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Ep 185: Hobie Kayak Fishing,Round 1, Bemm River, Feb 17-18, 2026
Description
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 th