The Bream Fishing Project

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, we head to Botany Bay for the Grand Final of the inaugural New South Wales Tournament Series.

This event, held on October 25–26, 2025, wrapped up a strong first season for the series. It featured a competitive field and some impressive bags despite the tough fishing conditions leading into the event.

Andrew breaks down the tournament with interviews from the top three teams, diving deep into their approach, decision-making, and the small details that made the difference over two days of competition.

🥉 Third Place – Team Bream Brothers (Aaron Clifton & Simon Moore) A consistent two-day performance saw Team Bream Brothers finish with 6.58 kg, just 20 grams shy of second place. They discuss:

Fishing deep structure in 12–25 ft of water

Using crabs to target timid fish

Managing spots across a two-day event

Adjusting leader strength to handle deep current and structure

The importance of patience when bites are subtle

🥈 Second Place – Zeus Tackle (Dane Tomasewski & Adam Lacey) Finishing just ahead by a narrow margin with 6.60 kg, the Zeus Tackle team shares a gritty account of their tournament. They cover:

Grinding out bites on rock walls and bridges

Landing key fish under pressure, including a crucial 950 g upgrade

Fishing light leaders in clear water

Using crabs and mussels as primary techniques

Decision-making when swinging for upgrades late in the session

🥇 First Place – Team Smart Fish / Precision Building Maintenance With a dominant performance, the winning team secured victory with 8.81 kg, including a standout 1.3 kg bream. They reveal:

Using forward-facing sonar to locate and target fish

Fishing bridges and bays based on tide timing

Matching lure choice to fish position in the water column

Upgrading entire bags in short feeding windows

Executing under pressure late on day two

🌊 Conditions & Bite Periods Fishing across both days proved challenging, with:

Limited bite windows

Fish holding deeper than expected

Clear water requiring finesse presentations

Success came down to staying adaptable, making the most of short feeding periods, and executing cleanly when opportunities arose.

This episode is packed with real tournament insight, covering everything from lure selection and depth control to mental decision-making across a two-day format. If you’re looking to improve your tournament fishing or better understand how top anglers approach tough conditions, this is one to listen to.

🎧 Tune in now and learn what it took to get it done at Botany Bay.

🔗 Links & Sponsors

https://fishin.com.au

HWS Hobie Kayaks & Accessories

Podium Marine Wraps

🎣 Follow The Bream Fishing Project Instagram: @thebreamfishingproject

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, we head to Camden Haven on the New South Wales North Coast for the Grand Final of the Action Fishing Tournaments 2025 season.

Before diving into the final, Andrew recaps the full season, highlighting key results and standout performances across all rounds leading into the decider.

The Grand Final brought a competitive field together on a challenging system, with strong currents, long paddles, and key decisions around location and time management playing a major role in the outcome.

🥉 Third Place – Gareth Goodhew
Gareth put together a consistent two-day performance to secure third place.

He discusses:

Covering water and exploring during pre-fish

Targeting racks and broken structure

Using deep cranks like the Atomic GGB and Jackall Chubby

Adjusting retrieve speed to suit more timid fish

Managing long paddles and limited fishing time

🥈 Second Place – Glenn Allen
Glenn built his result around a simple but effective game plan.

He covers:

Fishing racks with crab presentations on light jigheads

Transitioning to shallow flats and weed beds

Using deep-diving crankbaits to work structure

Identifying key areas holding better-quality fish

Making crucial upgrades late in the session

🥇 First Place – Carl Dubois
Carl secured the win with a strong two-day performance and a clear strategy.

He shares:

Backing his previous experience at Camden Haven

Committing to long paddles to reach productive water

Fishing shallow flats with crankbaits

Adapting retrieves to trigger bites

Managing time and conditions across both days

Carl finished with a total of 214.5cm, taking out the Grand Final win.

🌊 Conditions & Key Factors

Strong current throughout the system

Long distances to key fishing areas

Limited bite windows

Importance of committing to a game plan

Success in this event came down to:

Time management

Efficient movement between locations

Executing when opportunities presented

This episode provides a detailed breakdown of the Grand Final, including tactics, decisions, and insights from the anglers who made it happen.

🎧 Tune in now to hear how the 2025 Action Fishing Tournaments season was decided at Camden Haven.

🔗 Links & Sponsors

https://fishin.com.au

HWS Hobie Kayaks & Accessories

Podium Marine Wraps

🎣 Follow The Bream Fishing Project
Instagram: @thebreamfishingproject

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, we head back to the Gippsland Lakes (Metung) for a full breakdown of the 2025 NS Rods Sunline Bream Classic Grand Final – the 20th anniversary event of the Vic Bream Classics.

