TEAM Motorama Springwood Marine proved that bream fishing is alive and well on the Brisbane River during the Ecogear Brisbane BREAM Challenge. Leading the tournament from Day One, the team of Michael Metcalfe and Greg Livingstone weighed in some of the largest fish for the tournament and showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the field.

The weigh-ins took place inside the 4WD and Fishing Show at the RNA Showgrounds. This provided the anglers with a great forum to display their fish and also enable the gathered crowds to experience first hand the excitement that comes with tournament bream fishing.

With the field narrowing from an original 20 boats down to a final-five for the Monday Shootout, Motorama Springwood Marine grabbed the lead on Day One and never let it go. Their 15/15, 9.34kg three-day bag of bream won them $1000 cash and an assortment of Ecogear lures and accessories for their outstanding performance.

Only 330g behind, and closing fast, was husband-and-wife team Chris and Alyssa Metcalfe (Reefsea Homes, 15/15 9.01kg) who snared $500 for their efforts, while the Spotters Sunglasses Team (15/15, 7.66kg), Top Tacklers (15/15, 7.39kg) and Queensland Fishing Monthly (13/15, 6.09kg) filled out the final five.

However, the tournament belonged to Metcalfe and Livingstone, with the pair landing some 15-20 legal bream each day, for the first two days, with their Sunday bag of 4.07kg being the biggest for the event.

“The quality of the fish that we came across, especially on the Sunday, was just outstanding,” Michael Metcalfe said after the excitement of the final weigh-in.

Targeting the bream dwelling around the wharves along the Fisherman’s Island stretch of the river, the Motorama team found traditional tackle choices and techniques less than effective for tempting large tournament winning sized fish.

Downsizing to 1/32oz jigheads, Metcalfe and Livingstone cast Berkley 3” Bass Minnows (watermelon/pearl colour) as far back into the pylons as they were able. The approach paid dividends, with the anglers pulling and losing some monster fish. Medcalf said that while the technique was hugely successful, it was also difficult to master and excruciatingly slow and painstaking.

While the technique proved most effective in the middle parts of the day, the boys turned their attention to crankbaits in the morning period to catch their fish, utilising the newly released Ecogear SX-40 hardbait in the Sydney Guppy colour.

The teams choice of tackle varied slightly with the most popular choices reflected in Metcalfe's outfit of choice, that included a Millerods Bream Buster Finesse rod, Shimano Stella 1000 reel, 4lb Fireline and a 8lb Stren Magna Thin leader.

The abundance of fish experienced by the team on the first two days vanished on Monday, with the boys turning to a previously untried lure colour and some well headed local advice to help capture precious third day fish. Utilising an Ecogear Grass Minnow in the 310 colour, Metcalfe and Livingstone were able to eke out fish that had become well accustomed to the other lures they had been using.

The event proved to be hugely successful, not only for anglers but also for spectators and the public. The event will hopefully become a permanent fixture on the bream fishing tournament calendar and further attests to the quality of fishing available on Brisbane’s doorstep.

For more information contact Simon Goldsmith, (07) 3268 3992 b/h, 0427 326 464, or visit www.bream.com.au.