The Bream Fishing Project

Welcome to EP232 of The Lure Fishing Project — and our first dedicated Australian bass episode.
There probably couldn’t be a better guest to kick it off.
Steve Morgan joins me fresh from an incredible run, winning back-to-back ABT Bass qualifiers at Somerset and Wivenhoe — around 20 years after his first ABT Bass qualifier victory.
This conversation goes well beyond those two tournaments.
Steve takes us right back through the evolution of Australian tournament bass fishing, from the early days of spinnerbaits, Sliders, ice jigs, Fireline and basic sounders through to the modern era of forward-facing sonar, strolling and targeting individual fish.
We dig into what Steve learned at Somerset and Wivenhoe and why two neighbouring fisheries required very different approaches.
Steve explains how he finds roaming bass with live sonar, how he positions the lure above the fish, what he watches for when a fish reacts and why sometimes the best thing you can do is actually move the lure away from the fish rather than toward it.
We also cover Steve’s incredible Wivenhoe pre-fish session, matching lure size to the available bait, hook positioning in soft plastics, winter bass behaviour, finding fish without forward-facing sonar and the importance of being prepared to fail while learning something new.
There are plenty of numbers in this one too — including a Somerset winning bag of around 23.8 kg for ten bass, a 3.35 kg fish, and Steve’s remarkable turnaround at Wivenhoe from one small fish the previous year to 19.4 kg for ten fish this time around.
Perhaps the biggest lesson is that buying the technology isn't the same as learning how to use it. Steve has spent a huge amount of time watching fish, experimenting and understanding how bass respond to a lure.
STEVE MORGAN’S LIVE-SONAR COURSE
If you want to take the forward-facing sonar side of this episode further, Steve’s Live-Sonar Masterclass is available through My Fishing Coach:
https://www.myfishingcoach.com/courses/live-sonar-masterclass/
Use the code LFP10 for 10% off.
Using the code also helps support The Lure Fishing Project.
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Thanks for listening to our first Australian bass episode.
AndrewThe Lure Fishing Project
 

Spring is warming up, the fish are starting to move, and this month there’s plenty to unpack.
Brett Geddes joins Andrew for another Lure Fishing Project Monthly Report, looking at what’s been happening on the water and what they’ve learned from it.
Nev Hayes kicks things off with an extraordinary estuary perch session, landing fish of 50, 54, 57 and 58cm in the one outing.
Brett has had a pretty memorable month himself, including a cracking 51.5cm bass, while continuing to pile up some remarkable perch and bream numbers.
Andrew has also been spending more time back in the Hobie, getting ready for the Grand Final at Woy Woy and experimenting with ActiveTarget. That leads to jewfish, snapper and some interesting lessons about how fish react to lures on forward-facing sonar.
There’s also plenty more in this episode:
The devastating bream fish kill at Little Swanport in Tasmania
Tony Pettie’s eventful journey to the China Open
The latest reports from Mallacoota
Spring bream pushing back onto the mangrove edges
Why short, sharp fishing sessions can sometimes be incredibly effective
Land-based estuary perch on weedless plastics
New lures heading to Mallacoota
Carl Dubois catching a metre mulloway on bream gear — without a rudder and with a net nowhere near big enough
A look through an old ABT Tournament Angler Guide and how much bream fishing has — and hasn’t — changed
The upcoming October tournament calendar
It’s another wide-ranging Monthly Report packed with fishing stories, techniques, observations and plenty of laughs.
SUPPORT THE SHOW
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Steve Morgan’s Live-Sonar Masterclass — My Fishing CoachUse code LFP10 for 10% off. The course covers how live sonar works, settings, locating and targeting fish, lure presentation and species-specific techniques. My Fishing CoachSteve Morgan’s Live-Sonar Masterclass
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The Lure Fishing Project heads north for the 2026 Daiwa Bream Series Atomic Gladstone Round, held on September 19–20.
Gladstone proved to be one of the most unique stops on the calendar. Small neap tides, huge tidal variation, mangroves, bridge pylons, rock walls, shallow reefs and deep drop-offs all played a part — and almost every angler interviewed talked about just how much fun the fishery was.
