Wondering why bream have to be weighed in alive, i feel it makes it difficult for those of us that are fishing the other side of the bay in tinnies, most of us don’t have the facilities in our boats to do that and also time restraints as the weigh in is closed at 6pm and in bad weather it can take over 1 hour if we can get across at all. maybe i can suggest a weigh station in tea gardens or atleast a board so we don’t have any unwanted fish kills.
Bream are considered a premium fish in the tournament and we’ve always found that the biggest bream tend to come from ‘gun anglers’ who tend to have good facilities to keep live fish in good condition onboard. Bream are also a hardy fish and relatively easy to keep alive in a tank with an aerator and occasional fresh water. There is plenty of information available on making or buying a simple tank to keep fish alive for long periods. I’m sure your local tackle dealer would be happy to help you with a suitable kit.
Please refer to the Tournament Rules for the correct weigh station opening times.
For over 15 years we have run a 3 day fishing tournament for over 1,000 competitors while weighing in less than 200 fish per year on average. This is actually one of the most ‘fish friendly’ tournaments in Australia and often used as a model.