Tournaments

Local knowledge dominates the podium

Jamie Mckeown has put another mark to his name for AOY this year, taking out the ZMan sponsored round of the Daiwa Beam Series on his home turf at the Gold Coast.

This is Jamie’s second win on the BREAM Series this year after taking out Lake Macquarie and, although there were no stonking tarwhine in his bag this time, he still found enough healthy canal bream to take out the event by just 730g over second place boater Mathew Fatafehi.

In the non-boater division Cain Waller kept the Gold Coast locals on the podium by taking out 1st place in his first ever ABT event. Jamie Mckeown is fast becoming a household name in ABT circles. His second win for the year has him in sight of the AOY trophy.

Scan the QR code to watch the Non- Boater Winner Interview

Scan the QR code to watch the Winner Interview

NO STOPPING THE ROLL

It’s been hard to ignore the stellar year that Jamie McKeown has had on the BREAM series and his second win for the year has now put him amongst the favourites for the coveted Angler Of the Year Trophy.

Jamie, a Gold Coast local, came into the weekend with a pretty good game plan that he stuck at to secure the win.

“Pre-fish I didn’t really flog my spots because I knew the Broadwater would have got hit hard and it was only going to have a good day or two in it. I knew that come Sunday I was going to have to target places less pressured”.

Come Saturday, Mckeown did his usual milk run from as far down as Chevron Island, up into the Broadwater while he waited for the top of the tide around 11:30. Once the tide got up, he moved up to Sovereign Islands and that was when the fishing really took off.

“Once the tide got high enough for me to hit the banks I wanted to, I tied on that sun gets up,” he said

The move north proved to be the right one when he hit the scales for the final weigh-in bringing us the biggest bag of the weekend of 3.215kg and just seizing victory off Mathew Fatafehi.

McKeown would like to thank his sponsors Samaki and Lowrance for providing him the tools to hone his craft, as well as Sportys on the Gold Coast for looking after his tackle needs.

This was only Mathew Fatafehi’s third ABT event and he more than proved he has what it takes to finish in the money.

In his first ABT event as a non-boater, Cain Waller got the job done on his home waterway. a peach faced Bent Minnow and they went crazy for it. It was almost a fish a cast for an hour or more”.

This hot bite saw Mckeown sitting in second place overnight with 2.870kg, just 10g off the lead.

With the expectation that the fish around the Broadwater would become pressured, day two called for the path less travelled.

Opting to make the run north to Jacobs Well, Mckeown used his Samaki C12 and Daiwa reel combo with 16lb Samaki YGK X braid and 6lb X leader to crank the pontoons with a small deep diving crankbait. “It’s a super effective technique, especially when FATAFEHI CASHES IN

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Mathew Fatafehi is only relatively new to the ABT tournament scene however he has proved he has what it takes to mix it with the best.

Taking a slightly alternative approach to pre-fishing, Fatafehi opted to have a relaxing day with family to unwind and get himself in a positive mindset for the tournament ahead.

“Coming from a footy background, you can transfer a lot of the same mindset into tournaments. You can put a lot of pressure on yourself in a tournament and at the end of the day you just have to remember to go out and enjoy it. We’re lucky to have such an awesome

Place Angler

1 Jamie Mckeown 2 Mathew Fatafehi 3 Tristan Taylor 4 Steve Morgan 5 Charlie Saykao 6 Luke Rogan 7 Chris Golding 8 Anthony Wishey 9 Jacob Kelly 10 Todd Riches

BOATER RESULTS

Full results at abt.org.au

Fish Weight(kg) Payout

10/10 9/10 10/10 10/10 6.085Kg $1600 + $250 1st Merc bonus 5.355Kg $1000 + 2nd Merc bonus 5.190Kg $700 5.180Kg $500 + $75 3rd Merc bonus

10/10 5.140Kg No Prize

10/10 10/10 4.950Kg No Prize 4.865Kg No Prize

opportunity on our doorstep when others are still stuck in lockdown”.