In this episode we speak with the top three anglers from both the non-boater and boater divisions and break down exactly how they caught their fish.
NON-BOATERS
3rd – Allan Lavell
Allan relied heavily on plastics, particularly Hurricane Sprats, while also finding fish on deep-running Chubbies. After pre-fishing with Jon Fitzgibbon, Allan was paired with Jamie McKeown on day one and Brett Crowe on day two.
He talks through fishing rock walls, drop-offs and mangrove edges, keeping jig heads light and adjusting to the aggressive pikey bream.
2nd – Michael Maas
Michael was paired with Marc Saric on Saturday and Wade Walker on Sunday.
He found an unusual pattern slow-rolling Z-Man Grubs around bridge pylons before changing completely on day two and catching numbers of pikey bream on heavy Cranka Crabs worked slowly down a steep rocky bank.
1st – Mitch Vane
Mitch travelled across from Western Australia and adapted quickly to a completely different fishery.
Fishing with David Yuill on day one and James Graham on day two, Mitch used Gulp presentations around bridges before sight-casting prawn-style lures to bream pushing onto mangrove edges.
A big day-one bag gave him the advantage he needed before bridge pylons became critical on Sunday.
BOATERS
3rd – Jamie McKeown
Jamie mixed deep-running Chubbies, topwater and crab presentations while exploring the huge Gladstone system.
Fishing with Allan Lavell on Saturday and Gordon Pullin on Sunday, Jamie’s approach was heavily influenced by tide height, reef timing and constantly moving until he found active fish.
A strong day-two bag pushed him onto the podium.
2nd – Steve Morgan
Steve draws on years of Gladstone experience and explains the importance of bridge fishing, shallow reef patterns and understanding exactly how tide, wind and water level change the behaviour of Gladstone bream.
The difference between being on a location at the right tide height — or just a little too early or late — proved critical throughout the event.
1st – Peter Cashman
Peter went through the entire Friday pre-fish without catching a bream, but rather than abandon the area, he backed his plan.
Deep Z-Man plastics, forward-facing sonar and a willingness to stick with what he believed in ultimately produced the tournament win.
And make sure you stay to the end — there’s a great post-event story from Peter that’s well worth hearing.
Gladstone might not produce the biggest bream bags in Australia, but this episode shows why it remains one of the most interesting and entertaining tournament fisheries on the calendar.
Thanks for listening to The Lure Fishing Project.
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The Atomic New South Wales Tournament Series headed south to Mallacoota for Round 5 — and as usual, Mallacoota produced plenty of fish and some seriously interesting bream fishing.
Across the weekend, the top teams found bream everywhere from shallow flats and snags to deeper edges, with some fish sitting so high in the water column they were almost on the surface.
First up, Luke West and Dean Henry-Smith from Flick Wits break down a huge weekend that saw them catch more than 150 bream across pre-fish and the two competition days.
Using LiveScope, Hurricane Sprats, Hybrid Shrimp and lightly weighted plastics, they found schools of black bream suspended incredibly high in the water column and finished third with 10 fish for 7.91kg.
Then Josh Jeffrey and Connor Jackson from Team Zero Technique talk through a very different tournament.
After a slow Saturday morning, they adapted with lightly weighted plastics and deeper presentations to put together 4.11kg, before a change in conditions on Sunday saw the bite improve dramatically. They backed it up with 4.41kg to finish second with 8.52kg.
Finally, Jason Mayberry joins the show after another victory for Team Shimano.
Jason explains why the Hurricane Sprat in Cleaver became the standout lure of the weekend, how he used LiveScope to locate moving and mudding fish, and why he was confident fishing just 2lb line at Mallacoota.
He also breaks down his unusual Sprat retrieve — skipping the lure across the surface like a fleeing prawn before allowing it to settle — along with an incredible session where yellowfin bream were feeding from just under the surface right through to the bottom.
Team Shimano finished with 4.42kg on Saturday and 4.34kg on Sunday for 8.76kg and the win.
