BREAM Series Rules

Updated 21st December 2022 for 2023 Season

2023 Major Changes:

• AOY is best 5 out of 8 events for 2023. Need to be able to catch yellowfin and black bream.

• BREAM Rankings discontinued.

• Mercury Cup based on best 5 AOY results, with AOY values added from the Opens for this purpose only.

• Definition of Guaranteed Entry to include anglers loaning boats.

• COVID conditions removed.

• The BREAM Grand Final will be contested between the following anglers – reduced to a field of 30 boats – same as BASS;

BREAM Qualifying Series Rules

Entry Fees:    BREAM Qualifier

$250 (GST included) – Boater

$125 (GST included) – Non boater

Prize Money is calculated for a field of 100 anglers (50 boaters, 50 non-boaters), and will be adjusted up or down according to the number of entries. Boater payouts are calculated on a 1 in 5 entry basis on a 70% payback.

Pre Entry Requirements

• All anglers participating in BREAM events must be current, financial members of ABT.
• Membership and entry 1800 228 244 or rule enquiries 0427 326464 during business hours.
• Anglers should use the entry form found on the www.abt.org.au website.
• All entrants are required to submit a completed and signed event entry form. Included on the entry form is a Liability Waver that is to be understood and acknowledged as part of the entry form completion and submission process.
• Entries to the BREAM tournaments will be filed in order of receipt of correctly completed entry forms and payment. Entering as a boater guarantees a place in the tournament, where non-boaters are placed with boaters on a first-come, first served basis. We will run BREAM Qualifiers with some boats without non-boaters – these offer a ‘spare’ in case of breakdowns.
• Entry is guaranteed for boaters/non-boaters whose entries are received on the same entry form and with full payment before the close of entries. If either the boater or non boater withdraws, guaranteed entry for the other angler is then revoked. Guaranteed entrants must be travelling together, sharing accommodation or loaning a boat.
• All entry forms must be accompanied by payment to be processed. Entries without payment will be discarded. It is the responsibility of the competitor to contact ABT if their entry is not listed on the entry lists on the website. All competitors must fill out an entry form, including sponsors and credit vouchers.
• If you are using entry credits from a cancellation, please write the event you’re using credits from in the space provided.
• No late additions to entries will be considered as a guaranteed entry. For example do not ring up and say, “I forgot to enter as Joe Blow’s nonboater,” or “I forgot to enter Joe Blow as my non-boater”. If after the close of entries the listings are unbalanced between Boaters and Non Boaters, ABT reserves to right to permit competitors to guarantee their status by finding new anglers to enter.
• Cancellation of an entry before the closing date will result in a refund or entry credits. Cancellation of an entry after the closing date may incur a 20% cancellation fee. n.b. Cancellation of an entry on the prefish day will result in the forfeit of all the entry fee, regardless of the reason.
• Entries received after the closing date may be declined or incur a 20% late fee.
• Anglers must be 16 years of age or older at the time of the tournament start.
• There will be a practice fishing ban for all competition waterways and linked systems from dawn on the Monday week prior to the competition until dawn on the Thursday/Friday immediately before the tournament. For instance, if a Qualifier tournament is held over the weekend of Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of a month, the pre-fish ban will extend from dawn on Monday the 8th until dawn on Friday the 19th. Specific dates and variations are listed on Event Info sheets.

BREAM Events

• BREAM Events are contested by a field of equal numbers of boat-driving anglers (Boaters) and co-angling passengers (non-boaters). Each competition day, non-boaters are randomly paired with boaters.
• Boaters will fish for cash prizes, while non boaters will fish for sponsor prizes. Both are eligible for the Big Bream prize cheque.
• BREAM boats must be 3.7m in length or greater. Horsepower and beam must be sufficient to plane the craft with two anglers and full livewell/s. 20hp is considered the minimum to achieve this. All engines must be fitted with a functional kill switch and safety lanyard, which will be checked at the boat checkout.
• All outboards must not exceed the maximum horsepower rating stipulated on the boat’s compliance plate or Australian Builders’ Plate.
• Boat drivers must wear their engine’s safety lanyard strap that connects to the kill switch at all times while the engine is running. Additionally, all competitors are required to wear a PFD Level 100 while the boat is planing. All jackets worn must comply with required standards as outlined by the relevant waterway authority.
• All boats must have a minimum 60 litres of live well with an aerator or recirculating pump installed and functioning. Live wells must be insulated if above deck, and no Nally bins, garbage bins or fish tubs will be accepted. This is not required for app-based events.
• Non-boaters must supply their own Personal Flotation Device (PFD) for use in competitions.
• All boaters must ensure an ABT official has received a copy of their current boat insurance policy before competing. This can be emailed to admin@bream.com.au.

Sportsmanship

All contestants are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and conservation and to conduct themselves in a manner that will be a credit to themselves, to ABT, ABT’s sponsors, the sport of fishing and ABT’s efforts to promote the sport.

Conduct not complying with these standards includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Violation of, or failure to comply with, any of the rules for the ABT events.
• Being motivated enough to pre-fish but too lazy to come to the briefing.
• Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic beverages or any kind of mind-altering substance during registration or tournament hours extending through the weigh-in procedure.
• Abuse of, or addiction to, mind-altering substances.
• Conviction of a felony within the past 36 months.
• Suspension/disqualification, probation or ban from any tournament or fishing organization.
• Any other words, conduct or actions reflecting unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition and compliance with tournament rules, or which fail to comply with the standards set forth in the first sentence of this section. This includes verbal communication and social media.