No doubt this approach was effective as he returned from Saturday as the day one leader with 5/5 fish for 2.88kg as well as holding big bream of 0.840kg. Never one to rest on his laurels, Mathew upped his game on Sunday and took

Scan the QR code to watch the Day 1 Highlights

home the Big Bream prize for the tournament with a 0.985kg stonker he caught in the canals.

Opting to stay close to A pigeon pair of Jacobs Well bream that helped Jamie McKeown secure his victory.

Mathew Fatafehi and Tristan Taylor share a few words before the start of day two. Also showcasing the diverse range of vessels we see at ABT. pair fished the canals to great effect with salt and pepper coloured Ecogear Aquas on 1/50oz Hidden Weight jigheads to get the bites.

On day two, Waller fished the Nerang River with his boater Anthony Wishey and was able to improve on his day one bag of 2.055kg by 245g for a total of 10/10 fish for 4.355kg.

Using a Daiwa TD Zero and 2000 size Daiwa Legalis to pitch his Aquas in and around the pontoons, Waller credited his 4lb Sunline FC Rock straight-through fluorocarbon as being crucial to easing those big fish out of the structure.

Scan the QR code to watch the Day 2 Highlights

“That straight-through line really gives you that extra pulling power. When you need to pull those fish out you can really put that pressure on.”

To any aspiring non-boaters on the fence, Waller offers this advice.

“It’s definitely worth giving it a go. Get out there and have a go and just enjoy yourself because that’s what it’s all about.”

ABT would like to thank all the anglers, spectators and event staff for making a COVID safe (and COVID restricted) event run as smoothly as possible.

take off, Fatafehi rotated between his honey holes at Sovereign Islands and Runaway Bay canals throwing an Ecogear Aqua Bream Prawn in king prawn colour on a 1/40oz TT Hidden Weight jighead. The technique was to fish tight to the structure, while also sight casting at any rogue bream between the pontoons.

His outfit of choice was a Samaki Archer or, depending on lure choice, an Atomic Arrowz paired with a 2000 Daiwa Aird X, 9lb Owner braid and 6lb Sunline FC rock leader.

“I power fished the pontoons. If I didn’t get a bite within three casts, I was onto the next one. Once I got a bite then I started to slow down and work on the school”. If he thought the fish wanted a bit more action to the lure to get a reaction bite, he picked up a ZMan Grub in motor oil on a 1/16oz for a bit more tail action in the soft plastic.

Fatafehi would like to give thanks to friend Joel Rowe for the kind lend of his boat, as well as Addict Tackle and Aussie brag mats for all their help. And as I am sure we can all relate, a special thanks to his family for their support. WALLER’S

DEBUT VICTORY

Gold coast local Cain Waller really stepped up to the mark in his first ABT event, taking out first place in the non-boater division.

Lucky enough to draw the freshly crowned Queensland Open champion, Blake O’Grady, on day one the

YOLOTEK BIG BREAM

Mathew Fatafehi took out the Big Bream prize with a 0.985kg canal fish he caught on day two. It was a victim of the lightly weighted Ecogear Aqua, which made Mathew $500 richer thanks toYoloTek.

NON- BOATER RESULTS

Full results at abt.org.au

Place Angler Fish Weight(kg) Payout

1 Cain Waller 2 Chris Lonne 3 Michael Maas 4 Gavin Atkin 5 Joel Mckenzie

10/10 10/10 10/10 9/10 7/10 6 Steven John William Dee 6/10 7 David Lonne 6/10 4.355Kg Daiwa reel 3.745Kg ZMan Procure TT lures, + Bait Junkie prize 3.550Kg ZMan Procure TT lures prize 3.150Kg Daiwa prize 3.025Kg Prolure prize 2.305Kg Cranka lures prize 2.020Kg EJ Todd prize 1.895Kg Ecogear prize 1.660Kg Keitech prize 1.590Kg Samaki prize