IN THIS EPISODE:
• Mallacoota black and yellowfin bream• More than 150 fish across three days for Flick Wits• Bream feeding just below the surface• Forward-facing sonar and LiveScope• Hurricane Sprat in Cleaver• Hybrid Shrimp• Lightly weighted plastics• 1/40oz, 1/28oz and other ultra-light jighead presentations• Fishing 2lb, 5lb and 6lb line and leader• Sight casting to big black bream• Adjusting presentations as fish become pressured• Skipping plastics across the surface like prawns• Tournament bite periods and decision-making• Jason Mayberry's Team Shimano victory
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Joseph Gardner has become one of Australia’s most consistent tournament bream anglers — Australian Champion, Angler of the Year winner, and an angler capable of producing results on completely different waterways around the country.
So what is behind that consistency?
In this episode of The Lure Fishing Project, Joseph sits down with Andrew during the Hobie round at Wallaga Lake and breaks down the surprisingly simple approach he uses to catch bream around Australia.
Joseph started tournament fishing in 2014 — and donutted his very first competition. Just a year later he recorded his first win, and from there began a journey that would eventually take him to the top level of Australian tournament fishing.
One of the biggest lessons from this conversation is just how small Joseph's lure rotation really is.
Rather than constantly changing lures, Joseph relies on a handful of presentations he knows extremely well and concentrates on putting them in the right places.
We go deep into three of his key bream presentations:
🎣 Z-Man StreakZ — from shallow weed beds and timber to Gold Coast pontoons, including jighead weights, retrieves, colours and the violent twitching action Joseph uses to make the lure dart.
🎣 50mm Ecogear Aqua Bream Prawn — including Joseph's incredibly simple worm-hook retrieve, how he watches his coloured braid rather than the lure, and why he believes in setting the hook hard.
🎣 Blue Lip Baits Pygmy Mussel — a lure Joseph helped create, including how he fishes it around structure, bridges and sand flats and why tiny movements can be so effective.
But perhaps the most important part of the episode is Joseph's approach to casting accuracy.
He explains how he used to take a bucket to the park and practise casting into it over and over again — and why he believes that work has made one of the biggest differences to his tournament results.
As Joseph puts it, you can make ten casts to a dock in the wrong place and catch nothing, while the next angler can make one accurate cast and catch the fish.
We also cover:
• How Joseph researches a completely new waterway before arriving• Why he can travel across Australia and still rely on the same core techniques• How he plans a pre-fish and eliminates unproductive water• Why he prefers fishing away from crowds• Why using identical rods and reels helps his casting accuracy• His unusual approach to changing lures — or not changing them• Why an extra 100 casts can matter more than constantly trying new presentations• Fishing tough tournament days without losing confidence• His Lowrance electronics setup in the kayak and boat• A memorable 49cm black bream from Denmark• The tiny bream that started his obsession with lure fishing• Joseph's three biggest tips for improving as an angler
Joseph's final three pieces of advice are beautifully simple:
Casting accuracy. Confidence. Time on the water.
This is a detailed conversation with one of Australia's best tournament bream anglers and an episode packed with practical information you can take straight onto the water.
🎣 JOIN THE LURE FISHING PROJECT COLLECTIVE
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The Gippsland Lakes have produced something special.
In this episode of The Lure Fishing Project, we head back to the 2026 Club Marine East Gippsland Bream Classic, where some enormous black bream and extraordinary bags hit the scales.
At the top of the leaderboard, father-and-son team Brad and Cooper Hodges from Team Berkley produced a tournament for the record books.
They opened with five bream for 7.095kg on Saturday and backed it up with 6.935kg on Sunday, finishing with 10 fish for a massive 14.030kg — believed to be the first 14kg two-day bag ever weighed at a Vic Bream Classic.
And they did it fishing incredibly light around some seriously nasty structure.
Brad breaks down why he trusts 4lb leader around jetties, how he uses free-spooling to get big bream around pylons and ropes, why casting accuracy is so important, and how Berkley Grubs in camo rigged on 1/16oz jigheads played a major role in their win.
We also hear from second-placed Team Zero Technique — Josh Jeffrey and Kez Coleman — after an incredible Sunday charge.
After sitting sixth overnight with 5.290kg, the pair produced a monster 7.460kg Sunday bag, including the 1.710kg Ecogear Big Bream, to finish with 12.750kg.
They talk through fishing the Hollands area and the Straits, changing locations and presentations, fishing hard structure and flats, and the confidence it takes to keep searching for those bigger bites.
