Ep 185: Hobie Kayak Fishing,Round 1, Bemm River, Feb 17-18, 2026
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Show Notes
In this episode of The Bream Fishing Project, we head to Bemm River in Victoria for Round 1 of the 2026 Hobie Fishing Series, held on 17–18 February 2026.
This round was sponsored by St. Croix Rods and Strike Pro, and it produced one of the best stories you could ask for to start the new Hobie season.
At the end of two fascinating days of fishing, the event delivered a remarkable result with brothers Greg Crebert and David Crebert finishing first and second, while Leon Leong rounded out the podium in third place after a very methodical and thoughtful tournament performance.
This episode includes discussion about:
• tournament strategy at Bemm River
• fishing weed edges and flats
• how wind direction shaped the event
• lure choice for big BREAM
• breaking down open water structure
• the mental side of tournament fishing
Hosted by Andrew Death, the 2019 Hobie Kayak Fishing World Champion, this episode is a great recap of a cracking tournament and a strong start to the 2026 Hobie season.
Event OverviewEvent: Hobie Fishing Series 2026 – Round 1
Location: Bemm River, Victoria
Dates: 17–18 February 2026
Round Sponsors: St. Croix Rods and Strike Pro
Bemm River once again showed why it is such a respected tournament location, producing strong bags and interesting tactical fishing.
The winning total weight was 6.14 kg, which works out to just over 1 kg per fish across the six fish weighed over the two competition days.
Special Awards and Division WinnersBig BREAM
Cameron Cole – 1.15 kg
Monster Mover
Corey Lean
Day 1 – 0.14 kg
Day 2 – 1.96 kg
Youth Division
Riley Whelan – 2.62 kg
Women’s Division
Ruth Beeby – 4.30 kg
Masters Division
Patrick Byrne – 4.33 kg
First-Time Competitor
David Chapman – 1.97 kg
🥇 1st Place – Greg Crebert
Total – 6.14 kg
🥈 2nd Place – David Crebert
Day 1 – 2.29 kg
Day 2 – 2.97 kg
Total – 5.26 kg
🥉 3rd Place – Leon Leong
Day 1 – 2.23 kg
Day 2 – 2.71 kg
Total – 4.94 kg
Leon Leong’s interview is one of the highlights of this episode.
Andrew notes during the conversation that listeners should pay attention to the way Leon broke down the system and worked through the conditions, because his approach was very disciplined and thoughtful.
Leon explains how his preparation included:
• listening to previous Bemm River podcast episodes
• researching the fishery online
• testing the river during pre-fish before abandoning that plan
• identifying a key five-foot zone with broken weed patches
Using side scan, Leon located fish holding around weed patches and worked through the area very methodically.
His key lures and tackle included:
• Cleaver Sprat plastics
• Wave Minnow
• Clone Prawn
• Atomic Deep 38 crankbait
• three-pound leader
• Atlas tungsten jigheads
• Shine Away and S-Factor scent
Leon describes how:
• the fish wanted long pauses and subtle bites on Day 1
• on Day 2 they responded strongly to the Cleaver Sprat
• broken weed patches in about five feet of water held the better fish
• kayak positioning and wind direction were critical
For third place Leon took home:
• $895 cash
• St. Croix Mojo Bass rod
• trophy and sponsor prize pack
• qualification for the Australian Championship
One of the best stories from the event was the Crebert brothers finishing first and second.
Andrew interviews Greg Crebert and David Crebert together, which makes for a fun conversation as they talk about fishing together and competing against each other.
They explain that:
• every fishing trip between them becomes competitive
• they record results when fishing socially
• they share information but still want to beat each other
• this result was special because it happened with family
The Creberts kept things simple during pre-fish.
They headed toward Mahogany, where they quickly found fish holding close to the reeds.
Key lures included:
• Sprat 75 soft plastics
• Baby Vibes
During pre-fish the fish were sitting extremely shallow, right near the reeds.
Day 1Conditions changed slightly and the bigger fish were no longer right in the shallows.
Both anglers moved slightly deeper to target fish around weed edges.
David Crebert
• early fish – 900 g
• second fish – 540 g
• third fish – 760 g
Day 1 total – 2.29 kg
Greg Crebert
• early fish – 900 g
• second fish – 450 g
• third fish – 1.1 kg
• later upgrade – 980 g
Day 1 total – 2.97 kg
Greg finished Day 1 in first place.
Day 2Stronger winds on Day 2 forced both anglers to adjust by moving to heavier jigheads while continuing to fish the same productive area.
David Crebert
Late upgrades pushed his bag to:
2.97 kg on Day 2
5.26 kg total
Greg Crebert
Greg found a late bite window and upgraded strongly with several quality fish.
Final winning weight – 6.14 kg
Key Lures and TechniquesThis episode includes lots of useful insight into lure selection and tournament tactics.
Lures mentioned
• Sprat 75 plastics
• Cleaver Sprat
• Wave Minnow
• Clone Prawn
• Atomic Deep 38
• Baby Vibe
Key tactical themes
• targeting broken weed patches
• reading side scan for fish positioning
• adjusting to wind direction
• changing jighead weights for wind conditions
• fishing productive depth zones rather than just banks
• staying patient until feeding windows appear
Hosted by Andrew Death
2019 Hobie Kayak Fishing World Champion
The Bream Fishing Project brings you:
• tournament recaps
• interviews with top anglers
• BREAM lure fishing tactics
• kayak tournament strategy from around Australia
New episodes every Tuesday.
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