ABT / Hobie GF

[steve]

The Hobie BREAM Kayak Grand Final was held over two days in conjunction with the Forster Fishing Carnival on March 24-25. It was the culmination of qualifying anglers from the east coast events held in Sydney, Mooloolaba, Gold Coast and Forster. With 26 ready to fish Hobie Kayaks supplied, all the anglers had to do was bring their rods, reels and tackle and battle it out to be the first recorded Grand Final winner.

At the end of two days in the fish rich waters of Forster and the Wallis Lakes system, the champion angler was Victorian Hobie rep Scott Lovig, with a 4/4, 2.19kg limit over the two sessions. Scott used a Nitro 6 piece travel rod matched to a Daiwa Certate 2500 spooled with 4lb braid and 6lb Sunline V Hard fluorocarbon.

Lovig used a Berkley 2" shrimp in pepper prawn colour rigged on a size 4, 1/50th Nitro jighead to lure all his fish. Working the floating racks, Lovig positioned his Hobie kayak carefully with the wind and tide before making a precision casts.

"I would cast tight to the racks and let the lure sink for 5 seconds before retrieving and casting again," explained the champ.

Looking for the actively feeding bream close to the surface when Lovig hooked up he would drop the rod tip in the water and wind with a tight drag to extract the bream from the racks.

A supporter of the newly introduced 2009 Hobie BREAM Kayak Series, Lovig attended all 4 qualifying rounds and deservedly has his name written in the records books as the 2009 champ.

Runner up and day one leader was Michael Maas from Queensland with a 4/4, 2.15kg limit. He used a G.Loomis Dropshot rod and Daiwa SOL 1500 spooled 4lb Berkley Fireline and 3lb Sunline Rock FC.

Working the Lucky Craft Sammy 65 and NW Pencil top water lures in yellow colours, Maas used wind assisted long casts into the shallows. With a walk the dog retrieve for 3-4 metres he would then pause the lure hoping for a hungry bream boil.

"If I could see a swirl following the lure I would tweak it to entice a strike," he explain.

With no top water action on day two, Maas switched to throwing a Jackall Chubby in the racks. Casting close to the shaded side, he would keep the rod tip high and installed a jerky retrieve with pauses to capture the attention of the bream lurking in the racks.

Not having paddled in a Hobie kayak before the event, Maas was not only able to master the manoeuvring of the craft but this was also his first time fishing the Forster system.

Big Bream for the event had a $500 cheque attached to the prize and after the mark was set by Josh Holmes on day one at 780 grams, it was the Sydney victor Wayne Robinson that walked away with the oversized cheque for his 820 gram specimen.

Fishing 2ft of water near the boat shed, Robinson flicked his Berkley 2" banana shrimp into the shade where he was clunked straight away. Once secured in his livewell the enthusiastic angler knew he was paddling around with a $500 bream onboard.

A successful inaugural series, Steve Fields and Steve Morgan thanked the gathered crowd and promised bigger and better things in 2010.

[Carl Dubois]

A good wrap up on the techniques the tops guys used, Steve. Here's the account of my two days:

So much for the plan of getting to Forster on monday afternoon and having a quick scout around to suss the area out. Sheesh! I arrived at 7:30pm and settled into my motel and got organised for the next morning. New leaders, changed a few trebles, and checked all my gear twice. I think it was about 12:30am before I got to sleep. To say my anticipation level was high was a huge understatement.

5:15am saw me having my yellow Hobie Outback assigned to me. She was fully kitted out with rod leashes, livewell, etc but no sounder. Not really needed up here as the water is quite clear and you can see the bottom in most places anyway. It sure was impressive having all these Hobies lined in a row, ready for action. The briefing went without a hitch with the only change being a delayed start due to the lack of daylight at 6am. At 6:45am, the flag was dropped and 26 bream anglers spread out to their various locations that would hopefully hold some kicker fish.

