We’re back in the fast boats on the Tweed River, NSW, for the final ABT qualifier of 2025—two wind-and-rain-soaked days that still produced cracking fishing, a first-time boater champion, and both boater and non-boater Angler of the Year stories.

Non-Boaters

• 1st – Lance Marsh (2.975 kg): Methodical and calm across bridges, walls and the famed Blue Hole; mixed Z-Man GrubZ (motor oil), Cranka Crab, and plastics to stack steady upgrades and claim his second tour win.

• 2nd – Grant Painter (2.89 kg): Day-one damage on Cranka Crab over Kennedy Drive reef, then switched gears on Day 2 with unweighted Aquas and Gulp Crabby on bridges and walls to hang on for the podium.

• 3rd – Nathan Booth (2.730 kg) —and 2025 Non-Boater AOY: Versatile across deep rock edges and mid-river rubble with Hurricane Sprat Hybrid 85s (bloodworm tail), grubs on 1/6–1/4 oz heads, and Cranka Crabs. Light leaders (3–4 lb) and smart current angles were key.

Boaters

• 1st – Joe Darmody (5.540 kg total, incl. 3.035 kg Day 2 & big bream ~1.335kg): A clutch Day-2 mega bream off the exposed M1 reef line sealed it. Smart tide calls, precise crankbaiting (Jackall Chubby Brown Suji) along shallow rock and man-made walls, and opportunistic Aquas around structure turned four fish into a match-winning limit.

• 2nd – Mark Healey (4.935 kg) & back-to-back Boater AOY (497 pts): Classic Healey consistency—deep structure rotations, Cranka Crab on reefs/bridge pylons, and selective crankbait runs. Forward-facing sonar (Active Target 2) helped pick off better schools without over-fishing dead water.

• 3rd – Ben Cronk (4.680 kg): In his first ABT boater start, leaned on bigger profiles (MMD Soft Prawn 60/75 rigged on heavier jigheads) to glide down rock faces and draw quality bites; finished with tidy back-to-back limits.

Patterns & Tackle at a Glance

• Locations: Kennedy Drive reef, M1 bridge, deep foreshore walls, Blue Hole.

• Tides: Early bites around the run-in; quality windows on the turn and first of the run-out.

• Lures: Cranka Crab (brown/olive tones), Jackall Chubby (Brown Suji), Hurricane Sprat Hybrid 85, MMD Soft Prawn, Z-Man GrubZ (motor oil), Gulp Crabby, Aquas.

• Rigs: 1/6–1/4 oz jigheads to beat heavy flow; 3–6 lb leaders; keep hooks razor-sharp—treble swaps mattered on the tougher Day 2.

Plus: playlists are now live—jump into our Tweed bundle on Spotify to binge every Tweed-system episode ahead of the Grand Final prep.

Enjoy the interviews, the tactics, and the tales—from first-cast hookups to that once-in-a-season lunchtime kilo-plus bream that changed everything.