Team Bush n Beach (Keith Strathford/Chris Strathford) secured the victory from their nearest rivals by a mere 4cm with their 5/5, 294cm tournament limit. With an average size close to 60cm for their 5 fish, Bush n Beach took away a swag of prizes courtesy of event sponsors Jarvis Marine, Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro and Berkley.
Fishing the Harwood Bridge, Team Bush n Beach found fish early, and remained in the area for the remainder of the session. Fishing in a depth range of 12-25 feet, Team Bush n Beach used the electric motor to maneuver around the productive bridge pylons. With 19 flathead caught and landed within the session, the team was always going to be in contention.
Chris Stratford shares the successful lures and techniques, "We used a wide variety of lures including Prawnstar Jnr's in red and honey pot colour, Jackal Mask Vibes, Squidgy wrigglers in red and green colour and Berkley 5" Gulp Shads. The plastics were all rigged on homemade jigheads ranging from ¼ oz through to 3/8 oz with 3/0 to 5/0 size hooks".
"We fished quite quickly using an aggressive retrieve. Initially we were going to try this location for half an hour, but the fish were here and we ended up staying all session. It was an enjoyable experience fishing the event. A good day out on the water. We are looking forward to the next round on the Gold Coast. Having previously won the Flathead Classic we are familiar with the waterway, and look forward to the challenge".
The outfit used to compile the winning limit included a 5'10" Wilson Live Fibre rod teamed with a Shimano Curado reel spooled with either Berkley Fireline in pink colour or Fins in yellow colour, ranging from 10-20lb breaking strain. Leaders used included 17lb Berkley vanish flurocarbon and 20lb Surecatch tensile.
Team Green Machine (Paul Gillespie/Scott Lane) fell just short of victory with a 5/5, 290cm tournament limit. Fishing initially north of the Broad entrance in 25-30 feet of water, Team Green Machine quickly boated two flathead, before moving to their next location, dock rocks. Fishing in 13-15 feet of water, using homemade blades, (white/pink in colour, ¼ oz rigged with two VMC doubles), Team Green Machine quickly boated successive fish.
Paul Gillespie explains his pattern, "We were fishing around a deeper hole in the area using a combination of blades and a Berkley 4" Gulp minnow in pearl/watermelon colour. The action was a slow hop of around a foot off the bottom before letting the lure fall on slack line to the bottom".
The outfit used included a 7" Loomis 4-10lb rod teamed with a 2000 Daiwa Airity reel spooled with 10lb Sunline Castaway braid and 6-8lb Toray fluorocarbon leader.
The events Big Flathead was taken out by Jake Neilsen from team One and a Half Men (71cm). Young Jake Neilsen oufished his dad and won the Daiwa Exceler combo donated by Paul Kneller from Big River Bait & Tackle.
Anglers now look to the next Flathead Qualifier to be held on the Gold Coast, September 26th. For more information on this event or to get involved in ABT tournaments check out www.bream.com.au or contact ABT on 07 3387 0888 (b/h).
| Place | Team | Angler 1 | Angler 2 | TF | TL | BF | Payout |
| 1 | Bush n Beach | Keith Strathford | Chris Stratford | 5 | 294 | Jarvis Marine 54lb Watersnake Electric Motor, Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 2 | Green Machine | Paul Gillespie | Scott Lane | 5 | 290 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 3 | Disco Natives | Anthony Duff | Tony Thorley | 5 | 263 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 4 | Mo Bull | Daniel Bull | Ian Moss | 5 | 262 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 5 | Manning River Marine | David Trinder | Rhys Withers | 5 | 247 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 6 | The Duncans | Richard Duncan | William Duncan | 5 | 245 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 7 | Marz Lures | Tom Weiers | Ross Westwood | 5 | 233 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 8 | Flat Strap | Scott Chard | Rick Gough | 5 | 228 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 9 | One and Half Men | Paul Neilsen | Jake Neilsen | 5 | 227 | 71 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack, Big Flathead (Daiwa Exceler rod & reel combo, Shake n Bake Blades donated by Big River Bait & Tackle) |
| 10 | Yamba Bait & Tackle | Ben Lockwood | Mick Leavey | 5 | 225 | Engel, Atomic, Strike Pro, Berkley Prize Pack | |
| 11 | Plastics Paranoia | Christain Pulvirenti | Matt Kair | 5 | 224 | Prize Pack | |
| 12 | Dusky Brothers | Gordon Gough | Joel Griffen | 5 | 218 | Prize Pack | |
| 13 | Team Sands | Danny Sands | George Sands | 5 | 206 | Prize Pack | |
| 14 | Team 18 | Ashley Seeto | Cameron Walkley | 5 | 192 | Prize Pack | |
| 15 | Slippery Avacados | Matt Siggs | Simon Marshall | 5 | 189 | Prize Pack | |
| 16 | The Shannons | Mark Shannon | Braydon Shannon | 2 | 79 | Prize Pack | |
| 17 | Sniper | Tim Stevenson | Paul Matthews | 1 | 36 | Prize Pack | |
| 18 | Team Attack | Scott Corby | Prize Pack |