I'd decided on fishing a junction up Breckenridge Channel and about half a dozen of us ventured the same way. Conditions were almost ideal: I would've preferred a bit more cloud cover but at least there was no wind. Reaching my spot, I started off with a Gulp 2" Shrimp (Banana Prawn) rigged on a 1/20th jighead and 4lb leader. I targeted marker poles and drop-offs but I had only managed one tentative tap before reaching some washboards surrounding an Oyster Lease. I changed to an Ecogear SX40 and started casting my way round.

About 20 minutes later I hook up. "Beauty, here comes number one," I think. I land him, put him on the tape and I forlornly look skywards with a sigh. 24.8 cms... Typical. The minimum length is 25 cms, so after a quick curse, I send him back. The bites are few and far between and I'm livid when I drop a keeper after doing the hard bit of extracting him from under a jetty.

I ventured further upstream and eventually find a nice set of racks with a few inches of water over them. I change to a Jackall Chubby (shallow diver) and start working the edges. The wind has started to pick up now and it's getting tricky casting and keeping the yak on course at the same time. Suddenly, Whacko! Ooh, I'm on!

The trick to working the racks is to always be on your toes, have your drag nice and tight and get the fish in ASAP before they can get their heads down and bury you in the pylons. Of course, it doesn't always work but this guy was no trouble and I skipped him towards me easily. 23 cms and back he goes, too. Shortly after I get another that's 24 cms and I realise I'm running out of time. With an hour to go I've changed back to the 2" shrimp and YES! I get

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one that's a keeper. He's not a bad fish and boy, what a relief.

That was it for me and I head home thinking one isn't good enough. Back at the weigh-in, it's been a tough day all round and my one fish of 400 grams sees me sitting in 10th place. The leader is only on 980 grams for two fish, so I'm still in with a chance if I can get a big fish tomorrow.

Conditions where identical to the previous day and the first loacation saw Dave, Ken and I fishing the same flats with surface lures over only a foot of water. Lots of laughs and chatting (typical for a kayak tournament, I'm glad

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to say) which was only broken by Dave swearing and sobbing when busted up by a big bugga that would've seen him shoot up the rankings quite a few spots. Bad luck, Dave, it was probably a flattie anyway! : )

There was quite a bit of action but the fish were only small to start with and I figured if I wanted to give myself a good chance at getting a big bruiser, I'd get him in the racks. I left the boys and headed back to my racks from yesterday. There was a bit more water over them this time so I started with the Chubby. I'd cast right over the top and hold the rod high while I twitched and wriggled the lure back to me. I figured the fish would be on top feeding and luckily I was right.

10 minutes into it, the lure is pounced on as it lands and I know straight away this is a good fish! He shoots off to the adjacent racks but I'm quicker and throw my rod sideways to pressure him away. He darts back but I swing the rod again, all while winding furiously to keep him coming towards me. With one quick movement I grab the net and scoop him up. YES! That's what I want. I didn't measure him but he was probably about 33 cms fork length and approximately 600-650 grams. It's a good start and now all I need is a big kilo fish to put me in the running.

Only 15 minutes later I hook up again, and this guys goes 26.5 cms fork. Not big but good enough for the live well. That's my bag limit, now to upgrade. Over the next 4 hours I land another 5 bream, all legal, but none big enough to replace the two I already have. The wind picked up again, even stronger than yesterday and I knew heading back would be right into it, so I reluctantly set off, knowing that the two wouldn't be enough to grab the lead. I'd be happy just to hold onto my 10th place.

I made it back with 2 minutes to spare and by the time I got to the tent they'd already started the weigh in. Holding top spot was Scott Lovig with a total bag of 4 fish for 2.19 kgs. Before me was the day one leader, Michael Maas. He had some nice fish too, and the crowd (and Scott) were on the edge of their seats as the scales ticked over. He needed 1.22 kgs to take it out and the crowd let out a collective sigh when the scales settled at 1.17 kgs, for a total of 2.15 kgs. So close but not good enough. My two fish weighed 1.02 kgs, so not a bad bag and enough to see me edge up to 7th place overall.