Then Jarred Healey from Team Hummingbird takes us through another remarkable Sunday turnaround.
After weighing 4.970kg on Saturday with his wife Michelle — fishing her first competition — Jarred teamed back up with Shaun and made the gamble to head to the opposite end of the lake.
Using Hummingbird side imaging, 360 and live sonar, they found huge schools of bream and spent hours watching fish react to their lures in real time.
They eventually weighed 6.495kg on Sunday to finish third with 11.465kg.
In this episode:
• Brad and Cooper Hodges' record-breaking 14.030kg victory• Fishing 4lb leader around jetties and heavy structure• Berkley Grubs in camo on 1/16oz jigheads• Weedless rigging for mussels, timber and structure• Why first-cast accuracy matters so much• Free-spooling big bream around pylons and snags• Josh Jeffrey and Kez Coleman's record 7.460kg bag• The 1.710kg Big Bream• Fishing Hollands, the Straits and Lake Victoria• Jarred Healey's massive day-two gamble• Finding schools with side imaging and 360• Watching bream respond to lures on live sonar• Hybrid Shrimp, Hurricane Sprats, Chubbies, CrushCity and more• Michelle Healey catching a crucial fish in her first tournament• Three generations of the Hodges family competing at the same event
This is a cracking tournament story and another reminder of just how good the Gippsland Lakes bream fishery can be.
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Bream Masters South Australia kicks off its 2026 season on the Port River — and it proved to be a seriously tough day on the water.
Paul Cook came out on top with three bream for 1.72 kg, continuing an impressive run at the venue. In his last five tournaments on the Port River, Paul has now produced four podium finishes — along with one memorable donut!
Paul breaks down how he prepared for the round, what he learned from his pre-fish, and why the extreme summer heat had him focused on making the early part of the session count.
After a frustrating first two hours, Paul eventually unlocked the fish with an OSP Dunk fished around rock and structure. He explains why he has been experimenting with heavier straight-through fluorocarbon, how he fishes the Dunk around nasty structure, and the Miller Rods and Shimano setup he uses to do it.
We also catch up with third-place finisher Ben Gibbs, who went into the event without a pre-fish and relied on a familiar Port River milk run. Ben landed two quality 37 cm bream early before the bite virtually disappeared, forcing him to grind out the rest of a very difficult session.
Ben talks through his Gulp Crabbie and Pro Lure Grub approach, fishing vertical structure and rock walls, using forward-facing sonar, and why sometimes staying put and methodically working productive structure is better than constantly chasing new water.
In this episode:
• Paul Cook’s winning 1.72 kg bag• Ben Gibbs’ third-place 1.35 kg result• Fishing the Port River in tough summer conditions• OSP Dunk hardbody tactics• Six-pound straight-through fluorocarbon around structure• Pro Lure Grubs and Gulp Crabbies• Rock walls, oysters and vertical structure• Forward-facing sonar• Adjusting when the bream simply won’t commit• Why persistence and experience matter on tough tournament days• The Bream Masters SA series and its pathways to the Hobie Australian Championship
A great insight into grinding out a result when the fishing doesn’t go to plan.
🎣 Join the Lure Fishing Project Collective for extra episodes, the Big Bream Series and more:https://lurefishingproject.supercast.com

Spring is here, and Brett Geddes joins Andrew for another Lure Fishing Project Monthly Report.
This month, Brett finally has the mulloway story Andrew has been hassling him about. After years of trying, he lands his first proper Gippsland mulloway — a fish just under 70 cm — and tells the full story of finding it, hooking it and eventually getting it into the boat.
Andrew and Brett also cover some standout fishing from the month, including cracking bream sessions, the latest Gippsland fishing and stocking news, squid and tuna, plus a look back at recent episodes of The Lure Fishing Project.
There’s also an update on Andrew’s boat rebuild and the seemingly never-ending list of jobs, upgrades and outboard dramas.
And Dumb Things is back. This month includes trailer-hitch problems, Andrew somehow driving home without strapping the boat to the trailer — although, importantly, he did wash it — and another worthy entry involving a Hobie.
Then things get a little different.
