve speed is also a lot slower due to the weight and tendency to swim towards the surface on the wind. Remember with this lure watch the line on the fall as bass will absolutely crush this spoon on the fall.

Throwing spoons can be a very productive technique at times and a must in any tournament angler’s repertoire. There is no better lure for covering open water more efficiently to find those active schools.

get bitten on the initial drop.

The Nauvo Spoons have a larger surface area and have a wider, slower flutter on the drop which can call those bigger fish from some distance.

The action of the Rapala DT range can be attributed to 2 main features, the Rapala DT lip design and the complex balsa wood body construction.

Make sure you are paying attention to the line on the fall as the flutter action of these spoons will often

Bluefin Boats has been an ABT supporter for over a decade. You may remember the Bluefin Estuary Pro as setting the standard in small tournament boats in this time.

Bluefin are now proud of their AlloyCraft Bass Pro Series that look, ride and fish like a true mid-sized tournament rig.

Designing the ultimate bream quiver

I’ve been a die-hard tournament bream angler since fishing my first event in 2008. Designing INFEET for Daiwa Australia was my chance to create a dream bream quiver and arm anglers with a specific range of rods purposely designed for the techniques that dominate the tournament trail.

After many hours of planning, research, and testing, we’ve delivered a line of rods that now serve as a mainstay for many tournament and recreational anglers alike. In this piece, I will run you through the behind the scenes on the design of the INFEET rod family, with a few sneakpeeks at what might be in store for ABT’ers in 2023.

Research and The Brains Trust

The first step in designing any new product is to talk to fellow anglers. Luckily at Daiwa, we have some great brains to consult for that very purpose.

Initially I got together with Kris Hickson and Mark Crompton to discuss their go-to techniques and what characteristics of rods they preferred for each action. From there, I considered my own preferences and experience and put pen to

paper on an initial INFEET rod range. As you could imagine, even from such a small sample size we each had our own personal preferences and ideas.

The next step was to take that range and expand the brains trust, bringing in experience from all angling backgrounds. This included consulting Kayakers like Daiwa anglers Dale Baxter

and Darren Weda, as well as predominantly landbased anglers, non-boaters and more, as we wanted to accommodate different types of fishing techniques and features to suit.

This is also an everevolving process – even after the rods are out, I continue to gather feedback from end users and our pro-team. Even after fishing these

rods for almost four years I’ve got my own ideas on how to make them even better. That’s what’s so rewarding about product development – there’s always new technology to utilise, a new technique to cater to or even something as simple as hook keeper placement to refine and improve on. We’ve always got lots of things on the go

at Daiwa and rest-assured the learnings from this range are being implemented in future designs that we think ABT’ers will love!

Components, Technology and Design

This is by far the most fun and rewarding part of the process. This is where I can start spec’ing out the rods based on various technologies and

components available. The great thing about Daiwa is we own our factories – with six throughout the world that in a normal year I would visit at least annually. Owning our factories and having engineering and design teams both in those factories and in our head office in Tokyo means we create and develop components and technologies that nobody else has, which really sets us apart.

The grip and handle setup of the rods is a big focus for me. It’s what immediately catches the eye of consumers, and is a chance for me to implement something new and striking. The handle is also the area that is your direct contact to the rod, it needs to be comfortable and functional.

For the INFEET series, we designed a whole new reel seat from scratch, which was featured on the entry-level price point.

Almost all Daiwa Australia rods now use reel seats designed and developed by Daiwa, and they’re not something you’ll find on any other rods. Personally, I love the Neo Traditional reel seat which is used on the mid-price INFEET Z range, it’s a throwback to the old wooden reel seats featured on Heartland Z rods from Daiwa Japan but created with the newest carbon composite materials to create

DAIWA AUSTRALIA

Tom Slater

Main: The results of a heavy crankbait rod, 5lb straight through and a slow-rolled SPIKE 44 EXDR. Above: The colours of INFEET.

something incredibly lightweight.

