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Cranka Bream Classic puts anglers to the test
  |  First Published: December 2012



The weekend of October 13-14 saw 68 teams head to the might Mallacoota Inlet for the Cranka East Gippsland Bream Classic.

Being the last round of the 2012 Humminbird Bream Classic Series before the grand final, all teams were eager to put in a good performance for good reason.

For some teams it would be their last chance to earn some much needed points to secure their spot in the Humminbird Bream Classic Invitational at Metung in November, and for a select few teams it was their final chance to make a charge at taking out the 2012 Club Marine Team of the Year trophy.

Team Gamakatsu/Atomic’s Paul Malov and Alex Franchuk would ultimately make the most of their opportunities on the water to secure victory and take out the 2012 Club Marine Team of the Year in fine style.

Day One

After fearing the worst for conditions on day one after strong winds blew through overnight, anglers surprisingly woke to fine conditions and with no excuses to get amongst the action, all hit the water full of enthusiasm.

Paul and Frank from Team Gamakatsu/Atomic started the day in fine form with a full bag in the live well before 9am.

Using a combination of Samurai 101 and 201 rods matched Daiwa Steez 2004 and 2508 reels, spooled with 10lb Unitika Aorika II braid and 4 and 6lb Unitika Aiger fluorocarbon leader tied to Atomic Hardz Bream Shad 50’s in Matt Ayu and Bassday Kangoku Shads in C83 colour, the boys got their bag off snags, rock walls and muddy/sandy wind blown edges.

Paul and Frank didn’t rest after their 9am bag; they kept working hard to land a further three solid upgrades including a 1.33kg yellowfin bream that shot their bag up to a cracking 5/5 5.69kg, giving them overall lead on day one.This also handed them the Maria Lures Best Bag prize for the heaviest bag for the weekend.

Day one also saw the lead for the Ecogear Big Bream change hands a number of times by the narrowest of margins but it was Team Rantall Rattler’s Paul Tippett and Michelle Gamble who weighed a 1.37kg cracking bream on the scales that couldn’t be matched all weekend, giving them the Eco-Gear Big Bream prize.

Day Two

While the weather was picture perfect on day two the fishing certainly wasn’t, with most teams finding the going tough in all parts of the system.

This was also the case for Team Gamakatsu/Atomic who were having a very different day to day one.

“We only had three small fish by 11.30am and a bust off by a big blue nose bruiser had us scratching our heads wondering what to do. A decision was made to try our luck on some wind blown muddy/sandy banks and this proved to be a tournament saving decision”.

“Upon arrival at the new location, several fish were spotted with their noses down, tails up and actively feeding on the flat. The fish were very receptive to a fast twitched 2″ Atomic fat grub in Avocado and Old Penny and two solid fish in 10 minutes just turned our day from very average to promising” Paul said.

Over the next hour the boys continued to fish similar banks for two more solid upgrades including a 38cm black bream that weighed in at 1.2kg.

As they approached the scales those last few upgrades helped to give them 5/5 bream for 4.77kg giving them a two day total of 10/10 bream and breaking the magical 10kg mark with 10.36kg.

This smashed the their nearest rival by 1.4kg and easily handing them the 2012 Crank East Gippsland Bream Classic victory.

If taking out the victory and winning the Maria Lures Best Bag for the weekend wasn’t enough, the win also gave Team Gamakatsu/Atomic a crucial 100 points in the Club Marine Team of the Year race.

With a total of 300 points for the season the boys were also crowned the 2012 Club Marine Team of the Year.

They will now go into the 2013 Humminbird Bream Classic Series free of charge and will leave from position one in all five 2013 qualifying rounds which I’m sure will make Team Gamakatsu/Atomic’s Paul Malov and Alex Franchuk a force to be reckoned with in 2013.

Next stop will be the 6th and final tournament for the 2012 Humminbird Bream Classic Series: the Grand Final.

The top 50 teams from this years series will head to Metung to see who is the best and can take claim to be named the 2012 Humminbird Bream Classic Series Champions.

Facts

PlaceTeamAnglersTotal FishTotal Weight
1Gamakatsu/AtomicPaul Malov/Alex Franchuk10/1010.36
2Power Pro Braid/MillerodsChris Wright/Ian Miller10/108.96
3Team BerkleyBrad Hodges/Mike Hodges10/108.95
4Team LoftPaul Holmes/Greg Rooke10/108.51
5Colac TackleSteve Parker/Declan Betts10/108.11
6Mitchell Fishing and OutdoorsAaron Dyer/Graeme Deer10/108.07
7Nitro RodsNick Glenn/Barry Johnson10/108.05
8Team DomaDamien Domagala/Zig Domagala10/107.53
9Smith LtdSpiro Spyropolous/Steven Philp10/107.50
10Cranka SmithDan Mackrell/Mark Hayes510/107.46
11SoftplasdicksDale Pattison/Dwayne Nielsen10/106.93
12Metung HotelRhett Sandy/Scott Oliver10/106.80
13Minn-KotaCameron Whittam/Warren Carter8/106.66
14MillerodsHarry Olatkiewicz/Jordan Trusty7/106.60
15Solar DynamicsDoug Phayer/Danny Torgersen10/106.57

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