The results were tallied and finally, Scott was crowned the inaugral ABT/Hobie Australian Kayak Bream Champion. Well done, Scott.

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A thoroughly deserved win, a fantastic trophy and bragging rights for a whole year. Taking the final podium spot was Ken Raley, who'd caught all his fish on surface lures, for a 4 fish bag of 1.95 kgs.

The level of professionalism shown in running these events by ABT and Hobie have set an amazing standard and the future bodes well for next years season of events. More rounds, more venues, more kayakers and more prizes will see our wonderful sport prosper and surely only good things will come of it. I know that I for one can hardly wait. Happy yakkin', everyone!

[JoshHolmes]

Here's my write up...



When I arrived at Forster for the Forster Fishing Carnival and ABT / Hobie kayak fishing series 4th and final rounds (spanning 5 days) my objective was to qualify in round 4 to go through to the final, which was to be held a couple of days later. I was always going to hang around until the end regardless and truth be told, had already prepared myself for not qualifying (and instead spending some of the remaining days fishing offshore). After all, I was fishing in the company of some very good breamers. Nor did I get off to a very good start, where on day 1 of round 4 (which was held under FFC rules, as opposed to ABT rules) I got distracted by areas where I could see fish, but where they could also see me. About half way into the day I was approached by one of the local kayak fishos (who turned out to be AKFF moderator 'Daftwullie') who gave me a heads up on the fact that I was fishing in the wrong spot. After giving me a few more hints on what to try, I tied on a couple of alternative lures and moved on. I didn't manage to reach the breaming grounds he mentioned, though I did soon after start targeting flathead based on his pointers. By that stage I'd caught a small whiting (and dropped it at the side of the kayak) and about 4 bream, though most of which hovered around the 20cm mark. I didn't catch a flathead, despite leaving myself almost 2 hours to do so.

Day 2 of round 4 was similar in so many ways, including scarcity of worthy fish. Perhaps it didn't help that I really didn't change tactics much, or that I was still relatively clueless where to find the big fish in numbers. I'd heard 'Hells gate' mentioned a few times, and when Paulo and Lynette told me they were pedalling up to check it out I decided to tag along. We fished sporadically as we made our way up (several kms) and parted ways for a while when we got (where I think was) there. I moved off to the floating oyster racks to the north and they ventured into an arm to the left. It certainly looked rather breammy in this area and sure enough I was soon catching them. All were undersize once again, although I did lose one very good fish after being bust off on one of the oyster racks. This fish exploded onto a sinking minnow, hitting it hard merely a nano-second after it hit the water. No more good captures came this day and by now I knew I wouldn't make it into the final. Shame, I thought... I'd finally found somewhere that looked to me like it held some quality hungry fish... and now I'd run out of time.



During the awards ceremony for round 4 I got a funny feeling that I might get lucky and be drawn out of the hat as a wild card entry for the final (there'd been a draw at each other round). My name wasn't the first drawn out of the hat, but due to being absent another name was drawn. Not my name either, and this guy was present... but couldn't participate in the final, so another draw was made. My name was called. Fate had spoken. Up till that point I'd already started making plans in my mind for off shore fishing, but all of the sudden I was drawn back into bream-world. This was a golden opportunity I wasn't going to waste. Off to the tackle shop to get some heavier leaders to deal with the ever-present oyster lease - overzealous bream combo.



Instead of the 50+ kayaks that hit the water for round 4, the final was down to 26. And unlike every other round, the final sessions were to be fished from brand new factory-assembled and fully rigged Hobie Outback kayaks. It'd been a while since I'd fished from an Outback and it was refreshing to have so much space to move around in... and so much stability with which to do it. They really are a very forgiving kayak, which in some ways made it a good choice for a tournament standard boat. The downside, however, was having to make on-the day adjustments to your fishing game to suit. It didn't take me long to get comfortable with the set up, but I did miscalculate how much longer it would take me to reach my destination (floating oyster racks way yonder), or more to the point, how long to get back. So I lost more fishing time than I bargained for in failing to account for that. I did make it back in time, but only because I left my hot-spot sooner than I otherwise would have, because I was concerned it would take longer (and it did). Time spent reaching target destinations quickly became a real tactical conundrum for a lot of competitors at Forster and I was certainly caught out by it, as were others (and to worse degrees).

