About this episode

This episode covers the highlights and challenges of the 2026 Megabass East Gippsland Bream Classic in Marlo, featuring interviews with the top three teams.

The Vic Bream Classics headed back to Marlo for the 2026 Megabass East Gippsland Bream Classic, and this one had a bit of everything — big bags, tight bite windows, huge schools of salmon, and a first-time win for Team Marlo Bait and Tackle. In this episode, I catch up with the top three teams: • Alex Franchuk and Paul Malov from Team Millerods – 3rd Place• Dan Mackrell and Declan Betts from Team Samurai Rods – 2nd Place• Harry Young and Brad Young from Team Marlo Bait and Tackle – 1st Place The event was shaped by low water, limited flow, heavy boat traffic, and massive numbers of salmon sitting above the bream. For many teams, the challenge was not just finding the right fish, but getting through the salmon and slowing presentations down enough to tempt quality bream underneath. Across the interviews we discuss: • Fishing under massive schools of salmon• Why the edge bite was tough• Slow plastics in open water• Bloodworm colours, grubs, prawns and paddle tails• Using ActiveTarget and sonar to identify bream amongst mixed species• Managing bite windows that only lasted a few minutes• Why spot management was critical over two days• Fishing heavy leaders and weedless-rigged…

People in this episode

Host: Andrew Death

Guests: Alex Franchuk, Paul Malov, Dan Mackrell, Declan Betts, Harry Young, Brad Young

Topics covered

• bream fishing
• competition
• fishing techniques
• salmon schools
• tournament strategy

Keywords

• bream
• fishing
• tournament
• salmon
• East Gippsland
• Marlo
• ActiveTarget
• sonar
• fishing techniques

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Team Marlo Bait and Tackle, Team Millerods, Team Samurai Rods

Places: Marlo

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