This month on The Lure Fishing Project, Andrew and Brett celebrate a huge milestone as the podcast reaches 200,000 downloads.

Andrew reflects on the journey so far, the support from listeners, sponsors and Collective members, and discusses where the show is heading next. With plans for more angler profile episodes, broader species coverage and a refined competition schedule, the podcast continues to evolve while staying true to its grassroots fishing community.

Brett then takes over with one of his biggest monthly reports yet.

Fresh from Gippsland Lakes, he shares the story behind an incredible 2.03 kg, 47 cm  bream, followed only days later by another magnificent 47 cm fish weighing 1.73 kg. He also runs through the outstanding fishing currently happening across eastern Victoria, including big perch, quality flathead, estuary perch, squid, jewfish and some remarkable captures by anglers including Leon, Mark Gercovich and young gun Isaac Lazzaro.

Andrew also gives an update on the new boat, including the installation of the Lowrance Recon trolling motor, early impressions on the electronics setup, and plans for the next stage of the build.

As always, the episode wraps up with plenty of laughs during Gone Full Boofhead, featuring forgotten registrations, near trailer disasters, homemade kayak wheels, lost Mirage Drives and a few stories that prove even experienced anglers can have the occasional shocker.

Whether you're chasing bream, perch, flathead or simply enjoy hearing two passionate anglers talk fishing, there's plenty packed into this month's report.

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• Celebrating 200,000 podcast downloads

• The future direction of The Lure Fishing Project

• Brett's incredible 2.03 kg Gippsland bream

• Winter fishing reports from across eastern Victoria

• New Lowrance Recon trolling motor review

• Boat build and electronics update

• Around the Grounds competition calendar

• Gone Full Boofhead returns

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:

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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If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider following the show and leaving a rating or review—it really helps more anglers discover the podcast.

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:

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.

🥇 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:

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

Division Winners

Enjoy the episode!

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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.

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

Congratulations also to:

• Bradley Hart – Anaconda Big Bream (0.90 kg)

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.

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

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

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Sometimes the best tournaments are the ones nobody sees coming.

When forecast conditions made the Swan River unfishable, Hobie made the bold decision to relocate the event to Scamander at the last minute. It meant weeks of preparation instantly became irrelevant. Competitors who had travelled from around Australia suddenly found themselves launching on a river many had never seen before, with no pre-fish, no established game plans and no local knowledge to rely on.

What followed was one of the most fascinating tournaments of the season.

In EP215, Andrew Death sits down with Joel Crosbie, Michael Alexander and tournament winner Evan Leonard to unpack exactly how the event unfolded and why adapting quickly proved far more important than having the perfect plan.

Joel Crosbie explains how he deliberately targeted the roughest, windiest banks on the river, believing other competitors would avoid them. Fishing soft plastics through timber, steep drop-offs and scattered structure, Joel trusted his strengths and pieced together another incredibly consistent tournament, finishing just 60 grams behind the podium for the second Hobie event in a row.

Tasmanian local Michael Alexander reveals how a simple pattern fishing rocky shorelines with a combination of ZipBaits Rigge 70SP hardbodies and soft plastics produced a third-place finish. After an early mechanical issue with his Hobie seat threatened to derail his tournament, Michael adapted on the fly, kept covering productive water and found the late upgrades he needed to secure a podium finish.

Tournament winner Evan Leonard shares the mindset behind one of the most disciplined wins you'll hear about. While much of the field searched the river for active fish, Evan committed almost the entire tournament to fishing a handful of bridge pylons near the mouth. Carefully rotating between concrete structure, making precise casts with soft plastics and trusting his game plan, he put together a superb 5.74 kg winning limit and claimed the Anaconda Big Bream with a fish weighing 1.22 kg.

Throughout the episode you'll hear practical discussions on reading unfamiliar water, positioning kayaks in difficult wind, choosing between structure and open water, selecting jighead weights, fishing bridge pylons effectively, working soft plastics through timber, and why confidence in your own strengths often outweighs constantly changing tactics.

