EP215 | Hobie Scamander, Tasmania – No Pre-Fish. No Excuses.

Sometimes the best tournaments are the ones nobody sees coming. When forecast conditions made the Swan River unfishable, Hobie made the bold decision to relocate the event to Scamander at the last minute. It meant weeks of preparation instantly became irrelevant. Competitors who had travelled from around Australia suddenly found themselves launching on a river many had never seen before, with no pre-fish, no established game plans and no local knowledge to rely on. What followed was one of the most fascinating tournaments of the season. In EP215, Andrew Death sits down with Joel Crosbie, Michael Alexander and tournament winner Evan Leonard to unpack exactly how the event unfolded and why adapting quickly proved far more important than having the perfect plan. Joel Crosbie explains how he deliberately targeted the roughest, windiest banks on the river, believing other competitors would avoid them. Fishing soft plastics through timber, steep drop-offs and scattered structure, Joel trusted his strengths and pieced together another incredibly consistent tournament, finishing just 60 grams behind the podium for the second Hobie event in a row. Tasmanian local Michael Alexander reveals how a simple pattern fishing rocky shorelines with a combination of ZipBaits Rigge 70SP hardbodies and soft plastics produced a third-place finish. After an early mechanical issue with his Hobie seat threatened to derail his tournament, Michael adapted on the fly, kept covering productive water and found the late upgrades he needed to secure a podium finish. Tournament winner Evan Leonard shares the mindset behind one of the most disciplined wins you'll hear about. While much of the field searched the river for active fish, Evan committed almost the entire tournament to fishing a handful of bridge pylons near the mouth. Carefully rotating between concrete structure, making precise casts with soft plastics and trusting his game plan, he put together a superb 5.74 kg winning limit and claimed the Anaconda Big Bream with a fish weighing 1.22 kg. Throughout the episode you'll hear practical discussions on reading unfamiliar water, positioning kayaks in difficult wind, choosing between structure and open water, selecting jighead weights, fishing bridge pylons effectively, working soft plastics through timber, and why confidence in your own strengths often outweighs constantly changing tactics. If you've ever arrived at a tournament—or even your local river—without knowing where to start, this episode is full of lessons that will help you make better decisions under pressure. 🏆 Official Results 🥇 Evan Leonard (TAS) — 5.74 kg Day 1: 2.71 kg Day 2: 3.03 kg 🥈 Isaac Harris (TAS) — 5.13 kg Day 1: 2.20 kg Day 2: 2.93 kg 🥉 Michael Alexander (TAS) — 4.80 kg Day 1: 2.37 kg Day 2: 2.43 kg 4th: Joel Crosbie (VIC) — 4.74 kg Special Awards Anaconda Big Bream 🐟 Evan Leonard — 1.22 kg Monster Mover 📈 Selwyn Edson — 0.50 kg → 2.48 kg Division Winners Youth — Ethan Howard — 3.44 kg Women's — Tameika Purnell — 3.08 kg Masters — Peter Nord — 3.94 kg In this episode Why Hobie made the last-minute decision to relocate the tournament to Scamander Fishing an unfamiliar river with virtually no pre-fish Winning patterns around bridge pylons, timber and rocky banks Soft plastic techniques for pressured black bream Fishing bridge structure in strong wind Jighead selection and lure presentation How precise kayak positioning made all the difference Adapting when your original tournament plan disappears overnight Why trusting your strengths can outperform constantly changing tactics The stories behind the podium finishers and their tournament strategies Locations Scamander River • Tasmania Brands Mentioned Hobie Kayak Bream Series • Hobie Kayaks • Daiwa Bait Junkie • ZipBaits • Z-Man • Hurricane Lures • Boomer Creek Vineyard Join The Lure Fishing Project Collective Want even more Australian lure fishing content? Join The Lure Fishing Project Collective and get access to: • Extended podcast episodes • The complete Big Bream Series • Monthly lure fishing challenges • Live members-only Zoom sessions • Our private Discord community • Exclusive content you won't hear anywhere else If you simply want more listening, The Vault gives you access to the extended episode library without the community features. Join today at https://lurefishingproject.supercast.com If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating or review and share the episode with another lure angler. Every share helps us grow the Australian lure fishing community.