The Bream Fishing Project

We're kicking off our trout series with one of Tasmania's most respected lure anglers, Plinio Taurian.

With more than 50 years of experience chasing trout on lures, Plinio shares an incredible amount of practical knowledge for anyone wanting to fish Tasmania—whether you're visiting for a holiday, planning a dedicated trout trip, or simply looking to broaden your lure fishing skills.

In this episode we cover:

The different trout species found in Tasmania, including the fascinating sea-run trout.

When and where to fish throughout the season.

The best rivers, lakes and shore-based locations to start.

Rods, reels, leaders and the lure selection that consistently catches trout.

How to approach rivers, read water, find feeding fish and develop productive patterns.

Hardbody and soft plastic techniques, including retrieves for different conditions.

Wading gear, safety, fish handling and the equipment that makes life easier on the water.

Chasing sea-run trout in Tasmania's estuaries and understanding tides, weather and bait movements.

Why trout continue to surprise even after decades on the water.

Whether you're a seasoned trout angler or you've never chased one before, this episode is packed with practical advice that will help shorten the learning curve and make your next trip to Tasmania more productive.

Enjoy the episode!

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The 2025 WATA Boat Grand Final takes us to Albany, Western Australia, where some of the country's best tournament anglers battle changing tides, windy conditions and one of Australia's most unique black bream fisheries.

This episode features interviews with all three podium teams as they break down the decisions that shaped the Grand Final.

🏆 David Bennett & Rory Laurens (The Tidal Tale) explain how committing to a surface bite around the harbour paid off with two outstanding bags and a convincing victory. Their willingness to trust Slippery Dogs, Bent Minnows and surface presentations when others were fishing more traditional patterns proved to be the winning formula.

🥈 Alex Griesdorf & Ben Oakes (Team Stinger) discuss another consistent championship campaign, how they secured Team of the Year honours, and the heartbreaking lost fish that may have made the Grand Final even closer.

🥉 Michael Sammut & Jeremy Jasinski (Team Sexual Chocolate) reveal how a massive final-day comeback, highlighted by Bent Minnows and carefully worked drop-offs, lifted them from tenth overnight to finish on the podium with the biggest bag of the tournament.

Throughout the episode you'll hear plenty of discussion about:

Fishing Albany's unique harbour and river systems.

Surface lure tactics for trophy black bream.

Bent Minnows, Slippery Dogs, Sugar Pens and soft plastics.

How to identify productive drop-offs and fish-holding pockets.

Boat positioning, wind management and fishing pressure.

Fine-tuning presentations for quality fish rather than numbers.

And don't switch off when the podium interviews finish…

Right at the end there's a bonus story about one absolutely enormous bream that didn't make the podium but was simply too good not to include.

Grand Final Podium
🥇 The Tidal Tale – David Bennett & Rory Laurens – 6.43 kg

🥈 Team Stinger – Alex Griesdorf & Ben Oakes – 5.61 kg

🥉 Team Sexual Chocolate – Michael Sammut & Jeremy Jasinski – 5.57 kg

If you're interested in tournament strategy, surface fishing for black bream, or simply hearing how Australia's top anglers break down unfamiliar water, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

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The Hobie Fishing Series qualifying round at the Glenelg River, South Australia, was held on 7-8 March 2026, and it produced one of the closest finishes of the season.

Leon Leong claimed victory with 5.20 kg, edging out Chris "Crafty" Miller by just 20 grams, while Kobi Rothall rounded out the podium with 5.06 kg. With only a few hundred grams separating much of the top ten after day one, the pressure stayed on right through to the final weigh-in.

In this episode you'll hear from all three podium finishers as they break down exactly how they approached the Glenelg River.

Leon explains how he ignored the obvious flats, identified a precise structural pattern and methodically dissected sloping banks, timber and undercuts to grind out a winning bag. Chris Miller talks about returning to tournament fishing after time away from the sport, buying a kayak specifically for this event, and trusting his strengths by abandoning the flats and committing to structure fishing. Kobi Rothall shares how lightly weighted soft plastics, mussels and patient retrieves produced quality fish before a heartbreaking lost giant nearly changed the outcome of the tournament.

There's plenty of discussion around:

Reading new water quickly.

Breaking down different types of structure.

Crab versus mussel presentations.

Light line tactics.

Kayak positioning and fish-fighting techniques.

Fine-tuning retrieves around timber and undercut banks.

As always, the conversations go well beyond the final leaderboard, giving you practical ideas you can apply to your own fishing wherever you fish.

Top 5 Results
🥇 Leon Leong – 5.20 kg
🥈 Chris Miller – 5.18 kg
🥉 Kobi Rothall – 5.06 kg
4️⃣ Sean Pearson – 5.02 kg
5️⃣ Josh Bland – 4.90 kg

Division Winners
• Women's: Ruth Beeby – 3.98 kg
• Masters (60+): Raymon Cooper – 4.27 kg

Enjoy the episode!

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#LureFishingProject #BreamFishing #HobieFishing #KayakFishing #GlenelgRiver #SouthAustralia #TournamentFishing #BreamMasterSA

Forster has a reputation as one of Australia's premier bream fisheries, but this year's Hobie Kayak Bream Series round proved that even the best waterways can throw competitors a curveball.

Despite favourable tides and fish activity predictions, 65 anglers were confronted with one of the toughest Forster tournaments in recent memory. Big fish were almost impossible to find, the bite windows never really materialised, and even the eventual winner admitted he never felt comfortable until the final bags were weighed.

In this episode, Andrew sits down with the three anglers who managed to solve the puzzle.

🏆 Brendan Pieschel joins the show after securing his long-awaited first Hobie victory. With no pre-fish after family commitments, Brendan relied on experience, instinct and a flexible game plan to edge out the field with a two-day total of 3.38 kg. He explains how Bent Minnows, shallow crankbaits and a willingness to fish deep into the oyster rails eventually delivered the breakthrough win he'd been chasing.

