May 21, 2014
Murgon fisherman Greg Mitchell will be joining about 70 professional anglers from all over the country at Lake Boondooma this weekend for a round of one of the richest fishing competitions in Australia, the inaugural Atomic B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Tournament Series.
The series is being held over four qualifying events: two in NSW and two in Queensland.
The anglers competing are among the best in Australia, with multiple Australian Championship winners taking on each other to see who can come out on top.
One round as already been held – at Lake St Clair in NSW on April 5-6 – where Greg came away with the $500 “Austackle Big Bass Bag” prize for landing the pair of largest fish.
It was a 2000km round trip just to compete, so it’s a good thing he has a sponsor on board, plumbing and bathroom supplies company CJR Industries (it helps that Greg’s “day” job is as a plumber).
And although he’s a rookie competing at this level in bass tournaments, Greg is feeling hopeful for Round 2, dubbed the Boondooma Battle, as it’s being held at his home dam.
Competitors are vying for a chance to qualify for the Megabass B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Championship which will be held in September at Lake Glenbawn near Muswellbrook in NSW.
The winner of this will take home major prizes plus tickets to compete at the World Championship of bass fishing, the Bassmaster Classic in the United States.
Bass fishing is huge in America, with professional anglers doing nothing but fishing.
Interest in Australia is growing and the B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Tournament is an attempt to grow the sport even bigger.
The Boondooma event will be held over two sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
The bass are caught and kept alive in a special water well on the boat until the weigh-ins, and then are released and must swim away.
Points are lost if the fish is ill or critically injured.
It is a test of skill – locating the fish using sounders – and then landing two legal size bass within a set time. Using bait is prohibited so casting skills and lures are the key (lures are the anglers’ greatest guarded secret).
Catching bass this way is no certainty. To try to negate any advantage, fishermen are barred from using the dams for two weeks ahead of any competition so they have no idea initially where the fish are.
“You can sit there all day and still not catch them,” Greg said.
In fact this is what happened to Greg at Lake St Clair. He didn’t weigh in any fish after the first session, but landed the two biggest fish as time was running out on the second day.
There will be three local anglers competing at Lake Boondooma.
Well-known father and son combination Matthew – who has been a mentor to Greg – and Dylan Mott will also be flying the flag for the South Burnett.
The sessions on Boondooma will run from 7:00am on Saturday and Sunday. Weigh-ins will occur at 2:00pm each day (spectators are welcome). They will occur at a special weigh-in station with aerated tanks to keep the fish alive.
Friday is a practice day.
Greg has been competing in bass tournaments for the past three years as a “non-boater”, ie he is assigned a boat by the competition organisers.
“I fished in about 30 different boats with some of the best fishers in Australia. It was a great experience,” he said.
This year is his first time as a “boater” (ie. in his own boat) in a pro event.
Quick boats come in handy as anglers can quickly speed across the dam to take up a new position.
It’s very competitive.
“We all want to win,” Greg said. “It’s the competition that I like. It’s an awesome sport, I love it.”
