EP166 – Gold Coast Showdown – Hobie Kayak Fishing Series 16 (9–10 Aug 2025)
This week on The Bream Fishing Project we’re headed to the Gold Coast for TT Round 6 of the Hobie Kayak Fishing Series 16, held on the 9–10 August 2025. Normally this round is all sunshine and flat water… this year, the anglers got absolutely belted by wind and swell. Arena zones were cut, Sunday was shortened by an hour, and anyone heading wide had to really earn it.
Even with the tough weather, the 47-angler field still turned on quality fish and a genuine shootout between the reef specialists and the canal and bridge guys.
I kick things off with a look at the tides and bite periods for both days, including:
Saturday fish activity score of 97, with a major bite mid-morning and a high tide around 7:49 am
Sunday still at 94 on the activity wheel, with another strong late-morning major bite and low tide just after lines-out
From there we run through the division results:
Overall 1st: Simon Morley – 6/6 for 4.01 kg (1.80 kg + 2.21 kg) fishing the reef off Wavebreak Island
2nd: Andrew Krushka (TAS) – 6/6 for 3.40 kg (1.44 kg + 1.96 kg) out of the Nerang bridges and canals
3rd: Stephen Maas – 6/6 for 3.33 kg, just 10 grams ahead of 4th place
Big Bream: Andrew Kraka with a 0.78 kg lump
Monster Mover: Brack Guru with 1.72 kg on day two after a day-one donut
Youth: Riley Whelan – 6 fish for 2.26 kg
Masters: Greg Cooper (WA)
First-Timers: Travis “Leg” with 6 fish for 2.02 kg
We also keep score in the unofficial “Batman & Robin” Hurricane Lures rivalry. With Tony Pettie sitting this one out, Simon’s win on the reef firmly cements him as Batman for now.
Then it’s into the angler interviews:
3rd – Stephen Maas:
Stephen has barely sat in a kayak over the last two years, but turns up and finds a pattern the old-fashioned way – no sounder, just reading water, wind and structure.
On day one he pedals up the Nerang River, abandons a dead bridge bite, then finds a sandy canal loaded with legal bream on unweighted Aquas and light plastics and crabs. He sneaks in behind pontoons in a foot of water, fishing 3–4 lb leaders, ripping fish out before they can bury him on the poles.
On day two he commits to a massive 12 km pedal to Lake Intrepid behind the casino, gets his bag in three casts, then enjoys one of those magic sessions where almost every cast gets eaten. A phone call from his wife turns into back-to-back 37-fork upgrades as he leans on Hurricane crabs and Gulp Crabbies on light jigheads.
2nd – Andrew Krushka (Tasmania):
Andrew flies up from Tassie, hires a Hobie Compass from Sunstate and has his “pre-fish” cut short when the wind pours waves over the bow and soaks him. With almost no practice, he leans on past knowledge, old Morgo highlights and this podcast to build a plan around bridges and pontoons.
Day one, he fills a small bag on crabs and Aqua prawn plastics before slowly upgrading on Gold Coast pontoons. Day two starts brutally with no fish until mid-morning, when a key bridge bite turns on. An olive crank crab hopped across the bottom produces his Big Bream contender (just under a kilo), then a clever tweak – adding split shot to his unweighted Aqua rig – lets him punch under wind-blown pontoons for a crucial late upgrade.
He runs Samurai Premium custom rods (built by BK Custom Rods) matched with Daiwa TD Black reels and 5 lb leader, and takes home 2nd place, Big Bream cash, prize packs and an invite to the Australian Championship.
1st – Simon Morley:
Simon finally converts years of near-misses on the Gold Coast into a dominant win, finishing over 600 g clear of the field.
After a wild pre-fish on the Wavebreak reef where he dodges standing waves and still finds a 37-fork model on a crab, he commits to the reef both days despite zone cuts and a nasty forecast.
Day one, he rides out rising wind and tide on the 5–8 m reef, rotating between weighted Hurricane crabs and a Hurricane Sprat on a 1/6 oz jighead to post 1.80 kg. Day two, with glued-on weights, 7 lb X-link leader and super-sensitive St Croix Avid Panfish rods, he works a fresh line of untouched fish, putting three bream over 34 fork in the well for a 2.21 kg limit and the win. Along the way he dodges stonefish, deals with tarwine bycatch, and shows exactly how to manage boat position, line angle and safety in heavy wind and current.
We wrap up with a quick reminder about The Bream Fishing Project Collective – the subscription community where we dive deeper into challenges, lures, techniques and on-water problem-solving through live streams, group chats and bonus episodes. If you’re time-poor but want to make your hours on the water count, it’s there to help you fast-track your bream fishing.
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