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A RECORD turnout of 100 entered teams recently hit the water at Lake Macquarie to battle it out in BETS Engel Round Two.
With conditions overcast and breezy the scene was set for a classic Lake Macquarie surface bite but there was just one further challenge to overcome – the water temperature. After a few days of extreme air temperature the water was touching 30C and a normally vigorous bite became touchy as many teams sought to find cooler water. It was shaping up to be a day where many anglers had to think out of the square to secure a fish or two.
Team Gamakatsu/Samurai Reaction Rods, Aaron Horne and Peter Jarvis, realised just that early in the day and gave up fishing those classic Lake Macquarie haunts of Chain Valley Bay and Bonnells Bay to travel north for some cooler and less pressured water. Targeting boat hulls in the numerous small bays the pair quickly discovered there were fish to be had if the lure could flutter past the keels of the boats. They also found that if the lure wasn’t taken in the first few seconds it wasn’t going to be taken so Aaron and Peter adopted a “hit and run” approach to keep things moving along.
With Peter at the helm the tactic was to approach each hull under outboard power and Aaron would fire in a quick cast. If the lure wasn’t taken it was quickly on to the next hull and so on. This approach allowed the pair to cover a vast amount of water quickly and maximise their chances of a decent bag. And come the weigh-in a decent bag it was, five quality fish combining for a weight of 3.49kg. For the two long time supporters of the BETS series it was enough to record their first win and well deserved it was. Taking home $4800 and an Engel Prize Pack for Peter and Aaron it was their time to shine and topping the record breaking field was icing on the cake.
With only a handful of three kilo plus bags being weighed the race for runner up places was close but it was to be Team Shimano 2 that would be the best of the rest. Anchored by the only kilo breambo of the event young team members Joel Tegart and Brodie Quaas presented 3.28kg bag to earn $3200 and a Mako Eyewear Prize Pack.
That 1.14kilo fish also scored the team the Big Bream double, not only counting for the Evinrude Big Bream award and free entry to the next event but also the newest event award – Sebile Big Bream. Caught on a Sebile Flat Shad vibration type lure it was a fish found in tough circumstances and reacting to something a little different was no doubt the downfall of this particular fish.
New sponsor Sebile Lures generously provided a couple of lures to each team at registration with promise of $250 for the team with the biggest bream caught on a Sebile lure.
To finish off the presentation Steve Duff of sponsor Duffrods gave the BETS anglers and audience an exclusive – a new rod and guide system to be released this week. Valued at $500 those teams that stayed for the presentation got the chance of scoring this innovative and beautifully made rod via a random draw and it was Mark King of Team Carbon Based that got to be the first in the country to give one a whip.
On now to Mako Round Three on the Hawkesbury River – More at: www.betsbream.com.au
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