The Engel BREAM Qualifier held over Mothers' Day weekend at Albany was always going to be a passionate event for the forty-three die hard tournament anglers in WA.

Not only was there plenty of action with a shark attack, on the bream front; one man led an attack of his own. Finishing the first session with almost a kilo lead, Dror Pietsch had his sights set on a win and a new Engel Fridge.

Dror's day one bag of 3.31kg was the heaviest of the tournament, anchored by his big bream of 1.375kg. He used a Millerod Ultra Finesse 7'6" rod matched to a Shimano Stella spooled with 2.5lb Varivas Spinning Fluoro.

Starting in first place for both days, Dror headed up the Kalgan River and used the new TT Switchblades 1/8th oz in green back and gold noggin to fill his bag. He then moved back out to the flats in Oyster Harbour where the high tide had water lapping at the banks.

"I could see the baitfish spray, the bream where right up in the shallows chasing them," he said.

"I used the same Switchblade but instead opted for a fast pulsing retrieve to tempt the fish," he continued.

It was here, late on the Saturday when the event's big bream fell to the green back Switchblade and gave Dror the edge he needed.

In a close battle for second, the bridesmaid turned out to be Chris Elliot, snaring 10/10, 4.805kg limit to narrowling beat Ian Sewell by a meare 10 grams.

Chris used a G.Loomis DSR820 and a Daiwa Airity 1000 spooled with 6lb Basshard and 4lb Sunline Basic FC.

Following a similar pattern to Pietsch, Elliot headed up the Kalgan River early using an orange Bassday Kangoku Vib and an Ecogear VX40 in olive colour.

Later in the day when the tide was high, he moved out to the flats to upgrade his bag using vibration baits with a slow rolling retrieve mixed with short hops.

The champion non boater was a tight and toughly fought affair, with Queensland Brett Hayhurst claiming victory and holding the Engel fridge aloft as part of his prize.

His ten fish limit was all thanks to a purple deep diving Jackall Chubby, that he kept tied on for the entire weekend. His fast and hard ripping retrieve with the G.Loomis SR842 was all he needed to do to entice the Albany bream into the boat.

The hunt for the Daiwa Cap Bonus prize was a hotly contested affair, with Dion Jennings arriving at the day one weigh-in first to claim the prize. Arriving at the weigh-in with his large brick-like pfd still wrapped around his torso it was definately a case of function over fashion.
The $250 Mercury Bonus went to the champ Dror Pietsch, who couldn't be beaten this weekend. Taking home not only the Engel fridge but the $1000 winner's cheque and the $500 Go-So Big Bream cheque.

As the second and final WA round of the Ford Ranger BREAM Series, the Albany Challenge saw the crowning of the 2008 Lowrance BREAM Angler of the Year. Szarn Tink wrote his name into the records book becoming the first angler to claim back-to-back WA AOY titles, securing the coverted crown with his winning performace at Walpole and his fifth placing at Albany.

WA BREAMers now look towards the National Ford Ranger BREAM Grand Final in November, with 12 of WA's best anglers heading to Queensland's Gold Coast for the biggest event on the BREAM calendar. ABT would like to thank Dave Tims and Craig Leatt-Hayter for their support and without these two gentlemen, the WA bream scene would be non existent. Please support them by getting to one of their Classic events and enjoy the lighter side of tournament fishing.

For further information log on to www.bream.com.au or call ABT during business hours on 07 3268 7958.

Engel Albany BREAM Qualifier Boater Results
Place	Angler	State	F1	W1	F2	W2	TF	TW	Payout
1	Dror PIETSCH	WA	5	3.31	5	2.26	10	5.57	$1000, Engel Fridge, MB $250, BB $500
2	Chris ELLIOT	WA	5	2.355	5	2.45	10	4.805	$700
3	Ian SEWELL	WA	5	2.295	5	2.5	10	4.795	$500
4	Deacon PLANT	WA	5	1.89	5	2.595	10	4.485	$300
5	Szarn TINK	WA	5	2.28	5	2.13	10	4.41	$200
6	Graham GREEN	WA	5	1.865	5	2.34	10	4.205
7	Peter DEGROOT	WA	5	1.985	5	2.125	10	4.11
8	Steve YARWOOD	WA	5	2.185	5	1.79	10	3.975
9	Mark HALSE	WA	5	2.11	5	1.75	10	3.86
10	Don JOHNSTON	WA	5	2.13	4	1.565	9	3.695
11	Brad MCDONALD	WA	4	1.63	5	2.065	9	3.695
12	James GRAHAM	WA	3	1.42	5	1.97	8	3.39
13	Toby PATEMAN	WA	2	0.79	5	2.02	7	2.81
14	David BEER	WA	4	1.7	2	1.045	6	2.745
15	David O'REILLY	WA	2	0.75	5	1.825	7	2.575
16	Richard WILLIAMS	WA	1	0.37	5	1.73	6	2.1
17	Stuart PARKS	WA			5	1.73	5	1.73
18	Steven MORRISON	WA	1	0.4	3	1.115	4	1.515
19	Shane LYNTON	WA	1	0.335	2	0.92	3	1.255
20	Grahamsydney MARKHAM	WA	2	0.705			2	0.705
21	Karl CATHCART	WA			1	0.62	1	0.62
22	Paul MCCULLOUGH	WA
Engel Albany BREAM Qualifier Non-Boater Results
Place	Angler	State	F1	W1	F2	W2	TF	TW	Payout
1	Brett HAYHURST	Qld	5	2.01	5	2.275	10	4.285	Engel Fridge, Berkley Tackle bag, Prize Pack
2	Tancredi RUBINICH	WA	5	2.04	5	2.1	10	4.14	Shimano Saris 1000 reel, Berkley Tackle bag, Prize Pack
3	Andrew MANSON	WA	4	1.465	5	2.31	9	3.775	Spotters sunglasses, Prize Pack
4	Callum DOWELL	WA	5	1.89	5	1.765	10	3.655	Berkley Scales, Prize Pack
5	Lee MATTHEWS	WA	5	1.59	5	2	10	3.59	Tica reel, Prize Pack
6	Mark MORRIS	WA	4	1.59	4	1.715	8	3.305
7	Ellery HATCH	WA	5	1.835	2	1.075	7	2.91
8	Colin GUNNING	WA	5	1.875	2	0.98	7	2.855
9	Gregorystephen PYE	WA	2	0.705	5	2.04	7	2.745
10	Peter SUCKSMITH	WA	2	0.8	4	1.88	6	2.68
11	David PRESS	WA	5	1.975	2	0.65	7	2.625
12	Gary COPE	WA	1	0.44	5	2.065	6	2.505
13	Dion JENNINGS	WA	2	0.705	4	1.61	6	2.315
14	Richard PLANT	WA	2	0.71	4	1.59	6	2.3
15	Ryan CUMINS	WA	3	1.44	2	0.795	5	2.235
16	Chris HILL	WA	3	1.11	2	0.76	5	1.87
17	Dan WALTER	WA	1	0.515	3	1.24	4	1.755
18	Mike SUTCLIFFE	SING	3	1.1	1	0.39	4	1.49
19	Ian FILLEUL	WA			3	1.1	3	1.1
20	Marcus CAMERON	WA
20	Jeremy MIDDLETON	WA