Despite this, I did catch a very nice bream this day, right at the bottom corner end of the racks I'd targeted. It fell for an Ecogear SX40 in black & gold and upon snatching it, immediately swam for cover. I was quick to tighten the drag and keep the pressure on but it found a pylon and quickly wrapped around it. I thought about pedalling over and pulling it out, but instead waited for a moment by applying steady pressure which eventually caused it to swim free. Once netted I put him straight into the livewell, rewarded myself with some chocolate and started over again. I caught two other bream with this same lure, and another couple on camo gulp worms. There was also some interest in Ecogear PX45s, but no takers. I also finally found the flathead today, pulling in 4 or 5 40+cm specimens. When I caught the bigger bream (approx 35cm) I figured it would be just as good as anything else caught that day and although disappointed in failing to add to it, it felt good bringing it in. Weighing in at 780 grams it did indeed turn out to be the biggest fish of the day. So now I was heading into the final day with a real shot of taking out the biggest bream award ($500) and was nicely positioned for a final sprint to the finish, currently placed in 5th position. So my plan was set for the final day - more of the same, hopefully with just a little more luck.



I awoke with weary legs in the morning, this being my 5th consecutive day on the water, and having covered a considerable distance in that time - some of it offshore. But a pre-dawn BBQ breakfast (courtesy of Kevin from Hobiesports Gosford) almost filled the gap that only a good coffee could cure and was enough to get me warmed up for a final session. There was a bit of nervous tension in the air, though the mood was fairly jovial as we waited for the final countdown to send us on our way at 6:45. I was pretty relaxed and quietly confident. I had a good feeling that I'd do well today, despite my fatigue. Changing to heavier leaders had been a good choice and had managed to save my prize catch from the day before and I was confident I could do it again. Sadly, I couldn't.

Using exactly the same strategies and targeting similar areas, I spent the first couple of hours casting camo worms and SX43's at the edges of the same oyster racks. Once again I did pull in 4 or 5 bream - all on the sx43, two of which I guessed 'might' be of legal size. I'd forgotten my ruler, but put them in the livewell just in case and fished on in the hope of upgrading them. Spot X was particularly quiet so before long I started making my way back slowly, fishing along the way as I went. I threw lures at every bit of structure I passed, but didn't fish any areas very heavily. I was using hardbodies exclusively by now, namely poppers, vibes, crankbaits and sinking minnows. I was throwing everything at em! But my efforts were futile.

Perhaps I should have used placcies because the one guy who beat my 780 grammer - Wayne Robinson, topping me with an 820 grammer - was using gulp shrimp to pull in a nice bag. The overall winner, however, was Scott Lovig, who pulled in a couple of rather respectable bream and finishing off in style. I wasn't at all surprised to see Scotty take this out, as I've fished with a few times in Victoria and have always known he's pretty handy with a fishing rod. Over half the field weighed in fish today, with at least 10 weighing in two, proving to be the most abundant day of the series to date. There was some good size among them to, demonstrating just how good Forster can be when you get it right. By the fifth day of fishing there (and some had pre-fished prior to round 4) most competitors were starting to figure it out I think, although next time for me will mean some going back to the drawing board.

[Derek Steele]

Great posts guys,

Sounds like it was a great couple of days on the water, have to agree on the Scott sentiment ( Just fishes with style and ease ). The ring a ding king should be renamed 'Steez', I look forward to witnessing him defend his title next year and catching up with new friends from now old rounds.

Nice work Hobie!

