Anglers sweltered in extreme conditions at the Evinrude presented Port River BREAM Challenge, 7/8 February. The 40ºC temperatures tested angler’s endurance and focus on the opening day of the South Australian round of the Ford Ranger BREAM Series.

However, the extremes of day one were followed by contrasting conditions on day two. Cooler weather and overcast skies replaced the soaring temperatures and bright sun of the previous day.

Mastering the varying conditions and scoring his first win on the BREAM tour was Mt Gambier breamer and ABT stalwart, Dean Truman, 10/10, 5.25kg. Hot on his heals and only 25g in arrears was fellow South Australian and Adelaide local, Dylan Martin, 10/10, 5.225kg.

Event victor Truman was one of only three anglers to compile a full two-day limit for the tournament, but he was more excited about stringing together two consistent days in a tournament.

“It’s something I’ve strived for but have failed to do in the Port event”, explained Truman, “It all came together this weekend though, and surprisingly it resulted in a victory”.

The winning plan for Truman involved fishing shallow and deep running Jackall Chubbies (in colours blue gill and wasabi shrimp) on a shallow sandy bank and a flat near the junction of the north and main arm of the Port Adelaide River.

“It was a spot that my day one non-boater John-Paul Cronin largely put me on to”, explained Truman.

A sandy stretch punctuated by occasional rubble, Truman presented his Chubby tight to the waters’ edge before swimming the lure back to the boat with a slow rolling retrieve interspersed with twitches and pauses.

“When I got a hit it was a matter of slowly swimming the lure away from the fish to entice it into eating the escaping lure”, explained Truman.

The approach paid dividends with the 2009 Lowrance SA BREAM Angler of the Year filling out his limit by 9am on day one and a similar quick kill on day two.

Truman’s choice of tackle used to filling his bag each day included a mixture of Shimano Starlo Stik 7’3” Lite Spin rods, matched to Shimano Stella 2500 and Daiwa Luvias 2000 reels, spooled with 2lb Berkley Crystal Fireline and 4lb Daiwa Gekkabjin Fluorocarbon leader.

While Truman’s victory demonstrated his development as a tournament angler it also provided a healthy injection of cash that’ll see him hit the tournament trail to fish the must-do Tassie BREAM tour starting at the end of the month.

“I can’t wait to get over there and get stuck into the XOS bream that we all hear about”, explained Truman. With a win under his belt, Dean is sure to hit Tassie with his confidence high and a desire for more success.

The South Australian angler dominance of the event continued in the non-boater division with 47 year old Mt Gambier Freight Distribution Supervisor Gary Chuck claiming ultimate honours, 8/10, 3.9kg.

Fishing with Adam Todd on day one and Don Johnston on day two Chuck used varying techniques both days; fishing soft plastics around docks and slip ways on day one and slow rolled and twitching hardbodies on day two.

“I fished 2” Berkley Gulp Shrimps (in colour banana prawn) rigged on 1/16oz Nitro jigheads down deep, working them with lifts and hops”, explained Chuck. “It was very much like bait fishing, when I got a bite I’d drop the lure back and feed out some line until the bream picked up the plastic and swam away with it”.

Day two saw Chuck using shallow and deep Jackall Chubbies (in colour blue gill and suji shrimp), slow rolling and twitching his offerings to induce a strike.

“The key on the strike was to make sure you waited long enough for the bream to have hold of the lure before setting the hooks”, explained Chuck. This obvious but often overlooked fact when crankbaiting bream produced the goods, and helped him secure a 200g winning margin over his nearest competitor.

Chuck’s choice in tackle for the event included Shimano Raider 7’2” and Berkley Dropshot 6’6” rods, matched with Daiwa 1500 Regal and Shimano Sedona reels, spooled with 4lb Berkley Fireline.

Steve Flynn claimed the Go-So Big Bream Prize for the event, with the Adelaide local securing big fish bragging rights with his 1.075kg specimen captured on day two. Falling to an Ecogear SX40 in colour 307, the $500 cheque winning fish was wrestled from a rockwall adjacent to the Barley Silo Wharf located downriver of the Port Adelaide city heart.

Flynn’s rewards for the weekend didn’t end with the Go-So Big Bream, as the angler returned to the weigh-in first on day one to claim the $200 Daiwa Sponsors Daiwa Bonus.

Adam Todd claimed the $250 Mercury Bonus as the highest place boater running a Mercury outboard, while third placed boater Warren Carter added to his pay day scooping the pool to claim the entire $191 ‘Pro Option’ prize pool.

The next round of the Ford Ranger BREAM Series sees the tour hit the road, heading to the apple isle for the two-event Tassie Tour. One of the standout legs of the 14 event national series, the Tassie Tour is set to break records and establish new standards in tournament bream fishing.

For more information and event entries visit www.bream.com.au or phone ABT (07) 3387 0888.

Port River BREAM Challenge Boater Results

Ford Ranger BREAM Series: Port River BREAM Challenge Non-Boater Results