The Bream Fishing Project

Episode 16: Vic Bream Classic Marlo 25-26 March 2023

Vic Bream Classic Marlo 25-26 2023. This is the first review of a Vic Bream Classic! What an episode. As you will hear, I really like some of the team names…. They cracked me up! One of the things that I really like about the team events is that it not just mates ,but family members can go out together and compete in a competition. In this event we had two father and son teams in the top three. In third place was Paul and Justin Conn of team EGM Revisited. I spoke with Justin who gave me a complete run down of their competition . I found it interesting that Justin spoke about his dad catching so consistently that at one point Justin was basically a just netting fish. I hope we can talk again and ask Paul some specifics about his technique with blades. It seems like he really had it dialled in! In second place we had the experience of team Hummingbird with Shaun Clancy and Jarrod Healey. This was another interesting story because they borrowed a small tinny to try to get into Lake Corringle. Tune in to hear how they decked this boat out for this particular competition. If you are a Hummingbird owner or are thinking about becoming one I think you will find this discussion very interesting. Then in first place I spoke with father and son team Steven and Lindsay Pryke. After an ordinary prefish this experienced team were able to catch a bag quickly.They then upgraded to 5.27 kg on day one which included a 1.24kg kicker fish. On the Sunday they were again able to put together an impressive  bag weighing 5.35kg. The combined bags totalled 10.62 Kg which is a better tha 1Kg average per fish. This bag included a 1.45 kg beast which anchored their bag and helped them take a convincing win. Big bream went to Bruce Robinson and Michael Newman with an absolute beast at 1:55 kg. I really enjoyed recording this episode. Thanks to the anglers who were able to speak with me at short notice and shared so much. I look forward to covering the next  Vic Bream Classic in Mallacoota!

Episode 15: ABT Daiwa Bream Australian Open Preview/ Review

Daiwa Bream Australian Open Preview. In this episode we preview the upcoming 2023 open where the anglers will spend three days on Sydney Harbour. I spoke with 2-time winner Steve Morgan and we covered the up coming open to be held on Sydney Harbour, May 2-4, 2023. Steve spoke about the format of this years of this years competition. Steve also spoke about the reasons why a competition might be run as a weigh-in style or an app-based measurement competition. Steve is one of three anglers to have won this event twice. Steve is always a contender, will he be the first anglers to win three? I then spoke with Kris Hickson and he shared some of the things he did when he won back in 2011. Will Kris be able to win again this year and make him a 2 X Australian Bream Open winner. To round this episode out, I spoke with another 2 x Aus Open winner Scott Towner. Scott was also the first winner back in 2004 when it was a teams event. We spoke about the lures and techniques Scott and his two partners used to win. The Fishin.com.au  Baby Vibe competition continues, tune in to see how you can win. The Daiwa Bait Junkie/ Hobie competition is currently open. This is an absolute must for any keen Bream angler. Listen in to find out how you can win a Hobie Kayak. 

Episode 14: ABT Daiwa Bream Series, Mallacoota 18-19 February 2023

In this episode, we review the Sunline Mallacoota Round of the ABT Daiwa Bream Series. Held on the 18-19 February 2023, this was the second round held in Victoria this year. This event was an app based competition where the fish were measured to the fork of the tail. These measurements were converted into weights using historical data/charts. The big bream I caught at the Bemm river Hobie round measured 38.5cm to the fork of the tail. On the scales this fish weighed 1.24kg and on the chart it was estimated to be 1.266kg. It was an interesting and timely comparison. For anyone interested in the Bream length/ weight table a copy can be found at abt.org.au I spoke with Marlon Thompson, who took first place in the non-boater division. Marlon is new to the ABT circuit and this was his maiden win. An interesting part of Marlon's win is that he was paired with did not catch the same quality of fish he caught. Tune in to hear how he got the job done! I then spoke with 3rd place for the boaters Peter Breukel. Peter is a Hurricane sponsered angler who shared all the information on how he caught his bream. He also eplained how a keen observation helped him to catch some bream in a slightly unusual fashion. In second place was Mitchell Blomquist who shared all of the tricks he used to land second place. Finally in first place, the irrepressible champion Kris Hickson. I was intrigued by what Kris had to say on his form/ mindset coming from Gippsland Lakes earlier in the week. Kris was also generous in his interview explaining all of the techniques he used to catch the winning bag. I hope you all enjoy this episode and I look forward to sharing next weeks episode where the topic is the Australian Daiwa Bream Open.      

