Fishing in only his second kayak event, Burbidge targeted bream in locations from Siberia through to Bobs Bay. Finding the bream in shallow water between 2-4 feet in depth, Burbidge quickly filled his tournament limit early before proceeding to upgrade throughout the remainder of the session.
Alternating between sinking and suspending lures and plastics, Burbidge used a Nories laydown minnow, Jewel stoop and Squidgy bloodworm wriggler rigged on a TT 1/32 jighead to fill his limit.
"Within ten minutes of the event start I had my three fish limit, so I was very pleased with how the tournament started. I continued to upgrade throughout the session and ultimately boated three good fish that put me in the running for a good result."
"Mixing up the retrieves proved to be the key to securing bites. Using different sinking and suspending lures and employing slow and fast retrieves with pauses attracted the bites on offer. Generally the fish were hitting on the pause before realizing they were hooked and heading off."
Burbidge's outfit consisted of a 7" Lamiglas Blue Acres rod teamed with a Daiwa Steez 2508 reel spooled with Suffix 10lb braid in yellow colour and Penn 10x 6lb leader.
"My previous experience has mainly been in Classic events. Coming out to fish a kayak event is a different experience. Kayak fishing pushes you. It's up to you to determine where the fish are, to travel to the location and work out what they are biting on. I am excited to gain Grand Final qualification and look forward to competing again in the series."
Taking out second place was Tony Pettie 3/3, 2.96kg. Fishing in his first ever kayak tournament, Pettie targeted shallow water around the river mouth and Mud Lake to secure his limit.
"I fished quite shallow throughout the session. Generally in water no deeper than 2ft. This is the second time I have fished at Bemm River and my first kayak tournament so I am very pleased with the result."
Fishing from a Hobie Outback kayak, Pettie used lures including Atomic Hardz, Ecogear SX-40 and Bassday Kangoku vibes to fill and upgrade his limit.
"There was an early bite window. By 7am I had three fish in the livewell. I worked the bank areas throughout the rest of the session and upgraded a number of times."
Pettie's outfit consisted of a 7"Nitro rod teamed with a Penn affinity 1000 reel spooled with 4lb Berkley Fireline Crystal and 4lb Linesystem fluorocarbon leader.
Also gaining Grand Final qualification, Pettie was optimistic of attending future events and gaining further experience prior to the season ending finale.
Taking out the events Boss Hog Big Bream prize of $100 was kayak regular Jason Meech. Securing overall fourth place, Meech's 1.22kg effort eclipsed Jordan Trusty's 1.20kg effort. Caught 200 meters in front of the starting area, the bream came in 4 feet of water and fell to a Berkley 3" minnow in watermelon colour.
"The bite came around 11am. I was putting in long casts and hopping he lure across the bottom with occasional pauses. This is my first Boss Hog Big Bream and it helped me to a minor placing so I am pleased heading into the rest of the season."
Indeed the race for the Kayak Angler of the Year honors' continues to heat up. Both Meech and Greg Lewis are currently battling it out for top position halfway through the season. With further tournaments, including State Title events, to follow in 2010 the action on the water is sure to heat up heading into the May Grand Final (location TBA).
The Hobie Kayak Series now moves to Westlakes, South Australia. For information regarding this event and the Hobie series check out www.bream.com.au for details or call ABT on 07 3387 0888 (B/H) for further information.
| Place | Angler | Status/PRO | F1 | W1 | Boss Hog | Payout$ | Prizes |
| 1 | Chris Burbidge | K | 3 | 3.18 | 1.06 | $350 | Daiwa Advantage 703 MLFS 3 piece, Daiwa shirt, Prize Pack |
| 2 | Tony Pettie | K | 3 | 2.96 | $250 | Shakespeare Agility Reel, Berkley Fireline, Prize Pack | |
| 3 | Gary Cooke | K | 3 | 2.84 | 1.04 | $150 | Berkley Scissors, Daiwa reel cover, Prize Pack |
| 4 | Jason Meech | K | 3 | 2.8 | 1.22 | $150 + $100 Boss Hog | Berkley Gulp tub, Prize Pack |
| 5 | Greg Lewis | K/PRO | 3 | 2.78 | 1.14 | $100 + $210 1st Pro | Daiwa Fluorocarbon, Prize Pack |
| 6 | Jordan Trusty | K/PRO | 3 | 2.76 | 1.2 | $100 + $90 2nd Pro | Prize Pack |
| 7 | Clark Wilson | K | 3 | 2.76 | 0.94 | $50 | Prize Pack |
| 8 | Andrew Battersby | K | 3 | 2.72 | 1.1 | $50 | Prize Pack |
| 9 | Dave Hedge | K/PRO | 3 | 2.58 | |||
| 10 | Martin Fellows | K | 3 | 2.56 | |||
| 11 | Richard Somerton | K | 3 | 2.52 | |||
| 12 | Joel Crosbie | K | 3 | 2.46 | |||
| 13 | Matt Petrie | K | 3 | 2.44 | |||
| 14 | Patrick Curran | K | 3 | 2.44 | |||
| 15 | Derek Steele | K | 3 | 2.42 | |||
| 16 | Glenn Chester | K | 3 | 2.42 | |||
| 17 | Cameron Smith | K | 3 | 2.4 | |||
| 18 | Graeme Taylor | K | 3 | 2.4 | |||
| 19 | Scott Lovig | K/PRO | 3 | 2.3 | |||
| 20 | Neil May | K | 3 | 2.22 | |||
| 21 | Neil Carstairs | K/PRO | 3 | 2.2 | |||
| 22 | Brian Rutledge | K | 3 | 2.08 | |||
| 23 | Scott Baker | K/PRO | 3 | 2.08 | |||
| 24 | Peter Woods | K | 3 | 2.02 | |||
| 25 | Chris Hunt | K | 3 | 1.88 | |||
| 26 | David Bird | K | 3 | 1.88 | |||
| 27 | Dave Jones | K | 3 | 1.82 | |||
| 28 | Gary Beazley | K | 3 | 1.78 | |||
| 29 | Phil Smallman | K | 3 | 1.78 | |||
| 30 | Josh De Groot | K | 3 | 1.68 | |||
| 31 | Bruce Waterson | K | 3 | 1.58 | |||
| 32 | Jarrod Hunt | K | 2 | 1.22 | |||
| 33 | Rob Maya | K | 2 | 1.12 | |||
| 34 | Tom Taylor | K | 2 | 1.12 | |||
| 35 | Adam Cartwright | K | |||||
| 35 | Peter Demaria | K | |||||
| 35 | Rob Walter | K | |||||
| 35 | Scott Smith | K | |||||
| 99 | 76.2 | ||||||
| 0.77 |