Big bags, tough conditions, wind changes, and some outstanding fishing made for a cracking finale. We cover the tides, bite periods, weather, and all the major prizes before sitting down with the podium teams for their exact strategies.

3rd Place – Team Bluefin Plumbing (Tyler Breust & Ben Hanscombe) They share how lightly weighted Clone Prawns, SPRs, and the Hybrid Shrimp worked on the weed edges at Eagle Point, plus their smart decision to launch from Paynesville.

2nd Place – Team Just Winging It (Chris Allwood & Jack Allwood) The father-and-son duo turned a slow start into the Sunline Best Bag (6.965 kg on day one) using a mix of hard bodies and plastics around the Tambo snags.

1st Place – Team JML Ecogear / Samaki (Scott Scicluna & Mitchell Blomquist) The Grand Final winners explain their two-bank plan: filling the bag early on the Hurricane Sickle 85 plastic, then switching to hard bodies when the wind picked up. Scott details how the Samaki MS40 Pearl Shrimp produced his PB 1.82 kg big bream (and a 1.5 kg upgrade), while Mitch used the Ecogear SX 48.

We also cover the Team of the Year, Junior awards, Zip Baits Monster Movers, and more.

Whether you fish bream tournaments or just want practical tips for weed flats, wind-affected days, and upgrading bags in pressured systems, this episode is loaded with real-world techniques from the top anglers.

If you enjoyed the episode, head over to breamfishingproject.supercast.com and join The Collective for extra content, challenges, and more in-depth breakdowns.

Listen now and get smarter on the water!

Watch the full video version here:
👉 https://youtu.be/c8DnXHOeXnE

This is the April Report EP190 of The Bream Fishing Project.

In this episode, Andrew is joined by Brett Geddes and Plinio Taurian to break down what’s happening across the country, with a deep dive into the upcoming Tasmanian events.

The conversation covers key systems including the Huon River, Derwent River, Swan River and Little Swan Port, along with insights into lure choice, fish behaviour and tournament strategy.

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, Andrew breaks down the Atomic Tournament Series Round 1, held at Lake Macquarie on March 14–15.

This was a standout event where numbers of BREAM were high, but consistently upgrading to better-quality fish proved to be the key to success. Across the two days, over 300 fish were weighed, with a noticeable drop in average size on day two, making decision-making and execution critical.

The episode begins with a full breakdown of bite periods, tides, and tournament stats before diving into interviews with the top three teams.

🥇 1st Place – James Dunn & Mark Huisken (9.22kg + Big Bream 1.38kg)
A dominant performance built around one key lure — the Samaki Reddick (40LC).

Fishing shallow flats and edges in 1–3 metres, they focused on slow rolling their lures, keeping them close to the bottom and pausing when needed to trigger bites. Early in the session they identified a freshwater/saltwater line, which held fish and allowed them to quickly build a strong bag.

Technique: Slow roll with pauses

Depth: 1–3 metres

Lure: Samaki Reddick (medium & deep)

Key factor: Matching bait profile and staying in productive water

They filled a bag quickly both days (including a 20-minute bag on day two) and spent the rest of the time upgrading, finishing with over 9kg and taking out Big Bream as well.

🥈 2nd Place – Mitch & Matt Simonis (7.52kg)
A highly consistent approach built around 30mm vibes (matte black, no eyes).

Fishing around 2–2.5 metres off weed edges, they worked vibes along the bottom with a hopping retrieve, with most bites coming on the drop. They secured a bag early and upgraded steadily throughout the day.

Later in the session, they switched to topwater (Force Lures Ziggy), raising fish off structure and landing key upgrades.

Technique: Bottom hopping vibes + topwater later

Depth: ~2–2.5 metres

Lures: 30mm vibes (matte black), Force Lures Ziggy

Key factor: Locking in numbers early, then upgrading

🥉 3rd Place – Aaron Clifton & Simon Moore (6.91kg)
A methodical approach starting on the flats before moving deeper to upgrade.

They mixed hard bodies (chubby-style cranks) and plastics, working from shallow water out to 10–15 feet, upgrading fish gradually throughout the day.

Technique: Rotating depths and lure types

Depth: Flats out to 10–15 feet

Lures: Hard bodies (chubby style), plastics

Key factor: Patience and systematic upgrading

A small but critical adjustment — switching from 6lb to 4lb leader — made a noticeable difference in bites.

🎯 Key Takeaways from Lake Macquarie

Early bagging was critical

Upgrading separated the field

Hard bodies, vibes, and subtle presentations dominated

Topwater played a role later in the session

Small adjustments (leader size, retrieve, depth) made a big difference

Fish were holding in specific zones, not everywhere

This is a must-listen episode for anyone looking to improve their tournament BREAM fishing or understand how to break down a system like Lake Macquarie under pressure.