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 –
I first started fishing when I very young at Mallacoota with my dad and grandfather and at Bermagui around the harbour catching mullet, trevally, bream and flathead. What ever would jump on! I remember using the red and white bubble floats with a long shank bait holder hook and sitting beside the Bermi ramp for hours. Progressed into game fishing for a while but the estuary fishing always interested me more than dragging lures around the ocean all day. I also had a stint at course fishing for trout off the bank at the Golbourn River and Pondage. I think this helped hone my light line fishing as 2lb leaders were the norm when float fishing. I started tournament fishing in 2004 at the Gippsland Lakes event and soon made friends with guys at the event that I still go to comps with today.

Tournament history –
2006 Humminbird Vic Bream Champion Team with Wayne Friebe.
2007 NT Barra Classic Champion Visiting Team
2008 Victorian Bream Angler of the year

ABT Tournament Top 10’s
2005 – 4th Glenelg River
　　　 9th Gippsland Lakes
2006 – 7th Glenelg River
2007 - 9th Glenelg River
　　　 7th Port Adelaide
　　　 8th ABT Grandfinal Lake Macquarie
2008 – 9th St Helans
　　　 7th Derwent River
　　　 2nd Mallacoota
　　　 2nd Gippsland Lakes

Persons that most influence your fishing –
In the early days my Dad, uncles and Grandfather got me started with the basics including flathead fishing with Mr Twisters. In my teens Terry Sheppard honed my skills introducing me to course fishing and taking me Whiting and gummy shark fishing in Westernport bay. Books and articles by Bushy got me interested in chasing bream on hardbodys around Mallacoota. In the tournament years Adam Royter and Wayne Friebe has been the most influential people fast tracking my skills on plastics and hardbodys. Wayne continues to share his knowledge and new techniques with me and many other anglers around Australia.

Favourite fishing location
I have gone to Mallacoota for Holidays my whole life and I love the estuary fishing and getting offshore a seeing what I can catch.

Favorite Style of Fishing
I love fishing flats with hardbodys and finding open water areas holding fish using my Humminbird side imaging sounder. Any styles in natural environments.

Fishing Buddies
Wayne Friebe, Adam Royter, Jarrod Healey, Tim Morgan, Steve Steer, Brad Hodge, Stuart Buckingham, Steve Joy.

Fishing Tackle
Nories Rock fish bottom TR 610 ULS, LS, MS with any good Diawa Reel. SX40, SX48, Nories Laydown Minnow, VX35 & 40.

Most memorable capture.
1.13m Mulloway on a VX 40 from under a jetty during the final day of the 2008 Gippsland lakes Super Series. It’s on the wall!!

Other Sponsors
BLA with Humminbird and MinnKota, Pure Fishing, Blueye sunglasses.

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
Tournament Highlights
2006 Victorian Bream Classics - Champion Team (Humminbird) with Shaun Clancy
2006 Victorian Angler of the Year Runner Up
2008 South Australian Angler of the Year
Top 10 ABT Results
2005
2nd Glenelg River VIC(non boater)
6th Gippsland Lakes VIC (non boater)
10th Grand Final Gippsland Lakes
2006
2nd Glenelg River VIC
6th Derwent River TAS
2007
2nd Glenelg River VIC
4th St Helens TAS
6th Port River SA
10th Derwent River TAS
2008
1st Port River SA
8th Glenelg River VIC
9th Gold Coast Super Series QLD
9th Mallacoota VIC
9th Derwent TAS
2009
7th Port River SA

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

General BackgroundI started fishing at the age of two years and have been a passionate angler all of my life. I grew up in Melbourne and have spent every spare minute, fishing and have fished in many states of Australia for a wide range of fish species on bait, lure and fly. These days, I spend most of my angling time targeting Bream and Trout on soft plastics, hard body’s and fly, but still chase practically everything that swims from time to time. I currently compete in many of the Australian Bream Tournament (ABT) and Sportsfish Tournament events held around the county and I am currently a seven time ABT event winner. In addition to this, I do some paid guiding, I write regularly for several fishing magazines, I tournament cast on a national level, I do some radio fishing reports and have held several advanced angling seminars. In addition to the above, I have worked as a manager of a respected tackle store in Launceston Tasmania. What follows is a list of my achievements, a description of my current sponsors and a summary of my involvement in the fishing equipment industry to date.
Tournament Angling Achievements
1.In April 2005 I competed in the Gippsland, Victoria round of the ABT (Australian Bream Tournament) series and managed to win the event and also bag the biggest bream for the two days of competition.

