BERKLEY round eight of Hobie Kayak Bream Series 9 took place at Port Macquarieon June 10 and 11, with 47 anglers from Queensland, the ACT, Victoria and NSW headed to one of the series’ favourite locations to compete on the Hastings River system.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On both days anglers headed off from the Power Pole starting line in Kooloonbung Creek, which is situated close to the mouth of “the Hastings”.
The forecast was for the heavy showers, that had rained down consistently through pre-fish, to continue into the two days of competition. However, the rain eased on both mornings of the tournament and anglers started under very heavy, low cloud, but fortunately, no rain.
As the morning progressed on day one, it became very wet, with an icy breeze and the air temperature well below predictions. The water temperature sat around 20 degrees Celsius, and while it was uncomfortable for anglers, the conditions were ideal for a good bite.
Sunday looked ominous with heavy rain falling as anglers prepared for the day, but midway through the 6:30am briefing the rain eased and after a few scattered, morning showers the weather broke and patches of blue began to appear in the sky around 11:15am.
There remained a reasonably widespread cloud cover, but the wind fell away, and the bite became slightly tougher to entice than it had been on day one.
Both days had fantastic starts, with all anglers getting off the line cleanly. Fifteen to twenty kayaks headed up the left channel towards the moorings, marina and an alternative course to the punt that crosses the main channel.
The rest of the field headed out into the main channel of the Hastings, some stopped to hit the rock wall that lines the north-eastern side of the river mouth. The majority who headed in that direction used the stronger flow, of the incoming tide, to assist them in the 20 to 30minute pedal up stream to Lineburners Creek and the back lake, with their oyster racks, poles and paddocks.
Just a few competitors headed into the small canal system lined with rock walls, wharfs, floating pontoons and boat hulls, in the end this proved to be a wise choice.
The pre-fish reports of plentiful fish and a good bite were confirmed with an early bite on both days, that saw many anglers bagging out, with four fish, before 9am.
Sunday was a little tougher than day one, but a high percentage of anglers brought home full, or near full bags, on both days.
After the day one weigh-in Queenslander Luke Rogan was heading the field. Sitting very close to Rogan in second place was another Queenslander, Tyson Hayes, and in third place was Glenn Allen from New South Wales, and well within striking distance of the top two.
Day One Fish Caught: 128
Day One Anglers with Fish: 41 from 47
Day Two Fish Caught: 114
Total Fish Caught: 242
Total Weight: 115.03kg
Total Cash Payout: $3,410