When it comes to guides, the obvious choice is Fuji. But there’s more you can do than just stick to the basics. Take the INFEET Z range

from the tip section of the rods, without excessive cost increases that put the rods out of reach for all but a select few.

Now a few grams here or there might not seem like

Tournament Angler Guide

much, but when the whole rod weighs less than 85gm, a few grams could be 5% of the total weight we’ve just removed from the tip. Any time you can remove weight from a rod you increase its sensitivity. We employed a similar ‘Hybrid Guide Train’ principle with the flagship INFEET EX series where we opted for Fuji Titanium SiC guides as the largest three, then transitioned into our own carbon fibre AGS (Air Guide System) for the top 4-5 guides. Again, the aim here is to remove weight, and even with how light titanium is, AGS are lighter again, removing weight and increasing sensitivity.

From a design perspective, one of the distinctive characteristics of the INFEET range is the colouration based on the rod’s taper. This is something we thought would enable anglers to know at a glance what each rod was designed to do, without having to remember model numbers and associated techniques.

Blue and white colouration indicates a slow or regular taper rod, suited to lures that feature small treble hooks. For the most part, these rods excel at crankbait fishing and there are multiple options to

THE INFEET Z RANGE

641LFS: The 641LFS was the result of Daiwa angler Kris Hickson’s love affair with tight-cover fishing. At 6’4” in length, this rod excels in tight cover where accurate casts and manoeuvrability are paramount.

681LFS: The 681LFS is slightly softer than the shorter 641LFS and is more suited to floating structure like boats and jetties. The 6’8” length is the perfect length for underhand skip casting from the front decks of boats and is equally at home walking the banks of small creeks for bass or trout.

702LRS: Every good range needs an allrounder and the 702LRS is just that. The perfect blend of power and precision, this model can do it all. A progressive taper is your friend when fishing treble hooked baits.

712LFS: The 712LFS was designed to cater to two distinct techniques. One is twitching hardbodies, the other is fishing ultra-light plastics. It has a softer tip and longer length than most of the other rods catered to twitching a hardbody, so it is more at home where you need extra casting distance. For plastics, it’s sweet spot is 1-40-1/12th.

732ULFS: Purposely designed to fish a metal vibe, the 732ULFS is a lighter version of the popular 732LFS. So, the same great taper, just in an ultra-light power. This makes it an excellent blade rod and Steve Morgan has also fell in love with this model for Bent Minnows.

732LFS: The ultimate plastics rod. Whether it’s a grub or minnow, the 732LFS is the best choice. A fast responsive tip for precise twitches and extra length to take up slack on a strike. This is every plastics angler’s dream. Best suited to heavier plastics from 1-16-1/6oz.

742ULRS: A long-casting crankbait angler’s dream, the 742ULRS is one of our Daiwa team’s favourite models. An ultralight regular taper action is perfect for small light crankbaits and the use of titanium framed tip guides means this ultralight rod doesn’t feel like a noodle.

782LFS: A rod made famous by Steve Morgan and the Cranka Crab, the 782LFS is the second generation of ‘Crab Rod’ from Daiwa. Modelled off the original 782 Gekkabjin rod, the INFEET 782LFS improves upon the original by reducing the handle length, making it less cumbersome to impart action to your lure.

THE INFEET SK RANGE

6101LFS: A rod purposely designed to twitch hardbodies for black bream. No one can deny the adrenaline of getting slammed on a suspending jerkbait. The fast taper and shorter length make this rod perfect for tip down precise movements of small hardbodies. It’s also a great option for topwater lures or for skip casting soft plastics.

702ULRS: The rod designed around the INFEET KODACHI lure. Small ultralight lures require ultra-light rods. The SK 702ULRS is perfect for fishing small hardbodies like the KODACHI around boat hulls, bridges or flats. The soft taper keeps those small trebles pinned.

722LRS: A heavier ‘light’ rated crankbait rod, this is the rod for larger crankbaits like the SPIKE range or when cranking around nasty structure like breakwalls, seaway wash zones or snag-laden flats like the mouth of the Tambo.