2.In October 2005 my fishing partner Leigh Mc Kenzie and I competed in the Scamander River round of the 2005 Tasmanian ABT Bream Classic Event and managed to win the event with the biggest ten fish bag for the tournament.

3.In October 2005 Leigh Mc Kenzie and I competed in the Swan River (Grand Final) Round of the Tasmanian ABT Bream Classic Event and managed to win both the teams section (with a 10 fish bag weight of 11.8kg) and also take out the first and second place individual bags weights for the event.

4.In August 2006 I fished the ABT Bream Classic event held at Mallacoota in Victoria. I fished as Team Hummingbird with my good mate and fishing partner Wayne Friebe. In a large field of 46 boats that included some quality teams the likes of team ‘Millerrods’ (Chris Wright/Ian Miller) and Team ‘Grumpy Old Men’ (Kaj Bush/Kevin Gleed), Wayne and I managed to come out on top winning the event with a two day, 10 fish bag weighing 10.72kg, some 1.6kg ahead of the second placed team.

Winning Team (Team Humminbird) Steve Steer (right) and Wayne Friebe (left)

5.In October 2006 my Tasmanian fishing partner Leigh Mc Kenzie and I competed in the Scamander River round of the 2006 Tasmanian ABT Bream Classic Event and managed to win the event for the second year running.

6.In March 2007 I competed in the first ABT qualifying event to be held at St Helens on the east coast of Tasmania. I managed to win the boater/pro division with a 10 fish two day bag weight of 9.39kg with second place going to Scott Towner from NSW with 8.29kg and third place going to Chris Wright from NSW with 7.92kg.

7.In March 2007 my fishing partner Leigh Mc Kenzie and I competed as team G-Loomis in the first ever ABT Trout classic event held at Arthur’s Lake in the central highlands of Tasmania. We managed to place a respectable third place overall and I managed to catch the biggest Trout for the event.

8.In October 2006 my Tasmanian fishing partner Patrick Sullivan and I competed in the Scamander River round of the 2007 Tasmanian ABT Bream Classic Event and managed to win the event. This was the third year in a row that I have managed to win this Scamander River ABT event.

9.In Feb 2008 my fishing partner Leigh McKenzie and I competed in the Scamander River round of the 2008 Tasmanian ABT Bream Classic Event and we managed to achieve a second place in this event. This result currently gives me a total of three first places and one second place in this Scamander River ABT event .

10.In March 2008 my fishing partner Leigh Mc Kenzie and I competed as team Seaport Marine in the second ever ABT Trout classic event held over two days with day one being held at Arthur’s Lake and day two held at Great Lake in the central highlands of Tasmania. We managed to place a respectable third place overall and I managed to catch the biggest Trout for the event for the second year running.

11.In March 2008 I fished the Mallacoota round of the Victorian ABT Bream Classic event with my good fishing mate Wayne Friebe. In a record field of 60 boats Wayne and I managed a respectable 5th place overall. For full results of this event see: http://www.vicbreamclassics.com.au/articles_mallacoota_2008.html

12.In October 2008 I fished the ABT Vic Bream Humminbird Invitational Grand Final event held at Mallacoota in Victoria with my good mate Jarrod Healey . In a field of 48 qualifying teams Jarrod and I managed a respectable 4th place overall. For full results of this Grand Final event visit: http://www.vicbreamclassics.com.au/articles_mallacoota_final_2008.html

Summary of Tournment Results
I currently have a total of seven ABT event wins to my name, a second place, two thirds places, three fourth places, a fifth place and many top ten finishes including a 10th, 11th and a 13th place as a pro/boater in National GRAND FINAL events held in the past two years. I look forward to performing well in future events and will continue to do my best to improve my profile and the profile of my sponsors within the Australian fishing scene.

Fishing Publications
I currently have a regular one page column titled ‘Fishing Crazy’ in ‘The Tasmanian Sportsfisher’ magazine and have had many articles published in this magazine and ‘Tasmanian Fishing & Boating News’ in the past. I look forward to expanding my work in this area in the future.

