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Crompton crushes it at the Clyde River
  |  First Published: July 2017



Anglers from Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT headed to Batemans Bay and the Clyde River system on the South Coast of NSW to compete in the JML Anglers Alliance Round 6 of the Hobie Kayak Bream Series 9 – a one-day event on April 30.

The pre-fish day saw anglers hit the water in search of a plan for Sunday’s competition. Many anglers were reporting good-size bream in good numbers, even though conditions were testing at times.

The Power Pole start was held just to the east of the Batemans Bay Bridge in idyllic conditions with a slight run-out tide. The wind forecast was spot on with a light westerly before the light northeast sea breeze filled in just after midday. Anglers enjoyed the incoming tide which assisted in getting to the back of the waterway before the outgoing tide later in the day helped with the trip back for weigh-in. For autumn fishing, you could not have had a better day!

Anglers were chasing a bag limit of four bream with a minimum length of 26cm to the tip. A quarter of the field returned to the scales with full bags and 32 of the 40 anglers returned fish to the weigh-master. In total, 81 bream were caught during the one-day session weighing a total of just over 41kg.

It was Mark Crompton from NSW who took the day with four bream for 2.49kg. He picked up a $590 cheque and a sponsor prize pack. Crompton was followed by Andrew Death (NSW) with four bream for 2.45kg and Richard Somerton (VIC) with four for 2.42kg.

CROMPTON FIRST SEASON WIN

Mark Crompton took out his first tournament win in the Hobie Kayak Series for 2017 after a less than ideal start to the weekend. He pulled together a plan that would see him to victory.

“The pre-fish day on Saturday was so-so after leaving some essential gear at home – namely the seat for the kayak! Never the less, I found fish and started putting together a game plan for Sunday.

“Right off the start I headed for the bridge pylons which were less than 100m from the start line. I took off slow to see what everyone was doing and most of the anglers passed them by. I threw some Cranka Crabs at the pylons and managed to get my bag before the tide started to turn. Crabs are a perfect bait for that system as they’re the staple diet for probably 90% of the fish there.

“The rest of the day, I fished the oyster racks as well as a few deep holes that have hard rocky bottom. I didn’t have a big bag, but I felt I could at least finish in the top 10.”

Crompton used a Zentetsu Silver Wolf rod, Daiwa Freams Z 2500 reel, Daiwa Tournament EVO 8 6lb braid and Cranka Crabs in brown and olive. He fished out of a 2017 Hobie Pro Anger 12 in camo colour.

“I just followed my golden rule: fish where everybody else isn’t fishing.”

ANDREW DEATH TAKES SECOND

“I have fished the river system a few times and I really like what the Clyde system has on offer. However, the system was fishing tough and I only had one bream – 26.5cm to the tip – by 12pm. As the tide pushed in with water over the racks, I managed get my bag of four bream by 1pm then I picked up a couple of upgrades by 1:30 before heading back.”

Death used an Edge rod matched with a Daiwa Luvias reel, Gosen 14lb casting line and a Gladiator Bingo lure.

ATOMIC BIG BREAM

Paul Davidson from Bairnsdale, Victoria, took out the Atomic Big Bream $100 cash prize. It was his first time using a Cranka Crab.

MORTGAGE CORP MONSTER MOVER

Andrew Maloney from the ACT picked up the Mortgage Corp Monster Mover Prize and took home a Mortgage Corp battery pack for his efforts.

SPECIAL THANKS

JML Anglers Alliance Round 6 of Hobie Kayak Bream Series 9 could not have gone ahead without our generous sponsors, Daiwa Australia, Berkley, Atomic, Lowrance, Rhino-Rack, Strike Pro, TT Lures, JML Anglers Alliance, Power-Pole, Mortgage Corp, Pro Lure, Hobie Polarized and ABT. – Hobie Cat

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