The Bream Fishing Project

The Tasmanian leg of the ABT tour wraps up in style as the 2026 Duo Tasmanian BREAM Teams Open heads to the iconic waters of St Helens, Tasmania. In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, Andrew breaks down one of the most unique tournament formats seen in recent years — a catch-photo-release teams event where anglers could upgrade their five-fish bag across both competition days.

With late 10am starts, gentleman’s hours, changing tides, and fish spread between racks, flats, gutters and shallow edges, this event forced competitors to think differently. The result was a dramatic two-day battle where no lead was safe and teams could surge through the field right up until the final session.

This episode features full interviews with the top three teams from the event, diving deep into the tactics, lure choices, and adjustments that helped them unlock the St Helens BREAM bite.

In this episode:
🥉 3rd Place – Team Cranka Shimano
Steve Steer breaks down an incredibly technical tournament built around:

Fishing shallow oyster racks with crabs

Working gutters and channel markers at low tide

Using Cranka Crabs in the famous spotted crab colour

Adjusting tackle overnight after getting smoked by big fish on day one

Fishing “gentleman’s hours” and why the late starts suited St Helens perfectly

Steve also shares detailed insights into:

Fishing crabs away from structure

Subtle rod-tip movements for natural crab presentations

How tide movement positioned fish on the flats

Why St Helens fish fight so hard in shallow water

🥈 2nd Place – Team Force Lures
Jon Fitzgibbon and David Shanahan detail a massive comeback charge from outside the top spots into second place after finding fish on shallow wind-blown flats late on day two.

Topics include:

Fishing lightly weighted DUO Sprats in the Cleaver colour

Using Force Paddle Tail Grubs around racks and shallow edges

Pushing the boat through freezing Tasmanian shallows to access hidden water

Big shallow-water fish nearly spooling reels

The importance of adapting when racks shut down

The pair also discuss how one decision to abandon the racks and drift a protected shallow flat completely changed their tournament.

🥇 1st Place – Team Australia 2 + Tas
Peter Maisey and Jesse Rotin take the win with an impressive 6.221kg combined total built around:

Bait Junkie 2.95 Flicks on light jigheads

Daiwa Infeet Sazanami jerkbaits

Fishing subtle flats close to deeper channels

Managing nerves while leading overnight

Picking apart shallow flats during tricky tide windows

The boys explain how they stayed calm under pressure on day two, worked through changing wind conditions, and slowly upgraded key fish to secure the victory.

This episode is packed with advanced tournament insights covering:

Shallow-water flats fishing

Rack fishing strategies

Crab presentations

Light-line tournament tactics

St Helens tide timing

Hardbody vs soft plastic approaches

Team strategy and communication during high-pressure events

If you love technical tournament fishing and hearing how Australia’s top anglers adapt on the fly, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

🎣 Sponsors & Supporters
A huge thank you to:

DUO

Wilson Fishing

Force Lures

Bait Junkie

Daiwa

ABT Tournament Series

🔥 Join The Bream Fishing Project Collective
Get access to:

Bonus podcast content

Live Zoom sessions

Challenge events

Technique breakdowns

Exclusive community discussions

Replay archives and extra fishing content

Join here:
The Bream Fishing Project Collective

📱 Follow The Bream Fishing Project
Instagram:
@thebreamfishingproject

Facebook:
The Bream Fishing Project Facebook Page

#BREAMFishing #TasmaniaFishing #StHelens #ABT #BreamFishingProject #TournamentFishing #DUOInternational #ForceLures #BaitJunkie #DaiwaAustralia #AustralianFishingPodcast

In EP197 of The Bream Fishing Project, we head to Tasmania for part two of the ABT Tasmanian Tour, covering the Derwent River round, held on 18–19 April 2026.

This episode breaks down a cracking Derwent River event with big bags, quality BREAM, and plenty of detail from both the non-boater and boater divisions.

Andrew chats with the top non-boaters, including Simon Kraus, Leighton Beer, and Marty Evans, as they explain how they caught their fish, what they learned from their boaters, and how key lure choices like Hurricane Sprats, Gulp Smelt Minnows, Daiwa Double Clutches, ZipBaits, VX vibes, and Duo Bivvys played a role across the weekend.

