Brisbane’s Tim Morgan shed his bridesmaid tag to claim the first event of the 2003 Yamaha BASS Pro series – the MotorGuide Glenbawn BASS Challenge. And in an event that will go down in the record books as the fishiest ever, he recorded a six fish limit with an average weight of over two kilograms a piece to top a talented field filled with heavy limits.

Overall, 519 bass made it to the Weighmaster’s scales over the three sessions, a figure that eclipsed all previous marks – even those made under the old 10-fish/5 session events. With an average weight of an incredible 1.40kg each, Glenbawn justified its reputation as one of the state’s best stocked bass fisheries.

Tim, along with a majority of the field, targeted deep schooling fish at the lower end of the dam to produce his 6/6, 12.24kg record limit and augmented his $3,000 winner’s cheque with a $500 bonus for the tournament’s biggest bass – a 2.50kg fish that measured 53cm to the fork of the tail.

He edged out non-boater champion Monika Dimmick (6/6, 11.40kg), 2002 BASS Angler of the Year John Schofield (6/6, 11.22kg), Tony Perkins (6/6, 11.18kg) and Matthew Mott (6/6, 10.92kg) to make the top five a Queensland-angler-only affair.

Morgan’s pattern was effective and reasonably simple. He targeted deep schooling bass at Cemetery point, less than a kilometre from the main boat ramp. In 40 to 70 feet of water, the bass were suspending 35 to 50 feet down.

“I’d find anything from an individual fish to a whole school on my Humminbird Legend and target those with a slow rolling retrieve. I wouldn’t jig the lure, just drop it through the zone and wind it slowly back,” Morgan said.

“If I got a hit, I’d wind a few more turns of the handle and if the bass didn’t follow through, I’d drop the lure back about ten feet and repeat the process”, he continued.

“Half of the fish hooked up on the roll and the rest of the drop back, you just had to keep concentrating on the feel of the line,” Tim advised.

All of his fish came on a pumpkinseed Atomic 2 1/2 inch Paddle Tail fished on a 1/4oz Gamakastu Round 25 jighead at the end of his Millerods BassBuster, Shimano Sustain 1000 and 4lb Fireline terminated in a 10lb Vanish leader.

Monika Dimmick not only continued the tradition of non-boaters finishing highly at Glenbawn, she so-nearly became the first female angler to win a BASS Pro event.

“I’d like to thank both of my boaters for the weekend,” Monika beamed after weighing her 11.40kg tournament limit, “we fished both near the dam wall and at Cemetery point over the three sessions and all of my fish came from a straight slow-rolling retrieve.”

Monika’s tackle consisted of a Daiwa Procaster 6’6” rod, Sedona 1500 reel, 6lb Fireline and 14lb Vanish leader. She fished Slider 3” Bass Grubs in a variety of colours – Baby Bass, Junebug and Smoke/Yellow – on a Nitro 1/2oz jighead.

“I learned to fish deep bass on Somerset dam with my husband, Darryl. We used to hate fishing that dam, but this soft plastic technique has helped us to love it, and it’s helped us both here this weekend,” she added.

Monika’s fish came from 40 to 50 feet down in the deep water in both locations.

A record 67 boats attended the event, representing ever-increasing interest in professional-style freshwater fishing events. Entry into the Yamaha BASS series is NOT invitational and anglers can fish one event or the whole series. Call Steve Booth for more information on (07) 3268 3992.

The next events are the Lenthalls BASS Electric in Queensland (March 23), the rich MegaBucks event at Lake StClair in NSW (April 26-27) and the Somerset BASS Pro in Queensland (May 24-25). – ABT.

The top 10 non-boaters also received a pack containing product from Slider, Fireline, Storm, Halco, VMC, Bassman spinnerbaits.