Episode 144: West Australian Tournament Anglers, Boat Round 1, Nornalup Inlet, 22-23 March 2025

In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, we recap Round 1 of the 2025 WA Bream Series, held at stunning Walpole in the Nornalup Inlet. It was a tough two-day boat round under challenging conditions, featuring a four-fish bag limit and a two-week prefish ban that tested the skills of all competitors.

We catch up with two top teams from the event:

• Callum Dowell and Oliver Frank from Team Don’t Blush Bream, who finished third. Callum, founder of Outback Bruma Baits, shares fascinating insights into his lure designs, customizing colors to match local shellfish, and the importance of replicating natural profiles. He and Oliver detail their tournament strategy, including an impressive Day 2 turnaround driven by adapting techniques—from bent minnows to Hurricane Sprats on resin heads, including a subtle but critical adjustment with suspend dots that helped them secure upgrades. Oliver, in just his first tournament, even talks about landing a 50 cm bream and fishing the event with his uncle, Callum.

• Joseph Gardner and Jenny Gardner from Team B1 & B2, who finished second. Joseph explains why they targeted the scenic Deep River instead of the more familiar Franklin River. They share a breakdown of their successful day-one approach that put them in the lead, including fishing bent minnows deep among snags, precise casting to structure, and carefully rigged Brim Prawns and Pygmy Mussels. Joseph discusses their second-day challenges as conditions and pressure changed, the need to adapt techniques, and Jenny’s crucial contributions to filling the bag when the bite got tough.

We also recap the winning performance by Daniel and Mitch Perella, who mounted an extraordinary comeback on Day 2 with a massive four-fish bag for 3.28 kg, including an 870-gram kicker fish—taking the win by over 1.2 kg.

Bite Periods and Tides Recap:

• Saturday: Major bite period at 4:43–7:13 AM, low tide at 7:16 AM (0.17 m), high tide at 8:48 AM (0.35 m).

• Sunday: Major bite period at 5:36–8:06 AM, low tide at 7:24 AM (0.17 m), high tide at 9:51 AM (0.36 m).

Throughout the interviews we explore gear choices, rigging techniques, key adjustments made under pressure, and tournament highlights that illustrate the creativity and skill required to succeed in this tricky fishery.

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🎣 Sponsors & Acknowledgments:
Thanks as always to our sponsors who make The Bream Fishing Project possible:

• HWS Hobie Kayaks & Accessories

• Fishing.com.au

• Podium Marine Wraps

Big thanks to the WA Bream Series organizers and supporting sponsors, including Getaway Outdoors, ZipBaits, and local tackle shops, for their work supporting bream fishing in Western Australia.

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