The Bream Master SA crew and competitors ventured down to West Lakes on Sunday
February 18th for the Trade Skills Australia Round 2 of the 2024 season. The weather
conditions were almost too perfect with bright sunny skies and glass calm waters which
made things tough trying to fool some cunning bream.

Sunrise saw sixteen kayaks launch off the start line to their chosen spots hoping to take
advantage of the early morning bite that commonly occurs at West Lakes. Throwing
lures around the edges seemed to be a great technique early but as ever, the
undersized fish were frustrating as they’d attack the lures first before the larger legal fish
could have a go. As the day went on, many anglers moved away from the edges to fish
the deeper water in the hope of getting larger fish but it just didn’t happen for most
anglers.

Gavin Howard was crowned the 2024 West Lakes Champion angler after successfully
weighing in a 370g bream. Given how tough the fishing was, Gavin did exceptionally
well to claim his maiden victory in a Bream Master SA tournament. Second place went
to Sean Pearson who weighed in just 10 grams less at 360g and Joshua Bland took
third place with a 350g bream. Gavin’s bream also earned him the BerleyPro Big Bream
award.