The episode also covers the boater side of the event with Mario Vukic, Steve Morgan, and event winner Isaac Harris, including the importance of baitfish, long skinny hard bodies, plastics, current lines, rocky edges, Ralphs Bay, and making the right decisions when the bite window opens.

There is plenty in this one for anyone who loves tournament BREAM fishing, especially if you want to understand how anglers adapt between edges, flats, deeper rock walls, vibes, plastics, and jerkbaits on a tidal Tasmanian system.

The episode also includes tide and bite period information, lure details, leader choices, tackle setups, and the decision-making that shaped the final results.

A big thank you to Steve Morgan for allowing us to use audio from his YouTube clip featuring Isaac Harris.

If you’d like even more BREAM fishing content, including live streams, extra fishing discussions, challenge series, and access to The Collective community, check out The Bream Fishing Project Collective here:

The Bream Fishing Project Collective

Perfect for anyone wanting to learn more about catching BREAM on lures, tournament fishing strategy, and how some of Australia’s best anglers break down a waterway under pressure.

The May Monthly Report is here, and this one absolutely goes everywhere.

Andrew is joined once again by Brett Geddes for a massive session covering tournament fishing, homemade lure disasters, junior anglers coming through the ranks, forward-facing sonar, giant fishing numbers from Gippsland.

The boys are also joined by young gun Harvey, who has been quietly putting together some seriously impressive catches fishing out of Andrew’s original Hobie kayak. Harvey talks about competing in the Daiwa Young Fishing Club, how the app-based competition works, and some standout recent captures including:

A 36cm black bream on a Duo Bivi

Flathead on Z-Man plastics

Tailor and perch from both the kayak and the stones

Preparing for his first Hobie competition on the Georges River

The discussion also highlights the growing opportunities for junior anglers in tournament kayak fishing and how the next generation is learning faster than ever before.

Andrew and Brett then dive into one of the most entertaining topics they’ve covered in months — the Collective lure making challenge.

Andrew explains how he built a timber chubby-style lure completely by hand using basic tools, super glue and even nail polish as paint, before finally catching bream on it after dropping a quality fish earlier in the session. Brett shares his own homemade lure journey, including the now-infamous “Homer Simpson Doughnut” lure — a pink doughnut-shaped creation built by Beth from the Collective, rigged with multiple hooks and a cheb weight, which somehow went on to catch perch.

There’s also a huge Gippsland fishing update from Brett, who reveals some unbelievable numbers from the first four months of the year:

511 estuary perch

223 bream to 48cm

99 bass

89 flathead to 86cm

Brett breaks down why the Gippsland Lakes system is currently fishing as well as anywhere in the country, including:

Mulloway showing up throughout the lakes system

Massive bait concentrations

Saltwater pushing deep into the system

Open lake perch behaviour

Heavy leader fishing for big perch

Why the fishery is changing dramatically compared to years gone by

The boys also discuss standout lures from the month, including:

Sprat 65s and 85s

Hard-on-soft presentations

Duo Bivis

Twitch 50s

Hurricane Slams

Hybrid Shrimp techniques

Fishing deep timber with near snag-proof presentations

Tournament coverage is a massive part of this episode, with discussion around:

The Tasmania Hobie and ABT rounds

Steve Morgan continuing to dominate while simultaneously filming, livestreaming and producing media content

Isaac Harris narrowly edging out Morgo in one event

Joel Crosby quietly building momentum with big plastic “power breaming” techniques

NSW Tournament Series results

Foster and Marlo previews

The realities of organising and recording tournament interviews every single week

Andrew also talks about recording more than 17 interviews in a single week and the behind-the-scenes workload involved in running The BREAM Fishing Project.

The episode wraps up with discussion around the new forward-facing sonar course from My Fishing Coach featuring Nabil Issa and Steve Morgan, including detailed setup walkthroughs for Garmin, Lowrance and Humminbird units, fish behaviour interpretation, mapping insights and species-specific sonar applications.

This is one of the loosest and most wide-ranging Monthly Reports yet — packed with laughs, fishing stories, tournament insight, lure experimentation and plenty of classic Brett Geddes moments.