Guiding
I have been doing some paid guiding for clients who wish to target trout and bream in Tasmania using soft plastics, hard body lures or fly. I am currently in the process of setting up to do a lot more of this guiding in the future and will be acquiring a new boat in the near future to cater for this expansion

Tournament Casting Experience and Achievements
I have been involved in the Spin and Plug accuracy tournament casting scene for around 5-6 years now. I currently have the following achievements in this area:
•A second place in the 54th Australian Fly Casting and Plug Accuracy Championships ‘Spinning Accuracy Arenburg’ event held in Canberra on the 22nd of April 2005.
•A third place in the 54th Australian Fly Casting and Plug Accuracy Championships ‘18gram Skish’ (Baitcast plug accuracy) event held in Canberra on the 22nd of April 2005.
•A third place in the 54th Australian Fly Casting and Plug Accuracy Championships ‘7.5gram Skish’ (Spin plug accuracy) event held in Canberra on the 22nd of April 2005.
•A third place overall in the 54th Australian Fly Casting and Plug Accuracy Championships ‘Plug Accuracy Champion’ division held in Canberra on the 22nd of April 2005.
•A second place in the 2002 Sydney Invitational ‘Spin Cast Division’;
•A second place ‘Overall’ in the 2002 Sydney Invitational accuracy casting tournament;
•A third place ‘Overall’ in the 2003 BIA Vic Professional Casting Championships;
•Several fourth and fifth places in the accuracy casting tournaments held in conjunction with the Melbourne fishing and Melbourne Boat show each year.

Fishing History
My early years on the family game farm were always involved in hunting, which gave me an interest in the outdoors. After exploring all things to do with hunting I progressed into fishing for trout in the streams and rivers of Tasmania’s North East. Aged 20 I traveled overseas to Italy to visit my father’s family and it was only when I returned that I realized how lucky we are in Oz to have so many quality fisheries at out fingertips. From then on I made a big effort to get out and explore what was on offer. Several years later I met my wife Jane while in Hobart, and we moved to Melbourne. We traveled up the east coast in our van, then through the centre, up to Darwin and eventually all the way around the WA coast then back to Melbourne to start our family. After 5 years working in Melbourne we moved to Yamba to set up house but have recently returned to the delights of Tasmania. We now have two children, Jarra 12 and Nina 5.

Fishing History
I started out like many young Tasmania trout anglers by casting unweighted worms in the local streams. From there it was onto the famous celta style spinner and working on my stalking and stream craft. The natural progression was fly fishing, and I like others enjoyed the pleasure watching your small dry getting slurped down by a hungry trout. But always the lure enthusiast, I moved on to employ my river techniques to the highland lakes and wilderness waters to great effect.

After moving to Victoria I explored more trout water like the Upper Yarra, King, Goulburn and Kiewa rivers to name a few. Next stop was Darwin with its Barra and all the other fishing options the Territory has to offer. Here, I developed a bit of a taste for the salt water side of the game, especially mackerel and milkfish. Ended up in Northern NSW and discovered bass. My bassing became slightly obsessive and I found the best way to deal with it all was to enter the tournament scene. I’ve loved it from the first event I did at Clarrie Hall Dam and still look forward eagerly to each event. Meeting so many people and learning so much has made the tournament experience a good one for me.

Fishing Influences
Guys like Adrian Chugg, Marty Rodgers, James Rook, Gavin Dunne, Scott Towner, David Green, Leigh McKenzie and Jamieson Godfrey have all inspired me in some way.

Favourite Locations
Tasmania’s central plateau, Derwent River, Clarence River, North Esk River, Little Swanport River, East Alligator River, Clarrie Hall Dam and Wadley’s Lake

Favourite Tackle
My Nories Rockfish Bottom TR loaded with light dyneema and 4lb Flouro Rockfish leader. A great rig for light blade work and mid depth plastic presentations which work a treat with both the subtle back bream bites we get on the Derwent at times and our lake trout. The new SX43 is definitely my current go to lure.

Fishing Buddies
Jamieson Godfrey, Leigh McKenzie and Gav Dunne. I’ve always enjoyed the time we’ve spent on the water.

