To start, I’m going to say something that a lot of people may not agree with – Crank baiting is one of the best ways to pull big bream from structure.  Why? Their head is already facing towards you. But a little bit more about that later. In the start (when I say start I mean late 80’s, early 90’s) there were really only a couple of types of lures that would catch bream. The first was a surface lure intended for bass or a timber crankbait used for trout and bass.  At that stage, all…

There’s not a lot of salt water to be fished in Canberra, none in fact.  Casting metal slices into Lake Burley Griffin for tailor and bonito is a hollow pastime with guaranteed poor results every cast.  Growing up in the nation’s capital, I was fortunate that my family would venture east to the coast with unwavering frequency. This is where I learned to fish, where I found my passion for fishing, and where I learned the sport. I discovered my own techniques and became a true, dedicated ang…

  To say I’m stoked with my 2016 tournament season would be a pretty big understatement. I made the decision not to fish my local tournament series in 2016 but to concentrate on the Australian Hobie Kayak Bream Series. The goal for the year was to fish at least 5 Hobie events as the Angler of the Year is determined by your best 5 results for the year so this would be more realistic in testing how I am fairing against the top anglers in the country. I’ll be completely honest and say t…

One of the most popular native sports fish where I live on the NSW South Coast is the little Aussie battler, Australian Bass. Together with its cousin the Estuary Perch, both species are an easily accessible target in the countless tidal rivers on the coast. In this article, I will provide an insight in to the way I target these fish on these rivers, as opposed to targeting bass in creeks and streams beyond tidal influence. Where? On the NSW South Coast there are endless o…

Night time lure fishing for Bream, with Michael Halliday   Bream fishing after dark is generally reserved for the bait brigade.  While there are plenty of lure anglers who have tried casting lures in the dark hours, there are indeed very few punters who will regularly ‘crank after dark’. Like most of you, I am sure, work and parenting duties command the lion’s share of available time.  Fishing the evenings became the only way to ensure enough hours on…

  When I get a break from my bream tournament schedule, a fish that I love to target on my home waters of St Georges Basin is the Dusky Flathead. Dusky’s have a huge distribution range on the East Coast from Cairns in Queensland to the Gippsland Lakes region of Victoria, but it’s here on the South Coast of NSW that these fish have become iconic, with anglers travelling from far and wide for their chance to land the fish of a lifetime. Fish 90cm and larger are no longer a myth, which …

  "Oh that’s a good cast” I thought to myself as I worked the lure down to depth.  “Right in the snag…There’ll be a fish there for sure”.  Pause…Pause…twitch...pause…On!    Sometimes fishing can seem so simple. It’s great when you’re fishing your home estuary. You know it backwards. You’re confident in your ability to find fish in a variety of locations and know the techniques that will best suit the species you’re after.  You kn…

Have you had a crank lately? Yep, it’s that time of the year again- Christmas is just around the corner and if you blink, you’ll miss it. The weather is turning up the heat and the cicadas are just about to roar. It is in the warmer months that this type of fishing is most productive. For those who have never used crank baits (aka hard bodies) or have little experience using them, crank baits are a great lure to get a reaction bite and many species of fish will smash them. I’m not goin…