732ULFS: Purposely designed to fish a metal vibe, the 732ULFS is a lighter version of the popular 732LFS. So, the same great taper, just in an ultra-light power. This makes it an excellent blade rod and Steve Morgan has also fell in love with this model for Bent Minnows.

THE INFEET EX RANGE

671MMLXS: Designed in collaboration with rack fishing specialist Kris Hickson, the 671MMLXS is the ultimate no-holds-barred rack rod. Built off the ever-popular Kingbolt action, this INFEET incarnation features an ever so slightly lighter tip, with an equally powerful butt section.

6101ULRS-ST: A interesting blend of a solid graphite fast tip section, with a moderate action ultralight blank makes the 6101ULRS-ST the undisputed finesse crankbait specialist.

702LFS: Arguably the most popular rod in each series, the all-rounder is the rod in which you build your quiver around. The 702LFS is the ‘do-everything’ rod but is particularly effective with a single hooked lure like a Bait Junkie 2.5” Grub on the end with a light jighead.

722LRS: A heavy-crankbait specialist, the 722LRS is the rod you’ll want to turn to when throwing larger sized crankbaits or when cranking around heavy cover such as wash zones or heavy reefs.

742LRS-ST: Another unique action made possible using a solid graphite tip; the 742LRS-ST is a true two-piece mid join rod making it the travelling angler’s perfect companion. The combination of a solid tip means this rod can cast even the lightest of lures such as unweighted plastics with ease.

752ULFS-ST: Steve Morgan’s brainchild for what a stick minnow rod should be. Long, soft but with responsiveness to feel timid bites on straight through fluorocarbon. Equally at home throwing small hardbodies or even unweighted soft plastics over flats.

for instance – from a price perspective there’s no way we could have outfitted the rod with an entire suite of titanium framed guides. So instead, we opted to use Titanium only on the smaller guides where the cost increase is less severe,

suit every budget. Certain rods will be better for certain types of cranks, whether that’s shallow or deep, or a small crank versus something a bit larger you might throw around for an upgrade.

Red and black colouration indicates a

fishing techniques. These are the rods I’d recommend to someone that only wants to get one rod, as you can adapt other areas of your tackle (like line choice) to make something work well across a wide variety of methods.

The blanks we developed for INFEET took a long time – with close to eighty different samples created until we had nailed each action. Each level of INFEET rod uses different graphite and various accompanying technologies. One that has made its way into a lot of Daiwa rods is the use of X45X Full Shield, which is used in both the mid-tier Z series, the new SK series and the flagship EX and LTD AGS models.

Daiwa’s proprietary 45-degree carbon technology, X45X Full Shield drastically reduces the rod blank twisting, which is especially important when casting a spin rod, as the line will want to ‘fall’ to the back side as you load the rod into the cast. If the rod can reduce that twisting force, it puts all the effort into the cast, resulting in much longer flight distances. One comment I hear often from non-boaters on my boat is they’re amazed at how far I’m casting. Most ask what braid I’m using and to be honest, it has a lot more to do with the rod than the line choice.

Models and Techniques

sticking with Stainless Steel frames on the larger guides. This gives us the benefit of shaving important weight

faster taper, where the tip folds over easily. These rods are generally a bit more universal and suit multiple

What we initially launched as the INFEET range consisted of seventeen models across three ranges,

Remember, red & black mean fast action - perfect for soft plastics.

Crankbaiting the wash calls for a slightly heavier rod.

each with distinct features and characteristics and designed to complement each other. Want a rod for fishing Cranka Crabs? Pick up the Z 782LFS. Want Steve Morgan’s stick

minnow rod? That’s what the EX 752ULFS-S is for. But all the ranges have a couple of versatile sticks to suit the basic one-two punch of a soft plastic and crankbait that so often dominate the ABT tour.