Tournament History
Bass
8th Toonumbar Dam 2004
1st Hinze Dam 2004
Big Bass Hinze Dam
9th Bass Electric Convention Final 2004
4th Maroon Dam 2005
5th Bass Electric Convention Final 2005
11th Lake St Clair Bass Pro (non boater) 2005

Bream
4th Clarence Rive Bream Pro Qualifier (non boater) 2005
9th Gippsland Lakes Bream Pro Final (non boater) 2005
6th Derwent River Bream Pro Qualifier (non boater) 2006
9th Derwent River Bream Pro Qualifier (non boater) 2007
1st Derwent River Bream Pro Qualifier (non boater) 2008
23rd Gold Coast Bream Pro Final (non boater) 2008
7th Scamander River Bream Classic 2008
1st Swan River Bream Classic 2008
2nd Derwent River Bream Classic 2008
2nd 2008 Tasmanian Bream Classic Championship

Trout
5th 2007 ABT Tasmanian Trout Classic
9th 2008 ABT Trout Classic

Tournament Highlights
2001
Some mixed results as a non- boater
2002
Mixed results as a boater
9th place ABT Boondooma
Big Bass in event
2003
1st place ABT Boondooma
6th place ABT Somerset
Big Bass in event
Broke long standing record for largest Bass in an ABT event 3.08kg
3rd place team in ABT Bass MegaBucks
5th in Angler of the Year overall standings
7th place in ABT Grand Final
2004
8th place ABT Cressbrook
5th place ABT Boondooma
1st place team in ABT Bass MegaBucks
1st place in ABT Grand Final
AFC Invite for 2005
2005
2nd place ABT Lake St Clair
2nd place ABT Lake Glenbawn
5th in Angler of the Year overall standings
TV AFC appearance
ABT New South Wales angler of the year
2006
6th place Boondooma
12th place Glenbawn
TV AFC appearance
2007
4th Glenbawn ABT Bass Pro Division
2008
2nd Glenbawn ABT Bass Pro Division
3rd place in ABT Grand Final
Ranked 8th for season 2008
2009
1st Bassin Qld Somerset Dam
10th Glenbawn ABT Bass Pro Division

Bass fishing
All of a sudden my eyes were opened to this new sport. There were magazines, books, television shows from the USA, information on the internet, celebrities to read about and a local waterway with Bass in it!
The local fishing store had a range of products and lures devoted to this species, knowledge on them and staff willing to take me out and show me the right way to go about trying to catch them. I was hooked!! From this point on it has been a journey to the AFC.
As with any sport we undertake practice is the number one reason we improve. I am sure that my wife thought I was mad doing as many hours on the dam as I did but as I told her the Bass are always trying to out smart us and it is our job to “figure” them out. Very early starts combined with long days on the water and lots of advice from other anglers, make us think like a fish. It’s no wonder she looks at me with a perplexed look on her face sometimes!

Tournament fishing
The first tournament I competed in was at Somerset Dam in Queensland in 2001. I still remember it like it was yesterday. We arrived on Friday before the event so as to pre fish. When we pulled up and I got my first look at this massive body of water I said to my mate “you are kidding aren’t you”! How is a fish going to find this three inch plastic lure in all that water? Out we went and on my first cast I caught a Bass which weighed five pounds in the old scale. I was amazed!
On Saturday the event began. I still remember standing on the edge of the lake waiting for the start and being right beside John Schofield and other guys I had read so much about up to that point. To me this was like seeing Steve Waugh up close at a cricket test match.
My beginners luck did not hold as I did not catch a single fish for the three sessions on day one. I was devastated! The tag of “Captain Zero” was born.
Enter Carl Jocumsen. I had met Carl before at the tackle store and his advice to me was to put on a plastic grub and roll it as slowly as possible along the bottom. He obviously knew what to do because he was catching fish. This technique worked as I caught three of the biggest Bass I had ever seen the next day! The end result for the tournament was three Bass for a seventh placing in the non-boaters division, I netted the biggest fish for my boater (which went on to be a long standing Australian Bass Tournament record) and I won the bottle of rum in the raffle! This Bass fishing is great fun!

AFC expectations
Firstly I want to enjoy the experience. I am not directly involved in the fishing industry as most of the other guys are so I feel this is my chance to fish and compete against the best in the business. I am only one of many who could be representing the ABT competitors, so as their face on television I will be doing my best to prove we have what it takes to win.

Sponsors
Daiwa Australia
Ecogear Soft Plastics
JML Trading
Reliance Petroleum (BP)
Humminbird/Minnkota
Mako Sunglasses
Smak Spinnerbaits
Bass to Barra Marine