Andrew and Brett use ChatGPT live during the episode to come up with the idea for a fishing song about two mates, Mick and Dave, whose bream tournament starts brilliantly before an argument over a lost fish gets slightly out of hand.
Stick around after the outro to hear how the finished song turned out.
🎣 Join The Lure Fishing Project Collective for extra episodes, the Big Bream Series and more:lurefishingproject.supercast.com
The Lure Fishing Project — lure fishing stories, techniques, tournament coverage and conversations with anglers from around Australia.

Skinny-water flathead fishing is about as visual and exciting as lure fishing gets — and few anglers have spent more time working it out than Greg Reid.
In this episode of The Lure Fishing Project, Greg joins Andrew to break down his approach to targeting flathead in seriously shallow water, particularly around St Georges Basin. After years of guiding and thousands of hours on the water, Greg has stripped his fishing back to its simplest form: long casts, stealth, big lures and watching flathead hunt them down in the shallows.
Greg explains why 120mm-plus lures can be the key to triggering aggressive flathead, how he fishes surface lures and how he switches to plastics and prawns when he wants to work below the surface.
Lures discussed in this episode include:
Crossfire — including 120mm, 150mm and 195mm sizes, plus the larger models
Pro Lure Ultra Gar — 150mm
Pro Lure XL Shad — 120mm, 150mm and 200mm
Pro Lure Clone Prawn — 120mm
Pro Lure Hybrid Shrimp — 92mm
Greg covers tackle, leader selection, lure size and colour, hook choice, scent, casting for maximum distance and the importance of approaching shallow-water fish without giving away your presence.
Most importantly, Greg breaks down the retrieve — including why the lure should hit the water already moving, how he uses movement to “ring the dinner bell”, and why the pause can be the most important part of the entire presentation.
There’s also plenty on finding productive water, creek mouths, weed edges, seasonal timing, wind, water temperature and the visual cues that tell Greg when it’s time to start chasing flathead on top.
Plus, before getting into the flathead masterclass, Greg talks luderick on fly, sight-casting to carp in Kangaroo Valley, South Coast salmon and some seriously big tailor.
If you’ve ever wanted to watch a flathead break cover and charge down a surface lure in skinny water, this episode will give you plenty to work with.

EP223 – Lake Macquarie Mulloway with Nathan Butcher
In this episode of The Lure Fishing Project, I’m joined by Nathan Butcher from  Butcher’s Bite to break down how he targets mulloway — or jewfish — on Lake Macquarie.
Nathan hasn’t actually been fishing for that long, but he’s packed a huge amount of time and effort into learning the system and has already developed some impressive consistency on Lake Macquarie mulloway.
We get right into the practical details: where Nathan looks for fish, the importance of bait, birds, structure, cockle beds, drop-offs and depth, the weather and conditions he prefers, and how his approach changes throughout the year.
Nathan also breaks down four of his key lure styles for mulloway, including:
Z-Man PrawnZ Elite
Samaki Vibelicious soft vibes
Curl-tail grubs
Paddle-tail plastics
We cover jighead weights, hook sizes, colours, retrieves, rods, reels, braid, leaders, knots and plenty of the small details that can make the difference when targeting mulloway on lures.
We also hear the stories behind some of Nathan’s most memorable mulloway and finish with his key advice for anyone trying to catch their first fish — or become more consistent.
One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is that you don’t need decades of experience to start putting the pieces together. Put in the time, pay attention to what each session teaches you and start building your own patterns.
And while this episode focuses on Lake Macquarie, there’s plenty in this conversation that can be applied to chasing mulloway on lures in other systems as well.
EXTENDED EPISODE
The full extended version includes an additional section where Nathan goes deeper into how he uses his sounder and side scan to locate structure, bait and mulloway.
You can hear the extended version through The Lure Fishing Project Collective or Vault, or through Butcher’s Bite YouTube members section.
LINKS
The Lure Fishing Project – Collective & Vaulthttps://lurefishingproject.supercast.com/
The Butcher’s Bite – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@ButchersBite
The Butcher’s Bite – YouTube MembersVisit the channel above and select Join to access Nathan’s members content.
The Butcher’s Bite Fishing – Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/butchersbitefishing/