Since then, we’ve announced and released more models to cater to demand. We’ve released a series using the popular Fuji Skeleton reel seats with four models to cater to the hottest tournament techniques. We added two new actions to the INFEET and INFEET Z ranges, and one in-particular has garnered a cult following.

We also added a limitededition flagship, the LTD AGS model which will be around for the first six months of 2023 and is the brainchild of ABT angler Mark Crompton – if you’re a south coast plastic junkie, you need to check out that rod. Finally, we also added 4 baitcast models, there is a something so rewarding about fishing ultralight baitcast tackle, so if you’re interested in branching out from spin, they make great options for crankbaits, blades or Cranka crabs.

What’s In Store?

As Daiwa headlines the ABT BREAM series again in 2023, we’re committed to continuing our pursuit to create the best range of rods to suit. If you happen to bump into me at an event this year, make sure you take a look onto the deck of my boat as you may just get a sneak peek into what may be in store!

THE INFEET RANGE

6101LFS: This model is the tight-cover specialist, designed for fishing both hard and soft lures tight against floating structure where careful presentation trumps brute force.

702ULFS: The lightest rod in the whole INFEET family, if you want to experience true red-line finesse fishing this is the rod for you.

702LRS: The 702LRS is the all-rounder of the range and can be utilised in almost any circumstance. A regular taper protects timid hooksets with treble hooked baits, whilst the moderate yet responsive blank means twitching small soft plastics is no problem.

722ULRS: The 722ULRS is a keen crankbait angler’s dream. A soft, moderate taper ensures fragile hook-ups remain pinned, ensuring you land more fish once convincing them to bite.

732LFS: The 732LFS is the ‘go-to’ rod for soft plastic fishing where delicate action is required to get the most from lures like the BaitJunkie 2.5” Grub and Minnow. A faster action delivers the perfect tip to twitch and rip plastics around structure or over open areas, and the slightly more powerful butt section provides the assurance you’ll extract those fish from cover once hooked.

752LFS: The long-cast topwater model. 7’5” in length for the ultimate casting distance when using topwater lures. A nice fast tip allows a great walk-the-dog cadence and enough power to bunch out long casts with slightly heavier and larger topwaters.

762ULRS: The longest rod in the 20 INFEET line-up, the 762ULRS was designed for long-distance casting with crankbaits over shallow flats.

A selection of regular taper INFEET rods from each series.

Scan to watch a video on the INFEET range

‘I have been using Samurai rods for close to a decade. They continue to be a crucial element to my fishing, allowing precise and long casts when needed to deliver lures where I need them.

Samurai are serious about competition angling, so for me there is only one choice.’

Tristan Taylor

Triple layer carbon blanks for an efficient pulling force – machine rolled for lightness – hot press baked for strength samurairods.com.au

Flat Shadding: internal vs. external rigging

Why an internal jighead?

Troy Dixon and Adam Meredith won the Teemburra round of the Zerek BARRA Tour with a 5 barra limit for a combined weight of 65.01kg.

When it comes to craThis weight held out the ABT BARRA Team of the Year, Anita Barra, by less than 2kg with the difference being two stunning 1.06m barra the boys landed fishing the unique Zerek Flat Shad –but it was a Flat Shad with a difference.

Team Venom had scouted out the lake a few days before the tournament and settled on a plan, fishing some points in the perfect position for the prevailing wind. As is usually the case at Teemburra, the wind changed direction, but the boys decided to still fish their points. The theory was that the wind change would not have had time to truly change the dynamics of the lake and the boys believed their fish would still be there.

And they were!

Fishing a series of three points only, Troy and Adam fished jighead rigged 7” Zerek Flat Shads of varying weights. But these weren’t standard Flat Shads rigged with any old jighead – these were Flat Shads rigged with an internal jighead.

The simple answer is it gives the Flat Shad a different action from the externally rigged jighead and the worm hook rig. Each method has a subtle action difference and

it is these slight differences that make the money.

