BRIEF FAMILY HISTORY –
I was born in Brisbane, spending most of my childhood around the Bayside in south east Queensland. I spent a couple of stints in North Queensland and on the Gold Coast whilst going to secondary school but now call the South East home.

I have a young family with wifey Megan and two young rug rats Chloe and Natt keeping my life very busy. I am an outdoors type person and have been privileged to have had parents, my brother and sister, mates, and now a young family to enjoy the great outdoors with.

My life evolves around my family, friends and the great outdoors.

FISHING HISTORY –
The first memories of I have of fishing is laying on my stomach beside my father on the Wellington Point jetty catching butter bream, gar and trumpeter with hand lines. The old man would burley with bread and we would fish with small hooks with bread or peeled prawns pieces under a float. The floats were made from old wooden cloths pegs or 3 matches glued together. We would put all the fish in a big old white bucket and let the fish swim around with us three kids playing with them.

I was given my first rod and reel for my 5th birthday and the addiction was etched. I travelled to north Queensland every year on holidays (sometimes several times) and was driving a boat by the time I was 8.

I seriously started getting into fishing and targeting fish species when I bought my first fly rod around 1989. It was a steep and fast learning curve catching a huge amount of species in both fresh and saltwater. This was the stepping stone and the basis for the tournament angling that I enjoy today.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY –
Official Tournament History
1997
Gold Coast Flathead Classic (Champion Angler Flyfishing)

1998
Gold Coast Flathead Classic (Champion Angler Flyfishing) and (Champion Team Runner-Up Overall)

2000
ABT Bass Pro – 2nd Bjelke Peterson Dam
ABT Bass Grand Final – 2nd Cressbrook Dam
ABT Bream Pro – 2nd Jumpinpin / Gold Coast
Cania Dam Fly Fishing Tournament – 3rd

2001
ABT Bass Pro – 2nd Somerset Dam
ABT Bass Pro – 6th Glenbawn Dam
ABT Bass Electric – 4th Hinze Dam
ABT Bass Pro Grand Final -8th Cania Dam
ABT Bass Electric Grand Final – 7th Maroon Dam
Barrumba Fly Fishing Tournament – 2nd Burumba Dam

2002
ABT Bass Pro – 1st Somerset Dam
ABT Bass Pro – 9th Glenbawn Dam
ABT Bass Grand Final – 18th
ABT Bream Pro – 10th Sanctuary Cove / Gold Coast
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – 1st (Round One)
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – 2nd (Round Two)
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – 1st (Round Three)
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – Champion Angler 2002

2003
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – 1st (Round One)
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – 1st (Round Two)
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – 5th (Round Three)
Stessl Family Bass Challenge – Champion Angler 2003

2004
ABT Bass Pro – 2nd Boondooma Dam
ABT Bass Pro Grand Final -
ABT Bream Pro – 5th Bundaberg
ABT Bream Grand Final 11th Foster

2005
ABT Barra Tour – 1st Champion Team (Ecogear)
ABT Barra Tour – 1st Champion Angler (AOY Points)
ABT Bass Pro – 2nd Bjelke Peterson Dam
ABT Bass Pro Grand Final – 3rd Barummba Dam
ABT Bass Electric – 1st Wivenhoe Dam

2006
ABT Bass Pro – 1st Boondoomba
ABT Bass Pro – 6th Somerset Dam
ABT Bass Electric – 1st Lake Macdonald
ABT Bass Pro (AMATEUR DIVISION) – 1st Glenbawn Dam
ABT Bass Pro (AMATEUR DIVISION) – 6th Glenbawn Dam
ABT Bass Pro Grand Final – 13th
ABT Barra Tour – 5th Teemburra Dam

2007
ABT Brisbane International Boat Show Bream Tournament – 1st Brisbane
ABT Gold Coast Boat Show Bream Tournament – 1st Gold Coast
ABT Bream Pro – 2nd Gold Coast
ABT Bream Grand Final – 29th
ABT Barra Tour – 1st Teemburra Dam

2008
ABT Australian Open ：
PERSONS THAT MOST INFLUENCE YOU’RE FISHING –
To many to list but the main ones are Lorrie Evans, Neil Carson, Rod Harrison, Brett Thompson, John Schofield and Takayoshi Orimoto.

FAVOURITE FISHING LOCATION –
SALTWATER – Woody Heads NSW
FRESHWATER – Teemburra for barra and Borumba for bass and toga

FAVOURITE FISHING STYLE –
Rock fishing for big blur groper, jew, snapper or anything that eats large rock crabs with good friend Adam McLennan.
FISHING BUDDIES – Col Singleton, Steve Wilson, Dave Young, Adam McLennan and my brother Craig ‘Burt’ Dunne.

FAVOURITE FISHING TACKLE –
When fishing off the rocks is a custom made 14 foot pole with a Alvey 650B. In bream and bass tournaments my go to rod is a Nories 680LS matched with a Shimano 2500 Sephia spinning reel. With bait casting rods I use many different Nories fishing rods from ultra light 4kg rods to heavy 10 kg rods and everything in between.

OTHER INTERESTS –
Family, bow hunting, my small 57acre farm and most forms of sporting and outdoor lifestyles.

