With over $23,000 in cash and prizes on offer, 58 of Australia’s premium tournament bass anglers took on the challenge to become the inaugural winner of the Atomic B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Series at the Damiki Lake St Clair Classic in NSW.

Compiling a 4/4 limit over two days, Tom Slater from Queensland was the only angler to weigh in more than 2kg each day to claim his maiden Pro B.A.S.S. Victory. Slater worked out a solid pattern on Saturday morning where he caught his limit very early, and then searched for the rest of the day to find similar locations to cement his technique and claim the $3610 cheque.

Tom’s jerkbait gear consisted of a 13 ENVY Black 71LM rod matched with a Daiwa 2500 Caldia spooled with 10lb braid and 6lb Toray leader. The jerkbait he used was a Imakatsu Riprizer 60 in the lemon dazzler colour.

The Co-Angler champion for the event went to Ben Scotman from NSW, who not only took out the inaugural Co-Angler Division of the Atomic B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Series, but also claimed the Fish Arrow Big Bass prize with a 1.62kg specimen on day two.

Ben slow rolled 3” Gulp Minnows in black and watermelon colours in 40-55ft of water. His gear consisted of a Daiwa Certate 2004 matched to a Daiwa Tournament Master - Zero/1-4kg rod and Daiwa Hyper 10lb PE braid. Ben said that using a 3m 10lb Sunline V-Hard leader and dropping the rod quickly to the water once he felt a bite was the key to the success.

Queensland bass pro Greg Mitchell weighed in a 2.29kg bag on Sunday to claim the Austackle Big Bass Bag worth $500.

The next event will be held on Lake Boondooma on 24-25 May. Visit www.bassaustralia.com.au for more information. - Drew McGrath