[rpearce]

Hi all,

Living at Forster, some may have thought I would have more 'local knowledge' than most & fish 'well', but as my report will indicate, that would not be the case! Both ABT Round 4 and the GF were 'tough' fishing days & even the ABT Guru (Russel Babekuhl) was surprised at how much harder it is to land the 'big bream' from a yak as compared to a boat with a leccie (to get you away from the racks!) In the yak, when you hook a 'blue nose' more often than not, they tow you onto the racks, whilst you are just managing to prevent your rod from being ripped from your hands, let alone controlling the fish!

On Friday, the day before ABT Round 4, I had a great prefish with one of the yakkers & managed to land a terrific bream 39cm on a Sammy & then got 2 nice whiting 33cm each, on the same lure! It gave my confidence a boost for the following morning's comp ....... little did I know what would happen!
2 nice whiting like this one

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1 nice 39cm bream

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Sat: Day 1 ABT Round 4, Forster

All up, about 45 yakkers hit the water Sat morning for the first day of Round 4 of the inaugural ABT/Hobie Kayak Fishing Competition. Competitors coming from near & wide, (VIc to Qld & west to Canberra) to absolutely perfect conditions ......almost too perfect! I'd gotten used to the wind & ruffled water & I am sure that is what got me into fish yesterday & previously!

About 6 yakkers got the trifecta on that first day of competition (bream, whiting and Flathead) on Sat, one of each species ..... lots got 2 of the 3 species, a few got one species (including yours truly!) and a few others got donuts (no fish)!

My day was one of mixed emotions ..... elation at getting my first bream fairly early, despair as I slowly realised that I would not be catching anything else!

In the morning, I headed back to the spots where I'd caught the bream & whiting the previous day, and using the same lure, proceeded to catch nothing! On the way to my first 'spot' I cast to a bunch of birds that had been diving for baitfish & I managed to catch one (a bloody cormorant), which then bit me on the hand, so I had to grab it by the neck to retain my favourite lure!

After over of hour of follows but no hits, I ducked over into a lease where I had caught a legal bream on squidgy bug & resin head last week. The tide was dropping & the conditions just about matched, so I tossed the bug out & whack! My $35 'fly/spin' rod was doubled over as this bream tried to hightail it back under the lease! I dug my yak fins into the sand & put pressure on the 4lb braid & 6lb leader ...... and somehow managed to drag him away! In the net! 33cm Woohoo!! I am on the board & still had 4hrs left for a whiting & flattie!! The little Synergy reel that a buddy had given me, worked a treat!! It is so tiny!

Equal Biggest bream on day 1 (thank god the other half of his tail wasn't bitten off!)

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I don't know where the next 4hrs went, as I tossed lures & sps all around the place ...... I even managed to run into a hire boat, as I was changing a knot when I pedalled across the main channel, not realising it was taking me 'out' as well as 'across'! Next thing I hear is "Watch out'' as I headed towards their anchor rope!! They were very good about it & I was soon underway again.

Back in the shallows again, I saw a 1m flattie, resting in the sand between the weed beds ...... a fellow yakker (who was not in the comp) was heading my way, so I asked if he could skirt around the edge, so I could have a shot at the flattie, but she didn't take any of my offerings!! Then I returned to popping & walk the dog ..... Funny how one lure could work so well one day but not the next! Then, my lure got caught up in the weeds & my 6lb leader busted off! No worries, I knew where it was (or so I thought!) .... but by the time I turned around & got back there, it had submerged & hidden in the weed & I couldn't see it! I jumped out of the yak & using the net, sweeping it left & right, trying to snag it, but just couldn't find it! $25 GORN!! I had a backup lure, but didn't want to use/lose it again on the Sat, so left it for the Sun.

Heading back towards the bridge, I could not catch a cold! Later, I heard that many had caught their whiting in the shallows in front of the bridge! At the presentation, I did, however, get a mention as equal First with Steve Fields for 'big bream' of 33cm! If only I had the 39cm from Fri in hand!

