2014 Top Gun Flathead competition – Results and Story
With the Great Northern Brewing Flathead Classic just a few weeks away, the 2014 Top Gun Flathead provided the opportunity for many anglers to test themselves in a competitive format. A total of 33 teams faced the starter, including the 8 Top Gun anglers who had been auctioned off on Thursday night at the Great Northern Brewing Flathead Classic launch. With a prize pool of in excess of $5000 up for grabs the field was abuzz with tense anticipation prior to the start.
As the teams started returning to ensure they met the 2pm deadline, it was Team Job Custom Rods who were first to submit their capture sheet. They set the early pace with 317cm which would ultimately see them finish in 2nd position. Their performance also stood out as the top placed 2 man team. As the rest of the teams started to return, the reports coming through of great fishing which culminated in a late bite around the bottom of the runout tide.
In the end it was Team Two Wogs and a Net boy who prevailed. George, Jason and Jacob Sands proved to strong, amassing a very impressive 324cm for their best 5 flathead, anchored by a very impressive 80cm model. The guys explained that their fish came steadily throughout the day, with casting soft plastics the preferred method. In the end the top 4 teams all beat the winning scores from last year. This is a great indciator that this years Classic is gearing up to be an absolute beauty. Will the magic metre be broken this year?
Rounding out the podium was Team Kitchen Addiction with 316cm. Their bag was also anchored by an 80cm specimen.
The Big Flathead prize went to Jay Cottrell who landed a 85cm model. Jay was fishing with Top Gun angler David Green who was absolutely stoked to see Jay catch such a big fish.
It is great to see this format growing in stature each year and next year promises to be bigger and better. A massive thankyou must go the 8 Top Gun anglers, Christian Cross, Doug Burt, David Whyte, Kevin Ballantine, David Green, Danny Sands, Dan Hickey and Shane Gartner for giving up their time and sharing their knowledge for the day. Michael kelly and his wife Cheryl spent the day with Kevin Ballantine. “Kevin is a true gentleman and it was such a positive experience, I just hope I can remeber everything we learnt” , Mick said afterwards.
A huge shout out also to VMR for the venue, Scott Gregory, Jason Horn, Brett Horner and Tamara Andersen for their assistance in organising the event.
| Place | Team Name | Angler 1 | Angler 2 | Angler 3 | Fish | Points | Big Flathead | Payout |
| 1 | Two Wogs & A Net Bitch | George Sands | Jacob Sands | Jason Sands | 5 | 324 | 80 | $1,800 |
| 2 | Job Custom Rods | Ben Job | Brad Job | 5 | 317 | 70 | $950 | |
| 3 | Kitchen Addiction | Stuart Dowie Bridges | Jay Noble | Jamie Douglas | 5 | 316 | 80 | $500 |
| 4 | Team Sands | Danny Sands | Con Vouteatos | 5 | 310 | 70 | $350 | |
| 5 | Dead Fishy | David Green | Jay Cottrell | Theo Delios | 5 | 302 | 85 | $240 |
| 6 | Pig Lures | Shane Gartner | Jeff Robinson | 5 | 281 | 63 | $180 | |
| 7 | Sure Power | Chris Cross | Jason Kuit | Colin Powell | 5 | 280 | 66 | $150 |
| 8 | Doug Burts Tackleworld | Doud Burt | John Bourke | Nick McKeough | 5 | 278 | 70 | $110 |
| 8 | Two Anchors | Paul Cordery | Gavin Reid | 5 | 278 | 71 | $110 | |
| 10 | Fishing Monthly | Michael Fox | Peter Jung | Chris Jordan | 5 | 273 | 81 | $80 |
| 11 | TT/Bush N Beach | Keith Stratford | Chris stratford | Brett Enders | 5 | 263 | 73 | |
| 12 | Dodgy Brothers Inc | Stuart Grice | Dean Lapham | Nate Lapham | 5 | 258 | 61 | |
| 13 | Team Heavy Tackle | Joakim Orlander | andrew Lewis | Adam Barnes | 5 | 247 | 62 | |
| 13 | Anglers Connection | Brett Ratner | Michael McClean | 5 | 247 | 53 | ||
| 15 | Team Kuhuna | Kingsley Young | Brett selway | Michael Green | 5 | 244 | 63 | |
| 16 | Dusky Deviants | Alex Hallam | Darren Caldwell | 5 | 242 | 65 | ||
| 17 | WildSupply | Geoff Carey | Scott Blair | 5 | 241 | 52 | ||
| 18 | Gold Coast Fishing Tackle | Kevin Ballantine | Mick Kelly | Cheryl Kelly | 5 | 239 | 64 | |
| 18 | Tech Fishing Lowrance | Nick Whyte | Brenden Whyte | 5 | 239 | 68 | ||
| 20 | Knot Tangled | Jon Felsman | Luke Tulloh | Jesse Tulloh | 5 | 237 | 64 | |
| 21 | Whatabunchofdingas | Steve Barrett | Mick Horn | Ben Richards | 5 | 232 | 63 | |
| 22 | Team Head Hunters | Paul Tamis | Brendon Knight | Stuart McCready | 5 | 218 | 47 | |
| 23 | SwitchBait | Dan Hickey | Brett Horner | Jan VanderKwart | 5 | 216 | 47 | |
| 23 | Strike Fuels | Mick Stewart | Mark Marland | Aiden Cross | 5 | 216 | 47 | |
| 23 | Flat Out | Glenn Crawford | Greg Deem | 5 | 216 | 47 | ||
| 26 | Tiddler Fiddler | Trent Jepson | Heath Edmonson | Kate Jepson | 5 | 206 | 48 | |
| 27 | Fat Fishes | Shane Holding | Nick Collier | 5 | 192 | 49 | ||
| 28 | Fishless | Andrew Bragg | Tom Vodli | 4 | 178 | 62 | ||
| 29 | White Wood | David Whyte | Terry O’toole | Allan Wood | 4 | 160 | 45 | |
| 30 | Johnny Cigga | Christian Pulverenti | Steve Ellis | 2 | 89 | 45 | ||
| 31 | 6lb | Jason Bartlett | John Bartlett | 2 | 80 | 0 | ||
| 32 | Bonza | Peter McGregor | John Stanton | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 32 | Barclays Boys | Adam Barclay | Ash Nobes | 0 | 0 | 0 |