🥈 Greg Crebert reveals one of the more unusual stories you'll hear in tournament fishing, catching every fish for the weekend on a completely clear, unpainted crankbait fitted with nothing more than blue eyes. Greg talks through his Wallace Lake strategy, why weed edges outperformed expectations, and how a strong second day launched him from 17th place into second overall.

🥉 Ryan Honeybrook rounds out the podium after producing the standout bag of Day One. Fishing heavy oyster country with crab presentations, Ryan discusses extracting fish from brutal structure, the one fish that got away, and why adapting to Forster's changing oyster systems has become one of the biggest challenges facing tournament anglers.

Throughout the conversations you'll hear plenty of detailed tournament discussion, including:

• Why Forster fished so differently from previous years.
• The impact of low high tides and bright moon phases.
• Surface lures versus crankbaits, plastics and crab presentations.
• Fishing ribbon weed, oyster rails and modern rack systems.
• Leader choices, tackle setups and lure selection.
• How small decisions over two difficult days separated the podium from the rest of the field.

Andrew also reflects on spending the following week at Forster trying to unlock the fishery himself, sharing why one of his favourite waterways left him scratching his head despite several extra days on the water.

Official Results

🥇 Brendan Pieschel — 6 fish — 3.38 kg
🥈 Greg Crebert — 6 fish — 3.28 kg
🥉 Ryan Honeybrook — 6 fish — 3.25 kg

Congratulations also to:

• Bradley Hart – Anaconda Big Bream (0.90 kg)
• James Kilpatrick Jr – Youth Division Winner
• Simon McGuire – Masters Division Winner
• Leanne Cowan – Women's Division Winner

A total of 279 bream weighing 116.74 kg were presented across the weekend, averaging 420 grams per fish, highlighting just how difficult this Forster event proved to be.

If you enjoy detailed tournament breakdowns, honest conversations with Australia's best lure anglers and practical insights you can apply to your own fishing, make sure you follow The Lure Fishing Project and never miss an episode.

For bonus episodes, extended interviews, The Big Bream Series, live Zoom sessions, Discord access and our growing community of passionate lure anglers, join The Lure Fishing Project Collective at:

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Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you on the next episode.

EP216 – Hobie Week Part Three: Wallaga Lake with Jack Gammie, Ben Hanscombe and Jon Chen
Hobie Week continues with round three of the Hobie Fishing Series, held at Wallaga Lake on March 21 and 22.

After last year’s event produced one enormous winning result but proved extremely tough for most of the field, the return to Wallaga in March was expected to produce different fishing. Instead, it became another difficult tournament where finding six legal bream across the two days was a major achievement.

Only two anglers managed to weigh a full six-fish limit.

In third place, Jon Chen caught three fish for 1.36 kilograms on Saturday and backed it up with three fish for 1.76 kilograms on Sunday, giving him six fish for 3.12 kilograms.

John explains how he found bream feeding underneath schools of tailor on a flat in approximately 2.5 metres of water. He discusses using his Lowrance HDS Live to locate bait, schools of fish and feeding activity, before targeting them with Stealth blades made by Peter Cook.

John also explains how watching Tony Pettie work his blade helped him adjust his retrieve, mixing single and double hops and increasing the speed of the presentation. After filling his bag early on Saturday, he returned to the same area on Sunday before eventually finding better fish slightly deeper when the wind increased.

In second place, Ben Hanscombe weighed three fish for 2.03 kilograms on Saturday and two fish for 1.29 kilograms on Sunday, finishing with five fish for 3.32 kilograms.

Ben talks through his preparation for Wallaga, including a pre-fish session where he found fish on crankbaits, surface lures and Pro Lure Hybrid Shrimps.

During the tournament, Ben caught fish using a shallow Jackall Chubby and Hybrid Shrimps on 3-pound straight-through fluorocarbon. He explains how he worked the Hybrid Shrimp through very shallow water and around flats, small drop-offs, weed and isolated timber.

Ben also recounts several important fish battles, including chasing bream from the kayak on light line and losing a better fish after it buried him in a snag on Sunday.

Taking the win was Jack Gammie, who caught three fish for 1.45 kilograms on Saturday before producing a much stronger three-fish bag of 1.98 kilograms on Sunday. His six-fish total of 3.43 kilograms was enough to secure first place.

Jack arrived without completing a pre-fish and approached the event without major expectations. He concentrated on fishing his strengths around shallow structure, using a dirty camo Berkley Gulp Shrimp rigged weedless on a worm hook.

He explains why he changed from a weighted presentation to the lighter weedless rig, allowing him to skip the lure into timber with a more subtle entry.

Jack also caught fish using a black Pro Lure crankbait, a Samaki prawn presentation and a River2Sea Baby Vibe. On Sunday, he noticed bream holding away from the bank and suspended around bait, using side scan to identify groups of fish before targeting them with the Baby Vibe.

After catching two fish early, Jack went several hours without another bream. He continued casting and finally completed his limit at approximately 1:15 on Sunday afternoon.

The episode also covers Jack’s long four-pound leaders, FG knots, loop knots, sight-casting around timber and the importance of looking for active bait rather than simply fishing visible structure.

Andrew also briefly discusses his own fifth-place result, catching fish by grinding away with Baby Vibes around a small hump near the front of the main bay.

The final results were:

1st – Jack Gammie: 6 fish for 3.43 kg
2nd – Ben Hanscombe: 5 fish for 3.32 kg
3rd – Jon Chen: 6 fish for 3.12 kg

Three different approaches, three detailed interviews and plenty of practical information from another extremely tough Wallaga Lake tournament.

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