Most of us got many more than the fish actually 'entered' into the comp, but they were not all legal fisheries length, so didn't count. Many found it difficult to photograph the fish on a floppy fisheries mat & quite a few lost fish overboard as they tried to photograph it ..... one guy had his flattie jump clear out of the net & he was unable to land another one! We were not allowed to use rulers or brag mats - it had to be the fisheries measure! I got a piece of aluminium & folded up one end, sticking the fisheries measure onto it (see photo above) and it worked a treat! Oh yeah ...... and quite a few forgot to put their 'tag' in the photo, so those fish were eliminated from the bag totals, even tho some may have been submitted for scrutiny!

Sunday: Day 2 ABT Round 4, Forster
Today, we had a longer bit of 'in tide', however, as soon as we cleared the marina, it started raining! Not heavy, but just persistent. After about an hour it stopped, then 5mins later, started again for another hour! The wind then came up, giving some of us 'wind chill factor' but when the sun came out, all was good again! I tried the same lease that I got my bream on the first day & kept catching the racks, the netting, the oysters ..... everything but a bream! I caught myself, my rods, my net ..... you name it, I hooked it, but no fish (well, a couple of putbacks, but they didn't count as they were 5.cm too short!) Once again, I drifted over a HUGE flattie, which I then cast a few sps to, to no avail! This one didn't even spook as I drifted across it!

On the way back across the main channel to 'the paddock', I got snagged on the big lease there & the current pushed me right up against it & after retrieving my lure, it took me 10 mins to work out a way of getting off the lease fence! The current was so strong it was holding me there & when ever I pushed off, I felt really 'tippy'! I ended up pulling myself along the lease fence into calmer water & then was able to push off & pedal like hell to get away from it!

I kept going back to places that I had caught fish in previously ..... perhaps this wasn't a good thing to do, as they were probably all spooked by now!??

I returned to the shallows, where I'd caught my whiting & Bream on the Fri & threw lures 'a country mile' to no avail! Things were getting desperate! Then suddenly, I saw my lure (that I had lost the previous day) sticking its nose out of the water! I couldn't believe it! I yahoo'd & hollered - I am sure they all thought I'd caught a fish! I wish!! Then, Steve Fields upgraded his bream & jumped off his yak to take a photo & ended up to his armpits in water! I yelled 'Are you OK, Steve?' & he replied "Yeah - I thought it was only 2ft deep!!"

A cast of thousands followed & I got hits & misses but no hookups! Nooooo! I am heading for a donut!!! All the way back to the bridge, I continued casting for whiting, bream or flatties & I had a whiting hookup in the last 5 mins before 'stop time' and the mongrel got off!! I was spewing!!!

The biggest bream of the comp still only went 38cm, so once again, the 39cm one I got on the Fri would have topped that!

No chance of me getting into the Grand Final, unless I got the 'wild card' drawn that night at prize giving ...... which I didn't!

Many thanks to Barclays Marine (Fax Frost), and Steve Fields/Hobie for putting on a top event over the last 2 days. I can really see this event taking off, from next year on! I just hope Round 4 & the GF remain in Forster! I am sussing out new spots already, so I do better next year.

Congratulations to Stewart Dunn on a fantastic win! Well done!

Mon:
To say that I was disappointed in my own performance over the weekend would have to be an understatement! Normally I am able to catch at least ONE legal fish when I go out! I was sitting at my computer on Mon morning, typing up a report to put in the local paper when my husband, Keith, took a call from a guy & I asked who it was ...... Steve Fields ...... I said, I'd take the call!

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! I HAD BEEN GIVEN A WILDCARD ENTRY INTO THE GRAND FINAL!!!

Steve Fields had rung me to offer me the spot as the 'Forster Ambassador'!! - I had to wait all of a nanosecond before saying "ARE YOU KIDDING?? Of course I'll take it." There were now 26 of us in the Grand Final! I was in a spin for the rest of the day, buying even more sps (mouldy cheese minnow & jig worms & banana shrimp were working a treat.) I didn't sleep a wink on the Mon night, I was so scared of sleeping thru the alarm!!