Episode 13: Hobie Kayak Bream Series, Bemm River April 1-2, 2023

Here it is! The Bemm River round for 2023 This round for me was an extra special round. Having some of the original anglers turn up was incredible. We all had a teriffic catch up on land and some amazing fishing over the weekend.   The fishin.com.au baby vibe competition was also up for grabs at this competition. A single $250 voucher at fishin.com.au was available to anyone who won the competiton or caught the big bream on a Baby Vibe. I was able to achieve both! Tune in to hear what happened. Repeat guest Dale Baxter has come into some form taking third place.Dale gave a complete run down from pre fish to day 1 and then day 2. Listen in to hear where Dale fished and what he used to catch his fish.   Tune in to hear how Mitch Maddison stayed on shore on Friday (it was very windy) then put together 2 bags over 2.6 kilos which landed him in second place. This was Mitch's first podium finish and after recording this interview I am sure it won't be his last! This is an unusual episode for me. For those who don't know, I attended and won this event. It was the first time I had won a Hobie round for a long long time. So listen in to hear how it all went down. Listen closely to hear how the day one windy conditions helped my find my first bag over 3 kilos. Hear how using Baby Vibes allowed me to gain a solid lead over Mitch on day one and do enough to stay well clear on day 2. I can't wait for the "Retro Round" next year. Maybe we could see all the anglers from the very first Hobie round down there!

Episode 12: Hobie Kayak Fishing Series Woy Woy April 30- May 1st 2022

In this episode I talk with the top three anglers for the Hobie Kayak Fishing Series , Woy Woy, April 30 - May 1 2022. This was an interesting round that saw Steven Pryke  take convincing lead after day one. Then on day two Darcy Harding dropped a massive sack on the scales to steal the victory from what seemed like an unbeatable lead. Repeat guest Corey Gallagher shares the tips and techniques that helped him into 3rd place fishing sometimes with Darcy through out the competition.   Steven runs us through his competition weekend. Steve was able to secure second place and the all important AOY for 2022. Finall Darcy spills the beans on how he went about putting together a massive bag on day 2 and snatched the win from Steve. This is one of the great come from behind stories and is not to be missed! 

Episode 11: Bream Masters / Hobie Kayak Fishing Series. Glenelg River South Australia 11-12 March 2023

In this episode we head down the Glenelg River in South Australia to cover the Hobie associated round with the crew from Bream Masters S.A. I had an interesting discussion with Gary Hanson. After being on the kayak fishing bream scene for a number of years, persistance has paid off and landed Gary his first podium finish in third place. Tune in to hear about the lures and techniques that helped him achieve this impressive result. Then in second place we have repeat guest Tony "Robin" Pettie who once again comes home with enough weight to land him in second place.  With a first and a second place in three rounds Tony is making an early charge for AOY points. Although Tony had a great round finishing in second he still can't call himself "Batman". Tune in to the Bemm River review in a couple of weeks to see if Simon or Tony gets to wear the Batman shirt. Finally we talk with Dale Baxter who took this round out in style, in third place overnight Dale caught just enough to take his first round win. Dale gave a detailed account of everything from prefish through to grinding out a bag on day three. Congratulations to the three anglers who have all done very well on what was a tough round. Thanks again to fishin.com.au for continued support! 