WORM HOOK

The Flat Shad comes rigged with a weighted worm hook as the lure was originally designed to be

fished into heavy cover for oversized barra, jacks, cod and other nasty fish. The weighted worm hook was all part of the intricate design that included the patented belly slits that allow the Flat

Shad (regardless of size) to be easily crushed and expose the worm hook’s point.

The worm hook rig gives the Flat Shad a slight body roll and a strong tail beat, but importantly, it also helps

the lure to stay horizontal on the retrieve with the weight right at the bottom. The latest version of the Flat Shad – the Flat Shad Pro – has been built with slightly softer TPE to enhance the action yet retain its strength, and the work hook has had a stinger attachment eyelet added to make it simple for anglers who want to add a treble or a flashy spinner underneath.

EXPOSED JIGHEAD RIG

Perhaps more popular in the smaller models with anglers chasing flathead and bass, impoundment barra anglers also rigged their Flat Shad with an exposed jighead. This rigging method gave several important advantages to anglers fishing open waters, especially for fish like barra that have the lure in and out of their mouths in milliseconds.

The first advantage is that is allows an exposed hook point and also allows the angler to use whatever head weight they desire. While there are replacement worm hooks of different weights for the Flat Shad range, there are far more options with the huge and growing number of jigheads on the market.

What anglers liked the most about rigging the Flat Shad with an exposed jighead was the extra body roll. The way the water flowed around an exposed jighead, whether that was a ball, darter-style or bullet head, saw

WILSON FISHING Stephen Booth

Main: Team Venom had scouted out the lake a few days before the tournament and settled on a plan, fishing some points in the perfect position for the prevailing wind. Above: Over the last two seasons, rigging the Flat Shad with an internal jighead has become increasingly popular.

When it really matters

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the Flat Shad have an incredibly enticing body roll that, as an added extra, gave the tail an extra kick.

INTERNALLY

RIGGED JIGHEAD

Over the last two seasons, rigging the Flat Shad with an internal jighead has become increasingly popular. This takes a little more work on the angler’s behalf as to rig the Flat Shad

internally means a few steps must be taken to ensure it works perfectly.

Like the exposed jighead rig, the internally rigged option gives the angler unlimited weight options and hook options. With the Flat Shad’s separated belly, it’s simple to rig a stinger on the bottom of the jighead without having to cut away plastic like anglers do in full

Tournament Angler Guide

bodied plastics.

The internal jighead rig sees the jighead tow eyelet emerge from the Flat Shad on the upper surface rather than the nose. This is important as it changes the way the lure swims. By having the tow point on top of the lure’s head it creates a much larger surface area for the water to operate on when the lure is being retrieved.

This enhances the body roll significantly and that extra body roll loads up the pressure on the tail making the tail work even harder for less angler effort.

And while we’re talking about the tail action, if you slow down the action you can see the body and tail torque in different directions – essentially loading up the kinetic energy in the lure and aiding in the tail action and

body roll. Until it’s pointed out to you, it’s hard to notice, but like a lot of things, once seen, it can’t be unseen!

There are a number of jigheads on the market that are ideal for internally rigging the Flat Shad. All will need a dot of super glue to hold them in – like every TPE lure on the market when rigged on a jighead.

But on that note, if you managed to catch the

final ABT Live episode just before Christmas in 2022, viewers got a sneak peak of an internally rigged Flat Shad the Wilson and Zerek development team have been working on and this will solve all your internal rigging issues.

But until that time arrives, check out the attached images on how the boys internally rig their Flat Shads and get your barra on.

Why an internal jighead? The simple answer is it gives the Flat Shad a different action from the externally rigged jighead and the worm hook rig. Each method has a subtle action difference and it is these slight differences that make the money.

Team Venom were leading the BARRA Series Team of the Year standing after their Teemburra event win.

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BassmanSpinnerbaits(official)

2022 AOY and TOY for BARRA, BASS and BREAM

Every year, ABT crowns Angler of the Year (AOT) and Team of the Year (TOY) titles across BREAM, BASS Pro, BASS Electric and BARRA events. And we reckon there’s never been a closer race for the title that there was between Matt Langford (399pts) and Mitchell Cone (395pts) in the BASS Pro Series this year.

