The Tasmanian Bream Classic concluded with the third and final round on the Derwent River on April 21 and 22.

In what was the closest series in the history of the Classics there were at least five teams in the running for the Championship win.

The series started on the Swan River in February. The weather was good for fishing and the masses of weed that had plagued the venue in pre-fish weeks had cleared considerably. As expected most teams headed down to take on the cut and fish the mid and lower estuary. Tournament new comers Team Short n Curlies lead the field after day one with many teams close behind in a tight bunch.

Day two conditions were similar with most teams following patterns established the previous day. Team Sportsfishtasmania leapt the field with Leigh McKenzie landing a big kicker fish at 1.6kg taking their bag to the top of the table with teammate Plinio Taurian.

Justin Causby and Brad Harrison at Team Tonic/Quantum held their second position from Day one with another good bag and Team Downtown Tackle of Shane Ling and Matt Shea jumping Team St Helens Bait & Tackle to take third.

On to St Helens and the infamous Georges Bay for Round two . The place certainly puts fear in the minds of the hardened anglers and the finicky day two bite. Team Cranka II lead the field after day one with a late caught bag. Again the pack following were tightly bunched.

Day two was always going to sort out the standings and once again 2012 was no different. Front running teams Sportsfishtasmania and St Helens Bait & Tackle fell from the top of the field with little or no return. Once again Isaac Harris and Daz Wells at Team Cranka II caught a very late bag that carried them over the line for a great win with 10.83kg.

Team Tackle Us Bream Bling grabbed second with 9.9kg for Damian Vieriaux and Andrew Pender . Team Tackle Us leapt to third thanks to Jon Listers Tas Classic record Big Bream at 2.12kg for 8.65kg with team mate Andrew Wells.

After two rounds the championship was a very close race with three teams tied on 10 points and a further five teams within six points of the lead.

On to the Derwent for the third and final round and 30 boats were ready to take on Australia’s biggest bream bags. Tides were not ideal but the weather was kind and water clarity far better than last year’s freshly flooded dirty water. After day one the Derwent had turned it on once again with some huge bags to the top teams.

Team Tangles returned 6.2kg but that was only good enough for third. Returning from their successful ABT visit were mainland anglers Warren Carter and Cam Whittam. Having always done well in their trips south they didn’t disappoint and came back to the scales with 6.41kg bag for second place. Leading the way was Team Cranka with Andrew Cox and Steve Steer clocking out at 6.95kg and big bream at 1.61kg.

Day two and all were ready to chase the big fish again. Tides were very different to the previous day despite the tide charts saying it wasn’t the case. Everyone was chasing Team Cranka but they were far too good with another huge bag at 6.825kg taking the round win with a record 13.775kg for 10/10. Holding second was Team Carter Roofing with 6.8kg and a 13.21kg bag. Jumping to third place with a 6.675kg and a 12.667kg bag was Team Sportsfishtasmania.

The Championship went to Team Cranka with three consistent rounds giving Andrew Cox and Steve Steer a well deserved win. Leroy McKenzie and Plinio Taurian moved from 4th to take out second in the championship with just a bad day two at St Helens probably costing them the overall win. A consistent Team Tamar Marine again with a great Derwent round result lifting Travis Bryan and Dan Dertesi up in to third place.

All competitors praised the efforts of Alistair Creed and Tom Crawford for taking on the Bream Classics in 2012.

The spirit the events were competed under was fantastic with so many great moments and funny stories. The tournament scene in Tassie is certainly growing and it’s wonderful to see so many new teams starting to take part. Several of the stalwarts of the comps commented on the pressure being applied by some of the guys coming through.