Episode 10: Fishing Your First Hobie Bream Competition with Carl Dubios and Nick Jackson

In this episode I talk with Carl Dubios about attending your first hobie bream fishing competition. We take a deep dive into everything from how to enter online through to some hints and tips on how to prepare for competition day. Carl and I are then joined by first time competition entrant Nick Jackson. In this segment tune in to see who won their competition from their kayak and who got the dreaded donut!  Hopefully if you are sitting on the fence and thinking about entering a competition this episode will push you in the right direction. Enjoy!

Episode 9: Hobie Kayak Fishing Series 2023 Camden Haven March 4-5

In this episode we review the recent Hobie competition held on  4-5 March 2023 at Camden Haven NSW. This was an interesting round which had the potential to see some huge Bream hit the scales. However it was a very closely fought battle with relatively small fish being caught by most anglers. Some anglers caught really good numbers of bream, but could only manage small fish. In the angler interviews I was able to speak with repeat Bream Fishing Project guests Joel Crosbie and Luke Kay who came second and third respectively. I was also able to speak with Russell Babekuhl via text and he shared how he caught the Atomic big bream for this round.  Luke shares how his pre-fish affected his choices on comp day and how the decisions he made ultimately allowed him to finish in third place just ahead of Russell Babekuhl by 10 grams. Luke had just been on the show a couple of weeks prior to the competition and is the second guest to recieve some good karma for coming and sharing on the Bream Fishing Project Joel also spoke about how his cometition played out. Joel spoke about the lures and techniques he used across the weekend. With two good results now in this years competitions Joel sits in first place in the race for angler of the year! Finally I spoke with new comer the the Hobie Kayak Fishing Series, Corey Lean. This was Coreys first Hobie round and taking the win is testament to his angling skills. Winning a round with 96 anglers is very difficult. Corey's win did not come with out some drama. Corey made a small error which nearly made a massive differnce to his result. Tune in to see what happened! Thanks to fishin.com.au for continued support! I hope you all enjoy this one!

Episode 8: Hobie Kayak Fishing Series 2023 Marlo February 11-12

In this episode we cover the recent Hobie Kayak Fishing Round 1 which was held in Marlo Victoria. I also reach out to the fishing women around the country in an effort to build The Retro round in Bemm River to be held on 1-2 April 2023. I covered all the stats and information and did a comparison to some previous competitions held in Marlo.  This round proved to be very difficult for many competitiors with only two full bags recordered. I spoke with James Kilpatrick who was able to back up a good day one restult and end up in third position. James is the owner operator of Hunter Watersports and is well know for helping anglers keep their kayaks on the water especially during competition weekends. We then spoke with repeat Bream Fishing Project guest Dave Hedge who was able to use the same techniques that he eplained previously on the show to achieve an awsome result. To bring the episode home I spoke with Tony Batman Pettie. Tony gave some great insights into his weekend. He explained how the shortened competition day affected him on day two. Tony runs us through the whole Batman and Robin thing he has with Simon Robin Morely. Once again, for anyone fishing in Marlo Victoria or who wants to upgrade their bream fishing skills there is something in this episode.   

Episode 7: Hobie Kayak Fishing Series Camden Haven 2010-2011

In this episode we go way back to 2010 and 2011 to visit Camden Haven. Jason Meech who won the first ever round there gives a full run down of the river system. Jason also shares the techniques that helped him win. He also gave us an account of his experience at the first Hobie Fishing Worlds which had a practice day and day 1 of competition at Camden Haven. Luke Kay was able give another perspective on this round and waterway. Luke told us about his day 1 experience which left him thinking that he would not fish day 2 or maybe even another competition. I was lucky enough to have Greg Lewis share his experience at the Hobie Fishing Worlds. Greg is the only angler to ever win "angler of the year" in a hobie series with a perfect 500/500 points. Greg won 6 rounds in a that year. Hobie Fishing Worlds Champion Scott Baker shared his unique experience fishing Camden Haven. He explains how he did not think he could win, so he followed some advice which helped him to become the first world champ. This is an interesting look into some of the first Hobie Kayak Fishing competitions.