One of the premier events on the tournament calendar, the Minn Kota MegaBREAM event is kicking off a fantastic week long fishing carnival at the iconic township of Forster.

The event will see some of the country’s best bream anglers doing battle against the famous rack dwelling bream that this area is renown for. The competition will include last year’s overall winners Kris Hickson and Darren Borg of team TT Lures.

Along with the $1000 entry fee the term ‘Megabucks’ refers to the tournaments payout scheme. Often called a ‘Skins Event’ where teams do not carry through their weights to the following day, rather the teams bring their catch to the weighmaster and the heaviest bag wins the most cash on that day.

Two sessions of fishing from 7am till 2pm each day means that even if a team fails to catch their limit on day one, they can gather their thoughts and fish hard to take home a prize cheque the following day.

Teams consisting of two anglers fish the Wallis Lake system with artificial lure and fly only. Keeping their catch alive in the purpose built livewells on board their tournament craft. Once they have caught their limit, they are able to continue on fishing and upgrading. Once a bigger bream has been landed it can be added to the livewell and a smaller fish set free immediately. On delivering these fish to the scales in an ABT weigh bag, the fish are then place in the Reef Science Tank for viewing and then released.

Reigning champions Hickson and Borg managed to finish on top of both sessions last year in a field of 29 boats to pocket a handy $9000. But with a Big Bream cheque of $2500 and lots of Minn Kota goodies up for grabs this year several teams have been quick to sign up including some local talent that is promising to make it tough for the visitors.

With a reduced bag limit to 5 fish in 2008, it should make for some exciting times come weigh in. Don’t worry about the average fish size though as instead of concentrating on numbers these pro breamers will be straight out looking for those kicker fish that will deliver them the goods and the prize money.

It may mean a change of tactics similar to that of Darren ‘Dizzy’ Borg in AFC Series 5, where Borg decided to try the finesse approach with 2lb fluorocarbon. But beware the racks! How many memorable moments have we seen in the past AFC productions including Scott Towner and Steve ‘Duffman’ Duff getting frustrating bust offs thanks to these oyster encrusted bream dwellings?

The weigh ins will be held daily at 2pm at the Reef Science Tank along the southern breakwall behind the Forster Beach Caravan Park. With displays and refreshments on offer as well as giveaways from our naming sponsor Minn Kota, there is plenty for the family to enjoy. So come down and check out some of the best breamers in Australia fishing some of the best bream fishing water we have on offer.

For further information contact ABT on 07 3268 7958 or visit www.bream.com.au . – ABT