Brisbane Motorama Casting Tournament results

[Nugget]

In a hotly contested final that came down to the last few seconds, Humminbird/Shimano sponsored Brett Thompson won the Motorama Springwood Marine bait-casting tournament with a total score of 250 points over Sweetwater Adventures guide Garry Fitzgerald with 240 points.
Brett backed up to win the spin-casting event with 150 points over Queensland Fishing Monthly editor Steve Morgan on 140 points.
Crowd favourite 14-year-old Dean Thompson, the only junior to make the final, placed a very credible third.
The event was not without drama as hot favourite Steve Booth cast his plug off during the final which ended his hopes of a big finish and Dave Dennis, who qualified third in the spin casting, had a disappointing final round with bail-arm related equipment trouble to finish fourth.

Dave Downie ><>

[tonyp]

Nugget,

An interesting post would be the type of gear they used in the contest.
Was it everyday fishing gear or is it useless on the water in everyday angling?

Tony

[Nugget]

Hi Tony
All the gear used was off the shelf - no custom stuff that I noticed however it was suited to casting rather than fishing.
I remember a few outfits: Garry Fitzgerald was using a Diawa Tournament baitcaster on a Diawa Hartland rod.
Thommo was using a Shimano Coronach on a Calcutta 50XT rod.
Perhaps if the others read this they might like to post what they were using.
All competitors were required to use the supplied casting plug, which in this case was a Supertank 18g plug.

Dave ><>

[clutter]

Watched the final up to Fitzy. Man that bloke can cast. Just a pity I didn't get to see Brett. Who was that respectable looking judge bloke????
Clutter

[clutter]

That grumpy face thing was not supposed to be there. Just incase anyone was going to have a dig.
Clutter

[Fitzy]

Watched the final up to Fitzy. #Man that bloke can cast. #Just a pity I didn't get to see Brett. #Who was that respectable looking judge bloke????
Clutter
Hi Clutter,
Thanks for the compliment, however I'm pretty ordinary compared to alot of others & I did get a fair bit of practice in the days prior while doing some demonstations etc.
Young Dean Thomson is better than most of us on his day & is great to watch in action. :D
There was alot of folks tipping Steve Booth to wipe the floor but he cast his plug off. If not for that, the final result may well have been different. Thomo had a sore little finger on his casting hand so he was off his line & if big Dave Hodge (Supertank) was there we would have been in for some real hot casting action.
While Harro was there over looking us young pups having some fun, he didn't compete. He certainly still is the master. He still makes a fool of me at will when he wants to get a lure or fly into that impossible-to-reach back water.

It's all good fun at the end of the day.

Cheers & hope to see you there next year.

Fitzy..

[Randall]

I fish with Fitz a fair bit and I can attest to his accuracy on the water as well.

Very un-assuming young man!!! ;-)

Interesting to note that the spin class is way more inaccurate than overhead. I`ve been fooling with a short 5 foot spin stick and this seems to be far more controlled than the longer, whippier 6 foot six inch deals more commonly used in this class.

Maybe we`ll see some more short-strokers being used for accurate casting in the future? A few I know have converted.

I think Steve Morgan prefers a shorter rod for casting plugs?

Regards, Randall.

[Fitzy]

A shorter rod is definately better for accurate casting. 5' or 5' 6" is prefered by many for tournament casting.

Cheers,

Fitzy..

[Hodgie]

I dont get much of a chance to do internet stuff, but finally got a chance to check out cast comp results. I have fished with Fitzy a fair bit and Brett a few times. a can say that (apart from Harro) these guys are the best casters I have seen on the water, where it counts. The statement that Fitzy made is spot on, "its just a bit of fun." (casting comps.)Congratulations to Thomo and Fitzy. Young Dean will clean all the smirks off our faces next year me thinks.
Good fishin', Hodgie.

[Brett_Finger]

Hodgie!!
good to see you made it home ok,how did it go in north queensland??
the big Queenies are still in the mouth waiting for ya.. :D
i'll ring ya soon for a chat,don't catch to many of those HUGE GREENFISH!!A
OH' i'm sure you would have done ok in the catsing comp if ya had have been there ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
take care mate.
Hookin,Brett