Southern ABT Barra Tour for Team Berkley Nitro R&D

[matt fraser]

Great report Matt

It was absolutely fantastic to do the tour with you, I learnt so much and loved every minute.

Well done to all who did the tour, Naggs an absolute gentleman and pretty good fisho to boot. Trev was a bottomless pit of knowledge and help. The great thing about the trip was the people and the exchange of information, everyone was willing to help each other catch fish.

People asked where you were fishing not to take your spot but to ensure they didn't interfer with your fishing area, that's great sportsmanship.

I highly recommend those who are thinking about doing the ABT tour next year, to take the plunge, you'll learn so much in such a short amount of time and make some great friends.

P.S. Don't let Matt book your accommodation, he sucks at that stuff.

Cheers mate, it could be a tough trip in the wrong company. But we had a blast all the way.

Look the Donga wasn't that bad.........ok, ok it was!!! Sorry!

BTW if you are ever fishing with Ian, keep an eye on his back cast, I didn't think I'd p#ssed him off that much, but he managed to nail me with a mullet between the shoulder blades - while I was standing beside him.......lucky it didn't go past the barb.

[Pete62]

Great report Matt, thanks for sharing. Also great to hear positive feedback on the etiquette and knowledge sharing from other teams.

Well done on your results.

Pete.

[robersl]

Another great read from ABT, tihs is starting to get a litle "motivating", for lack of a better word.
Well done Matt, and congats mate.

so brian you doing a teflon this weekend mate

shane

[NAGG]

Thanks Chris, it was great to catch up with you over a few beers on tour. The tour was very positive this year, and I like the idea of a few more events next year.
The big girl was a real buz, I've now caught about a dozen metereys this year with 115, 117 and now 120 being the biggest. She was massive, like I said, its hard for me to comprehend anything bigger, she blew me away! Can't wait to see a bigger fish!

Cheers.

Matt

Dont you reckon after catching a 120 that a metery now looks small ...... Get a 120 in the timber ...... yeehaaa

Chris

[BR65]

so brian you doing a teflon this weekend mate

shane

Nah, nuthing till after xmas mate, got to hand over this job, then a couple of months off.

There WILL be some redemption then though!

[matt fraser]

Matt great report mate, and it was good to share a beer and few stories, and tips from you over the mondy section. You guys did awesome over both comps, so really well done for that.

Ian, your so right, there was plenty of info shared, even by the gurus and leaders of the comp at the time. I meant to say something about the general ettiquette and sportsmanship on and off the water...I thought it was superb...well at Mondy anyway!! It was also good to meet you too mate. See you both next year,,,or sooner!

Cheers Steve

Hey Steve, yep, great to catch up over a couple of drinks, and the sportsmanship was great. There was a few issues with teams not being able to fish the pick of their spots, but with so many boats on the dam, you couldn't really expect to fish everywhere you wanted to.

We were very lucky, with the areas we fished at both dams.

Courtesy between teams was pretty good. Maybe the campaigning I did on FM Bulletin Board prior to the tour was taken on board by some.

Anyway look forward to catching up on Mondy again next year.

Matt

[matt fraser]

Dont you reckon after catching a 120 that a metery now looks small ...... Get a 120 in the timber ...... yeehaaa

Chris

Hey Chris,

Definitely!!! Ian remarked how anything in the nineties we were calling as "small fish" How bloody lucky are we to have that quality of fishing available.

I've seen plenty of pics of 120 -130s on here, they do look huge, massive! But to see that 120cm in the flesh was a whole other thing! Photos can't quite capture the experience.

As for getting one in the timber! Crikey that would be a mission!

Cheers,

Matt

[NAGG]

Hey Chris,

Definitely!!! Ian remarked how anything in the nineties we were calling as "small fish" How bloody lucky are we to have that quality of fishing available.

I've seen plenty of pics of 120 -130s on here, they do look huge, massive! But to see that 120cm in the flesh was a whole other thing! Photos can't quite capture the experience.

As for getting one in the timber! Crikey that would be a mission!

Cheers,

Matt

I've only been involved in this barra caper for a few years & only landed my first 120s (x 2) in the last 9 months ........ the length is one thing - but the sheer bulk is what captures the imagination _ like you I'm keen to see a high 120s or 130 in the flesh ( preferably with me holding it ) - & yep you are right.... photos often don't do them justice

Cheers

Chris

[vet]

Well done Mat and Ian, great report. It was good to catch up again, congrats on the 120, they are very impressive in the flesh. Hope you get a few more.
cheers scott.

[Tropicaltrout]

as brian says, gets one thinkin bout next year...(nath

deano.....

Hummm well let me think ok.... Do you think they will let us in, Prinny & a Hat

Team all The Gear
No Idea

[matt fraser]

Hummm well let me think ok.... Do you think they will let us in, Prinny & a Hat

Team all The Gear
No Idea

I'm sure you guys would have heaps of fun, the comps aren't as serious as they are made out to be. Its really just an IBD convention, where we get to deal with our affliction by fishing our butts off, and talking with other sufferers!

There are lots of antics along the way, no names mentioned but a coil lead was pulled at a servo whilst the driver was paying for fuel. he got payback a few days later with a zip tie around the tailshaft of the offender. There were crackers and water bombs thrown, power leads pulled from cabins. Lots of fun between sessions.

When you're at the briefing, just dont ask if you can use gaffs.....like my mate Luke did at a flyfishing comp in the NT.......Geez we got a few looks then......

Cheers,

Matt

[matt fraser]

Well done Mat and Ian, great report. It was good to catch up again, congrats on the 120, they are very impressive in the flesh. Hope you get a few more.
cheers scott.

Hey Scott, thanks heaps, you guys are bloody lucky to have Awoonga on your doorstep, how many 120 pluses are you up to now?

Great to catch up, it sounds like you might need a fast boat before next year so you can get to your spots first. It sounds like you didn't have a chance to fish your prime spots at Awoonga. Still you and Pricey did well, especially at Mondy, well done.

Cheers,

Matt

[vet]

Hey Matt, I have got photos of 15 over the 120 that I have personally pulled in, not counting the wife, kids and staff members 120+ fish. I may have caught more, but as you know we just catch them and release most of them boatside nowadays so don't know if any of them were over. If the big girl had of been lip hooked we would probably have released her as well as we were calling her as a high 120s.

Most likely be in the slowly sinking poly again, sure we missed some spots but we had plenty of others to try. All of the spots we fished were places that I have never fished before except for the week before the events. Being slow makes you explore more as you know you won't get to any of the more obvious or established spots.

cheers scott.

[Nobby]

Great report Matt, just wondering what sort of weight on your jig head and what size hook you were using? Im heading to Proserpine Dam next week any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[matt fraser]

G'day Nobby,

For the Hollowbellys the only Jigs to use are the Nitro Backbone Jigs - 3/8 Oz #6/0 or the 3/8 or 1/2 Oz #7/0 to suit the 5" Hollowbellys.

In the timber at Monduran, I used a split ring on the eye of the hook and attached a #4 ST66 Owner treble - worked well!

All the best at Faust.

Cheers,

Matt