If you've ever arrived at a tournament—or even your local river—without knowing where to start, this episode is full of lessons that will help you make better decisions under pressure.

🥇 Evan Leonard (TAS) — 5.74 kg

🥈 Isaac Harris (TAS) — 5.13 kg

🥉 Michael Alexander (TAS) — 4.80 kg

4th: Joel Crosbie (VIC) — 4.74 kg

Anaconda Big Bream

Monster Mover

Youth — Ethan Howard — 3.44 kg

Women's — Tameika Purnell — 3.08 kg

Masters — Peter Nord — 3.94 kg

Scamander River • Tasmania

Hobie Kayak Bream Series • Hobie Kayaks • Daiwa Bait Junkie • ZipBaits • Z-Man • Hurricane Lures • Boomer Creek Vineyard

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The Hobie Kayak Bream Series headed to Little Swanport, Tasmania, producing one of the standout events of the 2026 season. Clear water, expansive weed flats and changing tides tested the field, but those who unlocked the pattern were rewarded with some exceptional black bream.

In EP214, Andrew Death is joined by Tony Pettie and Mitchell Maddison to break down two very different paths to the podium.

Mitchell shares how what started as a relaxed family holiday turned into a third-place finish, fishing alongside his son Cohen, who spent the weekend catching quality bream of his own. He explains how lightly weighted soft plastics, shallow weed beds and understanding the wind helped him build two consistent bags.

Tournament winner Tony Pettie then reveals how he put together an incredible 7.03 kg tournament total, highlighted by a massive 4.13 kg Day Two bag and the Anaconda Big Bream of 1.71 kg. From subtle lure colour changes and jighead selection to timing the tides and reading current flow, Tony's interview is packed with practical tournament knowledge that any bream angler can apply.

Whether you fish tournaments, kayak fish, or simply enjoy learning from Australia's best lure anglers, this episode is loaded with insights that will help you put more quality bream in the net.

🥇 Tony Pettie (VIC) – 7.03 kg

🥈 Joseph Gardner (WA) – 6.55 kg

🥉 Mitchell Maddison (NSW) – 6.06 kg

Anaconda Big Bream

Monster Mover

Youth: Ethan Howard – 4.42 kg

Women's: Ruth Beeby – 4.79 kg

Masters: David Shanahan – 5.84 kg

First Time Competitor: Selwyn Edson – 1.72 kg

• Building tournament-winning bags on shallow Tasmanian weed flats

• How tide timing dictated the bite

• Fishing lightly weighted soft plastics over ribbon weed

• Choosing jighead weights for changing wind and current

• Lure colour changes that triggered better fish

• Landing trophy black bream on light leaders

• Fishing a major tournament alongside family

• The story behind Tony Pettie's incredible 4.13 kg Day Two bag

Little Swanport • Tasmania

Hobie Kayak Bream Series • Hurricane Lures • Atomic • Daiwa Bait Junkie • Anaconda

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Round 4 of the Atomic Tournament Series headed to the Georges River and Botany Bay, with plenty of rain, a tricky tide and some exceptional tournament fishing.

Host Andrew Death sits down with the top three teams to break down exactly how they approached the day, the decisions they made on the water and the techniques that produced the winning bags.

Although all three teams finished on the podium, each found success in a completely different way. From lightly weighted plastics around moored boats, to targeting sticks in Woolooware Bay, to fishing oyster-covered structure and pontoons, this episode is packed with practical tournament knowledge that any bream angler can apply.

There is also plenty of discussion around modern electronics, including Lowrance ActiveTarget, lure selection, jighead weights, leader choice, tournament decision-making and how changing conditions affected the bite throughout the day.

Round sponsor Samaki also gets a mention, with a story about Harvey catching quality bream while chasing mulloway on a Samaki soft plastic.

🥇 1st – Rise Above Plumbing

🥈 2nd – Hooked Up / DDH Plumbing

🥉 3rd – Team Shimano

• Breaking down three completely different winning tournament strategies

Atomic Tournament Series • Samaki • Shimano • Daiwa • Lowrance • Bait Junkie • Rapala 

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We'll catch you on the water.