Coming into the final event, Langford had won three events and was still catchable by Cone, who had won two. Crazy stuff. Langford held on to take the title and Mick Johnson (387pts), who had a ripper season was third with a tally that’d often take the title.

NSW’s Tony Neal (388pts) wrapped up the trophy from the back of the boat over Jake Hardie (373pts) and Adam Mears (370pts).

On the BREAM side, Steve Morgan (487pts) outdistanced Mark Crompton (474pts) in another race that came down to the last event in Gladstone. BREAM AOY is designed to be won by an angler that can catch both black and yellowfin bream proficiently, and Morgan’s wins at Mallacoota and Tweed proved that point.

The GOAT non boater Stuart Walker took his 7th AOY title from the back of the boat, his 496pts reflecting another stunning season

that included two wins, two seconds and a third placing. Rumour has it that Stewie is moving to New Zealand this year, and Dave Shanahan (2nd, 480pts) and Alan Lavell (3rd, 457pts) will be happy about that!

Not surprisingly, big event specialist in the BASS Electric Series, Peter Bostock, took the title after winning another Grand Final. The BASS Electrics are the only series that counts the Grand Final points into the AOY tally. Peter’s 293 points outdistanced Peter Woods (288pts from his kayak) and

Shaun Ezzy (285pts). Special mention to Casey Monagle, who bagged 4th place and 278 points in his first season.

In one of the smallest boats on the tour, the BARRA TOY was James Wilson and Liam Robinson. The self-confessed Zerek Fish Trap specialists set records along the way with a pair of wins at Tinaroo. They nearly reached 100kg for a 5-fish bag of barra!

Well done to Troy Dixon and Adam Meredith (507pts) and Quintin Maclean and Mick Slade (495 points) for filling the podium places.

2022 BARRA TOY

Current Rank Team Points

1

Anita Barra/Humminbird (Liam Robinson/James Wilson) 530 2

Venom (Troy Dixon/Adam Meredith) 507 3

Imakatsu / Dobyns Rods (Quintin Maclean/Mick Slade) 495 4

Fishing Monthly (Steve Morgan/Nicholle Smith) 493 5

TBC (Peter Laine/Ben Williams) 459

Fish With Me (Marc Edmonds/Evan Zikos) 483 6

6

About Town Bait & Tackle (Michael Detenon/Luke Mulcahy) 455

Wilson Fishing (Kord Luckas/Jeremy Cornelius) 459 7

Family Affair (Colin Sohier/Liam Sohier) 429

8 Pond Pounders (Jason Crofts/Trevor Crofts) 438 9

10

EJ Todd/Tackleworld Bundy (Jordan Stoddart/Nathan Sutton) 409

Barra Bandits (Glen Smith/Moz Kahn) 418 11 Samaki (Tommy Wood/Josh Lowry) 414 12

13

Smak Wild (Brett Turner/Thomas Herbohn) 407

14 Bass Masters (Carl Jocumsen/Jeff Gustafson) 396

15

Mustad Swap Dogs (Jono Clark/Adam Walker) 388

16

Millerods/Lowrance (Al McNamara/Greg Beatie) 372

Garmin (Matthew Mott/Dylan Mott) 375 17

18

Mother & Son (Paul Aldous/Ricky Doyle) 355

Southern Fried (Lachlan Lathan/Kyle Lewis) 366 19

Anita Barra/Humminbird Venom 1

What do these guys win for AOY - quite possibly the most prestigious award in ABT? A trophy. It’s a personal challenge that anglers rise to each year.

Zachery Taylor 298

Troy Parsons 285

Cameron Hall 269

Marcus Schembri 269

Matthew Langford

Mitchell Cone

Dane Pryce

Tim Oakley

Mick Johnson

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New direction for Avator BASS Electric Series

On the water, the BASS Electric series is all about catching your biggest two bass and bringing them to the weigh-in. Nothing has changed in that regard. It’s off the water that there’s been some big changes in the series.

