With only 19 fish hitting the scales for the 34 angler field, competitors had no trouble locating fish with their sounders, getting them to bite however proved a whole other challenge.
With anglers struggling to find active schools, those who switched tactic and headed to the edges in search of active fish hunting in the shallows reaped the benefits. One angler made the most of the edge bite, with Gold Coast basser Joe Allan breaking through for his maiden BASS Electric win, with his 1/2, 2.50 kg bag.
The standout bag and individual bass of the tournament, Allan picked up his winning bass fishing a rocky cliff edge on the northern shore leading out of Logans Inlet. Tempted by a ghost blue gill colour Jackall TN60, the bass smashed the lure within three cranks of the reel handle and powered off hard, a tell-tail sign that Allan was onto a big fish.
"I'd caught one small fish before the big one bit and I new as soon as it charged off that I had a good on," explained Allan.
The presentation was classic Wivenhoe edge fishing with Allan positioning the boat in about 18-20 feet and casting tight to the edge before sinking the lure to the bottom and starting a dead slow retrieve that had the lure just ticking over it worked its way through the water.
Caught at around 10am it was Allan's only legal fish for the session, but would prove enough to deliver him victory and relegate previous Wivenhoe place getter Kerry Erhlich to second place.
The tackle Allan used to secure the win included a 6'6" Samurai Reaction 251 rod, Daiwa Steez 103H reel, 15lb Unitika Power Jigging PE and 14lb Unitika fluorocarbon leader.
For event runner Kerry Erhlich is was another consistent performance on the Hoe with the Toowoomba basser opting for an edge bite presentation to catch his limit.
"I tried the schools but they just weren't biting," explained Ehrlich.
Fishing the shoreline leading out from Logans Inlet, Ehrlich like Allan opted for a Jackall TN60 to catch his fish, using a orange/bronze coloured model as his money bait and using it with a slow roll-pause retrieve.
"The pause on the retrieve was the key to success with both fish hitting the lure as it stalled and started shimmering towards the bottom," explained Ehrlich.
Both fish hit the lure in about 6 feet of water, with the first fish landed about 8am and the second one joining it in the well at 9.30am.
With many anglers persevering with the inactive schools it was Ehrlich's willingness to change tact and try something different that delivered him another podium finish.
The next round of the MotorGuide BASS Electric Series sees the tour back at Wivenhoe, 25th July, for the rescheduled event from June 20th.
With winter now in full swing and the bass on the move at Wivenhoe a week could see it all turn around and Hoe's legendary big bass on the chew. Make sure you don't miss out. For event details contact ABT (07) 3387 0888.
| Place | Name | Fish | Weight | Big Bass |
| 1 | Joe Allan | 1 | 2.5 | |
| 2 | Kerry Ehrlich | 2 | 2.485 | 1.34 |
| 3 | Jonathon Box | 2 | 2.1 | 1.455 |
| 4 | Daniel Molloy | 2 | 1.98 | 1.51 |
| 5 | Mike Connolly | 2 | 1.875 | |
| 6 | Jack Gold | 2 | 1.645 | |
| 7 | Ricky Simmons | 1 | 1.575 | |
| 8 | Shaun Falkenhagen | 2 | 1.465 | |
| 9 | Tom Burton | 2 | 1.06 | |
| 10 | Jonathon Ward | 1 | 0.995 | |
| 11 | Rory Saint | 1 | 0.935 | |
| 12 | Ian Galloway | 1 | 0.615 | |
| 13 | Adrian Wilson | |||
| 13 | Alberto Fernandez | |||
| 13 | Andrew Baunach | |||
| 13 | Brett Kleinschmidt | |||
| 13 | Brad Freiberg | |||
| 13 | Chris Osley | |||
| 13 | Cody Haynes | |||
| 13 | Charles West | |||
| 13 | David West | |||
| 13 | Glyn Barkhuizen | |||
| 13 | Glenn White | |||
| 13 | Jesper Noiesen | |||
| 13 | Jeff Herse | |||
| 13 | Jason Lowe | |||
| 13 | Jason Lyons | |||
| 13 | Josh Wall | |||
| 13 | Josh Cruice | |||
| 13 | Ray Bass | |||
| 13 | Stuart France | |||
| 13 | Simon Barkhuizen | |||
| 13 | Tom Reynolds | |||
| 13 | Vinnie Bleakley | |||
| 19 | 19.23 | |||
| 1.012105 |
