Fishing - Tasmania hosts national angling competition

Competitive Bream fishing returned to Southern Tasmania last week with rounds three and four of the Australian Bass Tournaments (ABT) 2026 Daiwa Bream series held in the Huon and Derwent Rivers.

This year's series sees the best bream anglers in the country face off against each other over nine rounds from February through to December.

Competitors will fish for bream in five different states, which include two series rounds and a Teams-style Bream Open held here in Tasmania.

Round three was held on the Huon River last Wednesday and Thursday, with round four also held in the Derwent River on Saturday and Sunday.

Individual anglers fishing from a boat were targeting the heaviest 5 bream they could catch in the specified time limit each day, as were non-boating anglers who were chasing their heaviest 3 whilst fishing from the shore.

Anglers would then present their best catches of up to 5 or 3 bream at the weigh-ins after each day, with a total weight recorded and then added together to determine the winners after two days of fishing.

Boat angler Steve Morgan claimed the round three win on the Huon River with a 2-day 10-fish total weight of 10.510 kg, which included a first-day best bag weight of 5.800 kg.

Mark Crompton finished 2nd with a two-day total weight of 10.045 kg, and Brett Crowe was 3rd with 9.975 kg.

Mario Vukic, Daryl Baird, Peter Breukel, Joseph Gardner, Scott Scicluna, Peter Mazey, and Alan Lister rounded out the top 10 in that order and a special mention to Tasmanian Tony Robertson, who finished a respectable 13th.

Michael Vukic, son of Mario, won his first-ever ABT round in the non-boater section with a two-day 6-fish total weight of 6.680 kg, with Tasmanian angler Willi Thorpe finishing second with 6.290 kg.

Round four on the Derwent proved to be record-breaking, with all 30 anglers weighing in 5/5 bream after Saturday's session.

All but three anglers weighed in 5/5 fish on Sunday as well, which shows how good a bream fishery the Derwent is.

After Saturday, James Graham sat in first place with a great bag of 5 fish weighing 5.790 kg, followed by Steve Morgan with 5.640 kg and Joseph Gardner with 5.550 kg.

Sunday saw an even chillier morning, but the fishing was hot, with Tasmanian Isaac Harriss taking care of business again, swooping the field with a massive 5-fish bag weighing 6.410 kg for a total winning weight of 11.135 kg.

After sitting in 12th place on Day 1 with a 5-fish bag of 4.725kg, Isaac made the call to change plans and head to Ralphs Bay, which paid off in a big way, turning a mid-pack start into a back-to-back Derwent River round victory.

Steve Morgan continued his great weekend and was unlucky to finish second with 11.100 kg, and Mario Vukic was third with 10.805 kg.

James Graham, Joseph Gardner, Mitchell Nichols, Allan Murray, Zane Wyatt, Mark Healy and Joel McKenzie filled the top ten placing in that order.

Congratulations to Tasmanian and local angler Martin Evans, who won round 4 on the Derwent in the non-boating angler section on Sunday.

Evans, who was sitting in 4th place after Saturday's session, caught a great 3-fish bag on Sunday to claim the win with a 7.285 kg 6/6 fish total weight.

Another Tasmanian, Leighton Beer, finished runner-up with 6.690 kg, and Simon Krause finished third with 6.385 kg.

In summary, both round venues impressed with the Derwent backing up its reputation as one of, if not the best, Black Bream fishery in the country.

The Huon River also continues to improve and has proved the worthiness of its inclusion in hosting a round within the nationally recognised competitive ABT black bream fishing scene.
Anglers will now team up in pairs to fish the ABT 2026- Duo Tasmanian Teams Open at St Helens on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Australian Bluefin Tuna Championship (ABTC) is being held at Pirates Bay, Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula this Saturday, the 24th and Sunday, the 25th of April 2026.

The Tuna Club of Tasmania is also proud to be hosting the Game Fishing Association of Australia’s (GFAA) inaugural Australian International Tuna Tournament (AITT), a tag-and-release-only tournament to be run annually across Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia over the first 3 years.
Tip Of The Week- When fishing from a boat.

Canoe or kayak, consider purchasing a "dry bag" to keep important items like wallets, keys, phones and food dry.
Send in your fishing reports, pics and tips to valleyfishes@gmail.com
Tight Lines until next week.