SPONSORS –
Ecogear
Yamatoyo
Spotters Sun Glasses

Fishing history –
My fishing started when I was about 6 years old camping with the family in Yamba. My dad was a keen fisho and he taught me the ropes everything from whiting, flathead to snapper and pearl perch. I can still remember pumping yabbies day after day chasing crabs in the rocks just loving it. Fishing mostly on weekends and holidays growing up fishing wasn’t my only passion I also was a keen surfer and wake boarder. Through my surfing I was able to travel and fish many islands around the world such as Micronesia, Indonesia, PNG, Hawaii and Fiji catching everything from lobsters to sailfish learning how the islanders catch fish which was a great experience. Back home I do all kinds of fishing from chasing pelagics, snapper offshore to working the estuaries for bream and mangrove jacks.

Tournament history –
Started tournaments in 2006 as a non boater in the Bream circuit at the Tweed River and Gold Coast rounds to learn how the tournaments worked. Realising the non boating scene wasn’t my thing I took the plunge in 2007 to do the team events and be a boater in the ABT. First team event on the gold coast got 3rd in the summer series and then in the ABT got 1st in the Gold Coast Super Series winning 10K. Over the moon about the win went to the Grand Final at Lake Macquarie hoping for a top ten finish to back up my win. After a tough three day tournament ended up finishing no. 1 and taking home the grand final trophy, new boat and nailing a spot on the AFC TV series. Began 2008 with winning the Australian Open in Sydney Harbour winning 10K. With a year of the tournament circuit coming up, the AFC series and BARRA tournaments it’s shaping up to be a busy year.

Persons that most influence your fishing –
Being one of the young anglers on the circuit I defiantly look up to guys like Scotty Towner and Tim Morgan who stay consistent all year, are so focused and are always looking for a edge to stay in front on the group. Also all mates at home that really push me and when I start to loose focus they give me a slap around eyes and being associated with Ecogear has also pushed me to another level with the product testing and getting involved other anglers can really boost a anglers knowledge.

Favourite fishing location –
My favourite fishing spots would have to nine mile reef in northern new south Wales with a large variety of fish you can catch on soft plastics and it’s a year round fishery. Also love fishing the gold coast seaway and forster oyster racks exacting large fish from structure really gets the heart pumping.

Favourite fishing style –
Deep jigging for bream in deep water and surface breamin over racks and structure.

Fishing |buddies –
I mainly fish with Roderick Walmsley, Gavin Dunne, Mick Horn, Craig Ellis, Jonny Balcomb and all my mates from home.

Favourite Fishing Tackle –
40mm Ecogear VX colour 339 and SX40 colour 333 and 303.

Other interests –
Surfing, poker, soccer

Sponsors –
Ecogear, Yamatoyo, Elixa Energy Drink, Hastings Rods, Doug Burts Tackle World, Lure Strike Spinnerbaits

FISHING HISTORY Caught my first fish aged 2 years old, Australian Bass, Colo River near Sydney. Grew up on the shores of Westernport Bay, Vic catching estuary fishlike snapper, flathead, whiting and gummy sharks.

Began fly fishing aged 17 and cast a fly allover the world for trout and many saltwater species.

Became addicted to breaming after my first time out in Melbourne's Yarra river nearly 10 years ago and have been completely obsessed ever since.

Whentime permits, my passion is light tackle sportsfishing and sight fishing.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Competed in my first ABT tournament in 2003. Have placed in the top 10 fifteen times in ABT tournaments. Currently, I compete in over 20 competitions per year all over the country.

PERSONS THAT MOST INFLUENCE YOU’RE FISHING
As a young angler I always had my head stuck in a fishing magazine. Articles by Dick Lewers, John Bethune, Ian Miller, Steve Starling, Warren Steptoe, Rod Harrison, Rex Hunt, Shane Mensforth and Kaj Busch were all enjoyed.

Adam Royter probably has had the most profound effect on my current fishing pursuits. He is a very knowledgeable and well rounded angler.

Steve Morgan has given me great insight in to many finesse techniques for catching bream, and I have also been lucky to learn from some other great tournament anglers like Tim Morgan, Chris Wright, Steve Steer, Gavin Dunne, Shaun Clancy, Jarrod Healey, Brad Hodges and Shaun Ossit.

FAVOURITE FISHING LOCATION
Glenelg River, Nelson, VIC
Mallacoota VIC
Tasmania

FAVOURITE FISHING STYLE
All forms of sight fishing.
Especially topwater fishing and pink grubbing

FISHING BUDDIES
Shaun Clancy, Steve Steer, Adam Royter, Steve Morgan, Steve Jennings, Jarrod Healey, Brad Hodges

FAVOURITE FISHING TACKLE
Daiwa Steez 2508, Nories Road Runner Finnesse Sweeper
Ecogear SX, MX, VX or PX or Pink grub

BIGGEST BREAM
2.28kg Port Sorrell, TAS April 2008. Ecogear sx48 311 - 3lb Yamatoyo spinning flouoro strtaight through to the lure

OTHER INTERESTS
My Wife and 2 year old daughter, Cricket, Outdoors, writing,Photgraphy

SPONSORS
Ecogear, Yamatoyo, Nories
Humminbird, Minn Kota, Cannon
BluEye Eyewear