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Team Loft Break through for their first Hobie Bream Classic Victory

The weekend of the 14th and 15th of June saw 47 teams make their way to the sleep township of Nelson for the Hobie Bream Classic. Being Rnd 4 of the 2014 Vic Bream Classics Series and with things hotting up on the Club Marine Team of the Year points table all teams were keen to finish up the pointy end of the field to secure their place on the Vic Bream Classics grand final at Mallacoota at the end of November. With big bags not the norm at Nelson it was a team that could fish consistently over both days that would have the best chance of victory. For Tony and Kyle PettieTeam Tangle Foot that would be the case with a solid first day and strong finish giving them the victory.

On Day 1 of competition anglers were greeted with cold rain and howling winds as only Nelson can produce making fishing the ever popular flats at the mouth extremely tough for all teams that braved that location. For Team Tangle Foot they decided to be one of the teams to brave the conditions down the front but was to no avail as after 90 minutes of prime fishing time they had no fish in the well and a move was needed. " We decided to move up the river just behind livingstone island to get out of the wind and this proved successful as we landed our first 2 bream by 10.30am" Tony said. Using a combination of NS One Micro & G-Loomis TSR802 rods matched to Diawa Arid 2000 reels, spooled with 4lb Crystal Fireline, tied to 4lb FC Rock leader the boys started throwing Atomic Crank 38 deep divers in muddy prawn, Eco-Gear SX48's in muddy prawn and Kangoku Shads in Olive Shrimp and again in the reliable muddy prawn colour around the weed edges. "Slow retrieves along the weedy drop offs with deep diving hard bodies got the fish. We moved again to the flats at the front of Oxbow lake and fished there for an hour with no results, but once we moved to the opposite side of the river to where the wind was blowing and waves crashing on the shore we found feeding fish and managed to land 3 good bream in 20 minutes and drop a few more. We had to get the lure as close as possible to the shore and then wind back with a slow retrieve and pause. A couple of turns of the handle to get the lure down and then pause, it was on the pause that we managed to hook the fish" Tony said. With 5 fish in the well and the bite slowing right down the guys decided to head back and see where their solid bag would have them placed. With 5/5 for 2.82kg Team Tangle Foot were sitting 5th with a good chance, but definitely with some work to do to catch the leaders. The lead team after Day 1 and Maria Lures Best Bag winners with their day 1 field leading 5/5 bream for 3.42kg bag was Team Ever Hopeful's Darryl Baird and Allan Morrison, however lucky for Team Tangle Foot the fish they found on Day 1 eluded them on Day 2 opening the door for Team Tangle Foot to make a charge for the lead.

On Day 2 the conditions were a little more stable giving anglers more flexibility to work most locations. For Team Tangle Foot it was back to flats out the front of Oxbow lake near Livingstone island and they slowly worked their way back towards the boat ramp. "We had our first legal by 7:20am, then another by 7:30am and a third by 7:45 which was extremely promising. We were throwing the lure as far as possible over the flats and used a slow return with a twitch and pause. We moved along the flats toward the town and picked up our fourth & biggest bream of 1.03kg, then not long after that we landed our 5th fish and had a promising bag by 08:45am" Tony said. After this the boys spent the rest of the day trying to secure some upgrades which proved harder than first thought, but with a vital upgrade coming to the boat at 11.30am the boys felt confident their bag would give them a good chance of a top 3 finish. With the inconsistent Day 2 results causing many teams in the top 10 failing to back up their Day 1 results the door was open for a number of teams to push into the top ten. When Team Tangle Foot placed their bag on the scales it weighed 5/5 bream for 3.13kg which was a total 2 Day bag of 10/10 Bream for 5.95kg it rocketed them from 5th into 1st Place and handed them the 2014 Hobie Bream Classic Championship. Another highlight of Day 2 was the Eco-Gear Big Bream of 1.09kg that was weighed in by Team Tim Treloar Fencing and helped them jump 18 places.

With only one qualifying rnd left for the 2014 Vic Bream Classic Series all eyes are starting to turn to the Club Marine Team of the Year Points chase and who will make the Grand Final. For all the details, team standings and tournament details visit www.vicbreamclassics.com.au and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vicbreamclassics