2022 sponsor, BKK Hooks has moved aside to make way for the new BASS Electric series sponsor - Mercury Avator. These electric outboards will come on line later in 2023 and look like they’ll be a must-have

take the reins of the series this year. Massive thanks to Adrian Wilson and Charles West who have carried the tour for the last few years.

Importantly, though, the BASS Electric events are going back to their roots. Entry fees are back to $20, cash on the day. Want to take your mate or kids? It’s a now a $40 exercise. Also, prefish bans have been removed and you only need to fish a single event to qualify for the Grand Final event. The Grand Final prize is an Avator-powered

Monagle (an angler who was too young to fish by himself at a previous event and who Adrian took under his wing).

Location: Wyaralong Dam. Here’s the event report.

Weighing in a colossal bag of 5.20kg for two massive Wyaralong brutes Toowoomba’s Casey Monagle took his first BASS Elelcric win.

“This is one for the record books for certain at this lake,” said Charles West.

Here is how Casey’s weekend played out.

“On pre-fish day Adrian and I decided to make quite a long run up the back of the dam, through the thick fog. After about an hour and a half of travel we stopped on a bank and fished some timber that led to a point.”

BASS ELECTRIC SERIE S

piece of kit for our many electric-only impoundments. We also have a new team running the events.

The

“After a few casts parallel to the bank, I landed my first ever Wyaralong bass. It was 46cm fork at 2.4 kegs,” Casey said.

“We fished throughout the rest of the day, landing 5 bass, all before 9:30am, 4 of them being in that 40cm range and all fat fish. We left plenty of fish up there for tournament day, hoping we could come back to the giants. I can tell you, the trip

definitely paid off.”

“We made the same run up the back on the tournament day. After pulling up to a

little while, and opposite to pre-fish we caught most of our fish after 9:30 through to around 11:30.”

point, not too long in, both Adrian and I landed a fish each, both decent sizes.

“We struggled for a

BlueFin Fishing Team, led by Beau Everleigh, will

BlueFin boat! Want to hear exactly how it should be? Let’s throw back to the 2022 series where Adrian Wilson took out Toowoomba’s Casey

It’s bass like this that make the BASS Electric events memorable. This is over 2.5kg of Wyaralong brute. Wyaralong is the location of the Mercury Avator BASS Electric Grand Final in 2023.

“We had been working quite deep sections of bank until we stumbled across a shallow point. Adrian could see fish on his Lowrance Active Target and side scan so he made a cast up shallow,

towards the bank. He hooked up then told me to cast in the same place.”

“A couple cranks in and I had hooked up as well. After we got them both in, right next to the point we

noticed this tree branch sticking up about 50mm out of the water. We both started punching casts next to it and sure enough we pulled some giants.”

“We were sitting in

about 8ft casting right up into about 2-3ft of water. It was funny because I would hook a fish, land it, weigh it, cull one out if need be, then punch another cast in. I let the TN60 sink to the bottom, then slowly crank it back. I could feel super tiny bumps then slow right down and

the fish would commit, fully swallowing the TN.”

“It was unlike anything we had seen before. We pulled 10kg+ worth of fish off this same tree. I was constantly catching 2kg+ fish and still not making any upgrades.”

“Right before we left,

we made a stop back at the point we started on. I cast in let the TN sink and a giant ate it”.

“What a days fishing and especially in a tournament!” Indeed. A two-bass bag of 5.20kg will be hard to beat. But let’s all give it a go in 2023.

Noike Chatterbait

Hideup Crankbait

Although the payouts will be down in 2023 with entry fees at 1/4 of what they were in 2022, you still win a great trophy for 1st place and a badge for the top 10.

You only need to fish one event to qualify for the BASS Electric Grand Final. The Grand Final has a higher entry fee, but you get an event shirt and fish for a Mercury Avator BlueFin boat package (pending Avator availability).

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