Tues: Day 1 ABT GRAND FINAL, FORSTER
Up at 4am to be sure I didn't miss anything, as we were given 'clean' yaks ...... you had to put all your gear on - & it all takes time. We had been allocated our yaks & the kind guys from Hobie Central Coast had put on a sausage sizzle for us for breakfast & supplies an esky full of cold water & energy drinks to take out with us on the water. Many thanks, guys!

Another tough day on the water - had lots of hits almost immediately but no legal hookups ..... eventually got a couple of 'just too small bream by .5cm' which was really annoying! Then got a lovely flattie (approx 50cm+) & heaps of longtoms! Could have done with the flattie the other day during Round 4!

About 30% of the field didn't bring home a legal fish on Day 1! The biggest bag of 2 fish weighed in was only less than a1kg, so it could be anybody's day on Wed & if someone can land 2 really big fish, they could easily overtake the leader! Heard of lots of bust offs & sad stories.

Looking back, I can see that I had succumbed to a bad case of nerves, & had not been fishing 'smart'. That evening, I chatted with some buddies at the Expo & went out with what I thought was a better game plan for the final day of fishing on Wed.

Wed: Day 2 ABT GRAND FINAL
Another tough day on the water again today, for me. (Where have I heard that before!?) I headed up the Breck Channel with Jon, to fish the flats & the racks ..... Jon lost his favourite chubby lure in the shallows but I told him not to panic - they normally float to the top & 2 mins later, I saw it floating by and was able to net it for him. Shortly after, he caught his legal first fish of the day, probably on the chubby! As we worked our way past the boat sheds, he cast his next lure way up into the trees ....... and I was able to lend him my 9ft extending 'lure retriever' and he was able to get that one back, too! He was one happy chappy again.

We worked our way down to Wallis Island & found a nice bay to fish, where we hooked into lots of fish that went 'fisheries legal' to the tail, but not 'tournament legal' to the fork! Once again, they missed by .5-1cm! Shame! They really hit hard & felt 'bigger' than they really were.

I had to lift the mirage drive out to get across some really shallow stuff (had to get out & walk the yak too) & shortly after getting back in, I noticed that the mirage drive was no longer sitting on the front hatch! I nearly died!! After frantically trying to remember which 'route' I had taken thru the mud & weeds ....... I saw that I had refitted them into the yak!~ What a relief!

We obviously weren't going to get our 'legal' fish in that spot .... but will keep it in mind when we get the next 2m tides, as I reckon it will fish well!

Where was AKFF Moderator DaftWullie when I needed him? My pleas for assistance had gone unheeded!!

Heading back down the channel, I tried one of the leases where I had landed fish before, only to drop my lure retriever overboard! I could see it in the clear water & was lucky enough to use one of my rods with a jig head on it, to retrieve it! By then, a really strong n/e wind had come up, going against the tide, making it hard work to pedal & cast. I tried my favourite racks with poppers before heading further down towards the town, but didn't even raise a bloop!

Time was running out, so headed for the finish line, sadly with no fish! I wasn't alone - about 7 of us double donutted both days. Bummer!

Jon caught another legal fish on the way home, so landed 2 for the session! Terrific result on an otherwise tough day.

Even tho I didn't land any fish for 'weighin', it was a great experience & I would like to thank Steve Fields of Hobie & Steve Morgan from ABT, personally, for allowing me to be a part of the inaugural ABT/Hobie Kayak Bream fishing Tournament! It was a real honour. I also really enjoyed meeting up with the other Grand Finalists, as not all had been able to attend the Round 4 as a prefish. Next year, I hope to be in the GF on my own merit!!

Well done & congratulations to all who competed, especially those who caught fish & were 'placed'! As I said all along ....... it was going to be tough!!!

Wouldn't you know it, on the Fri & Sat following the Grand Final, I caught legal bream on both days - one was a cracker, in excess of 500g! Why hadn't I been able to do that on the Tues/Wed?

I am looking forward to next years comp here, already!

Roberta