#TheBreamFishingProject #BREAM #KayakFishing #TournamentFishing #EstuaryPerch #FlatheadFishing #ABT #HobieFishing #LureFishing #AustralianFishing

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, we head to Tasmania for the ABT round on the Huon River — a standout event that produced incredible numbers, consistent bites, and quality fish across both divisions.

With near-perfect catch rates across the field, this tournament became a battle of upgrades, decision-making, and execution under pressure.

🏆 Boater Results

1st – Steve Morgan (10.510 kg)

2nd – Mark Crompton (10.045 kg)

3rd – Brett Crowe (9.975 kg)

🏆 Non-Boater Results

1st – Michael Vukic (6.680 kg)

2nd – William Thorpe (6.290 kg)

3rd – Michael Maas (6.235 kg)

🎣 In this episode, we hear from:

Michael Maas (3rd Non-Boater) – First trip to Tasmania and straight onto the podium, building early bags with soft plastics before upgrading with jerkbaits

Michael Vukic (1st Non-Boater) – A clinical performance focused on baitfish patterns, plastics, and precise upgrades on the flats

Brett Crowe (3rd Boater) – A consistent two-day approach centred around slow presentations, shallow structure, and maximising productive water

Mark Crompton (2nd Boater) – Making bold on-the-water decisions, fishing bait-rich zones, and adapting quickly to changing conditions

Steve Morgan (1st Boater) – A winning performance built on consistency, key decisions, and executing when it mattered

🔍 What’s covered in this episode:

Pre-fish strategy and adapting to unfamiliar fisheries

Fishing shallow structure, flats, and bait-heavy zones

Soft plastics vs jerkbait approaches and when to switch

The importance of early bagging vs upgrading

How retrieve speed and presentation changed outcomes

Tournament decision-making under pressure

Tasmania once again proves why it’s one of Australia’s premier BREAM fisheries — offering both numbers and quality, and rewarding anglers who can adapt quickly.

🔗 Join The Bream Fishing Project Collective
If you want to go deeper into the tactics, techniques, and decision-making discussed in these episodes, join The Bream Fishing Project Collective:

👉 https://breamfishingproject.supercast.com

We’ve also got a new challenge kicking off next week, giving members a chance to get involved, apply what they’re learning, and share their results with the community.

Inside the Collective you’ll get:

Bonus podcast content

Live streams and detailed breakdowns

A community of anglers sharing real-time insights

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, I’m joined by Queensland tournament angler Nabeel Issa (Nabs) to dive deep into his journey through competitive BREAM fishing and the evolution of modern electronics on the water.

Nabeel shares how he got his start in fishing at a young age, working his way through the ABT circuit as a non-boater, and eventually building a strong tournament record with multiple wins and consistent top finishes. From early lure fishing struggles through to finding his edge, this is a great look at what it takes to develop as a competitive angler.

We also explore one of the biggest game-changers in modern fishing — sounders and sonar. Nabeel breaks down how learning to properly use side scan and sonar completely changed the way he fishes, allowing him to locate and target fish with precision rather than relying on guesswork.

The conversation also covers:

Early tournament experiences and progression through the ranks

Key lure trends and techniques over the years

The transition from non-boater to boater (and the challenges that come with it)

Using side scan and sonar to find structure and fish

Targeting species like BREAM, mulloway, snapper and more with electronics

Towards the end of the episode, we also touch on the upcoming sounder course release, which will be available this Friday — so keep an eye out.

👉 Check out the sounder course:
https://myfishingcoach.com.au

For members of The Bream Fishing Project Collective, there will also be an exclusive additional discount available, generously provided by Steve and Nabeel.

👉 Join The Bream Fishing Project Collective:
https://breamfishingproject.supercast.com

There’s also a hint at what’s coming next for The Bream Fishing Project… so make sure you stay tuned.

🎧 SUPPORT THE PODCAST
If you’re enjoying the podcast, make sure to follow and share it with a mate — and if you want to take your fishing further, the Collective is where we go deeper with live sessions, extra challenges, and a community of anglers all working to improve.