In this episode of The BREAM Fishing Project Podcast, we head to Action Fishing Tournaments Round 8, held at Berowra Waters on September 21, 2025, for a fascinating look at how this event unfolded and how a standout bag of fish separated one angler from the rest of the field.
This was a cracking little tournament, with plenty of storylines right through the top placings. Ben Gillespie put together an incredible winning bag of 123.5cm, built around fish measuring 44cm, 42cm and 37.5cm, to take a commanding win by a huge margin. Warren Allen returned to the show after finishing second with 107.5cm, while James Tran continued his strong run of form with another podium finish, taking third with 106.5cm. The episode also rounds out the top five, with Jose Lopez on 105.5cm, including a 48cm Big BREAM, and Josh Richards on 101.5cm.
As always, the episode opens with the key conditions for the day, including the bite periods, fish activity and tides. On Sunday, September 21, 2025, the fish activity wheel sat at 97, with a major bite period from 10:11am to 12:41pm. The tide information for the event saw a high at 7:53am (1.55m) and a low at 1:53pm (0.25m), helping paint the picture of how the day set up and why certain patterns came into play.
The first interview is with James Tran, who backed up another strong result with a smart and disciplined performance to finish third. James talks through a valuable pre-fish session where he spent time sounding out fish and experimenting with deeper presentations, including blades and soft plastics, before ultimately trusting his instincts on tournament day. He explains how he found fish holding away from the edges during pre-fish, but then abandoned that plan once competition day began and instead committed to his confidence technique around hard structure.
James goes deep into his use of the Cranka Crab, explaining how he cast tight to rocky edges, pontoons and gnarly structure, often placing the lure right into tight gaps and holes. He describes a day built on accurate casting, slow lure movement and confidence in fishing close to the bank. He also shares details of his gear, including his move to 4lb straight-through fluorocarbon, fishing with near locked drag, and using a Shimano Raider rod paired with a Vanford 2500. It’s a detailed discussion about commitment, accuracy, confidence in light line, and how a simple edge-fishing pattern can still produce under pressure.
James also shares some entertaining stories from the day, including the chaos of the launch, some on-water banter with fellow competitors, and a frantic late rush back to the ramp to avoid another costly late check-in. It adds a lot of personality to the episode and shows just how much happens in a comp day beyond simply catching fish.
Next up is Warren Allen, who finished second by fishing to his strengths. Warren explains how he skipped pre-fish and instead relied on past experience from fishing Berowra Waters in previous events. After trying a few different approaches early, including fishing boats, blades and other lure options, he eventually settled on one of his confidence techniques: a Hurricane Sprat on a hidden-weight 1/28 jighead.
Warren breaks down a really interesting pattern, where he found fish set up not behind the rocks, but actually on the front of the rocks in the current pressure wave. He talks about visually spotting the structure, reading clearer water in the shallows, and making repeated casts to likely ambush points. He also explains how small details like current flow, rock positioning and bait movement influenced where the BREAM were sitting. For anglers who love finesse fishing, this section is full of practical insights, especially around lure weight, hook selection, leader choice and the importance of understanding where fish position themselves in current.
To finish the interviews, Ben Gillespie joins the show after a dominant win. Ben did not pre-fish, but used a mix of past experience, map work and sounder research to develop a plan around likely productive edges and drop-offs. Once on the water, he stuck to that plan, eventually finding a section of rocky edge and broken structure that held multiple quality fish. Ben talks through how he cast his Cranka Crab hard against the bank, let it settle, and then worked it back slowly with tiny movements and occasional shakes. The fish were often hitting within the first few winds, and he was able to repeat the pattern again and again across the right type of structure.
Ben’s interview is packed with detail on how that winning bag came together, including the type of banks he preferred, why steeper drop-offs were less effective than rocky edges with rubble and back eddies, and how critical confidence in the lure was on the day. He also explains his tackle setup, including 8lb braid and 8lb leader, and talks about the rod he trusts most for crab fishing. His winning fish did serious damage to his lures, flattening trebles and destroying the crab bodies, which gives you a fair idea of how hard the better fish were eating.
This episode is a great listen for anyone interested in kayak tournament fishing, Australian BREAM fishing, Cranka Crab techniques, edge-fishing patterns, light-line structure fishing, and the fine details that often separate a good bag from a winning one. It also captures the community side of kayak comps, with plenty of laughs, on-water stories and appreciation for the people who make these events happen.
If you’ve been sitting on the fence about fishing a tournament, this episode also highlights why the Action Fishing Tournaments format is such a good entry point. It’s a friendly and welcoming scene, and this round is a perfect example of how simple patterns, smart decisions and a bit of commitment can put you right in the mix.
In this episode:
Action Fishing Tournaments Round 8 at Berowra Waters
Event date: September 21, 2025
Top five results and standout bags
Bite period and tide breakdown
James Tran on another podium finish
Warren Allen’s finesse soft plastic pattern
Ben Gillespie’s dominant crab-fishing win
Cranka Crab retrieves, structure choices and gear setups
Light line versus heavier leader discussions
Tournament strategy, pre-fish preparation and on-water adjustments
Top 5 Results:
Ben Gillespie – 123.5cm
Warren Allen – 107.5cm
James Tran – 106.5cm
Jose Lopez – 105.5cm
Josh Richards – 101.5cm
If you enjoyed this episode of The BREAM Fishing Project, make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next show. There’s a flurry of episodes coming, and plenty more tournament breakdowns, fishing stories and tactical insights on the way.
Australia