In case of any conduct not complying with the standards outlined above, ABT shall have the right to refuse an application to compete, to deny a confirmed application to compete by returning the entry fee (minus deposit) or to disqualify a contestant.

Starts

Briefing

At the pre-event briefing, boats will be allocated a starting position for Day 1 that is determined by the receipt of a fully completed and paid entry. It is a requirement of entry that all anglers must attend the briefing. Failure to do so will result in a starting position penalty regardless of reason for absence. Briefings start at 6.00pm (or ad advertised) the evening prior to day 1. Competitors are required to pre-register at the briefing location BEFORE the 6.00pm start, late-comers may be subject to penalty after this time. Pre registration usually starts from 5pm.

Every day prior to the start-time, competitors must go to the pre-arranged location to have their boats checked by an ABT official. The official will check that the live well is empty and the safety gear/lanyard meets the tournament safety requirements and that the kill switch works. Once the boat is approved, the angler is given their key-tag with their start position number. ABT reserves the right to disallow unsafe boats (for either anglers or fish) to compete.

Day 1

After the boat has been checked and approved, anglers are to position themselves according to their key-tag number in preparation for the tournament start. An ABT Official will announce the beginning of the tournament by calling out the starting numbers. Once your number is called, raise your arm to notify your position and idle past the start location until you reach the take-off zone. You may be required to show ABT that your kill switch works before starting.

Day 2

Day 2 start order will be a ‘chase-start’ and is determined by the placings after Day 1 results. The boater that placed in first position after Day 1 will be allocated the first key tag and starting position, the second placed boat will have the second starting position and so on. Then the same start process as Day 1 will begin the second day of the tournament. ABT reserves the right to modify the chase-start to suit a weigh-in with split finishing times in the instance of large fields.

Fishing Rules

• It is the responsibility of all competitors to obtain necessary angler permits or licences as demanded by the waterway in the state being fished. ABT will not allow a competitor to continue in the tournament without the legal licenses and permits. All documents should be brought to the briefing and shown at pre-registration.
• Anglers may fish any line class with legal lure or flyfishing tackle.
• Trolling is not permitted – Lure and fly CASTING only. Trolling is defined as using the motors to give the lure action. Casting along a stretch of bank under electric power is permitted if using the power to keep position. However, when altering boating position, do not leave your lines in the water. ABT Staff reserve the right to disqualify anglers deemed to be purposely trolling in defiance of the spirit of BREAM events.
• Any speed restrictions, non-boating or non- fishing areas must be adhered to; failure to do this will result in either disqualification from the session, and or the tournament and a maximum penalty of 750 grams may be applied. ABT will attempt to outline all of these at the briefing or in the on line event notes, however omission from these notes does not imply permission to break waterway rules.
• Fishing is NOT permitted within any defined non-boating or non-fishing areas. If asked to leave a private marina or oyster lease, you must do so. Briefing noted usually have a link to a Google Map that has no-go zones clearly marked and that will geo-locate you on your smartphone.
• Only live bream (yellowfin, black and pikey) and tarwhine are eligible for BREAM tournaments.
• Fish must be caught during the designated times and kept in the Boaters’ live wells for weigh-in events. Anglers must catch their own fish and weigh-in only fish they have caught using ABT legal methods.
• No more than the tournament bag limit per angler are allowed to be kept at any one time. If you already have a limit and catch another, immediately release a fish. Anglers caught fishing with more than the BREAM bag limit will be immediately disqualified and ABT staff reserve the right to check boats live wells during competition hours.
  • In an app-based event, anglers are to release the last fish that they caught before they keep fishing.
• Anglers may only use one rod at a time while fishing all BREAM events. This includes such cases as when a lure is snagged but still attached to the rod, anglers can not pick up another rod and begin casting – this would constitute using two rods.
• All pairs of anglers are to stay with each other during tournament fishing times to ensure safety and to validate co-anglers’ catches. Anglers are not permitted to fish from outside their fishing vessels at any time during sessions, including fighting and landing fish.
• ABT reserves the right to place camerapersons/ or media on boats and swap non-boater positions to accommodate this need.
• In the case of physical or medical emergencies, ABT officials will judge the acceptability of catches.
• Any complaints regarding a breach of the rules must be addressed to the on-site Tournament Director immediately. Penalties for rule and conduct violations may include the following:

1. Disqualification of catch for the day
2. Disqualification from the tournament
3. Disqualification from future ABT events
4. A maximum penalty of 750 grams may be applied.

• Any concerns regarding clarification of rules can be discussed with ABT officials BEFORE the start of the tournament.
• The Tournament Director’s decision is final regarding all rule decisions.
• ABT Tournament Director number: 0427 32 64 64.

Code of Conduct

• During fishing sessions, no mobile phones or radios should be used to communicate with other competitors, except in an emergency, using the App or to communicate with ABT staff.
• Non-boaters should bring their own PFD to tournaments.
• Boats should remain a cast apart (30metres) while fishing.
• ABT sportsmanship would dictate that care of fellow competitors is of utmost importance. If an angler or boat is in distress it is expected that other competitors will assist. Remember that safety is more important than your day’s catch.
• ABT will encourage Fisheries and Boating Officers to attend all ABT tournaments to police safety regulations, registration, relevant boating legislation as well as alcohol and drug laws.
• Anglers are not to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs while competing. Legally required blood alcohol levels must be adhered to, and ABT reserves the right to request a blood alcohol test prior to the start of competition.
• It is expected that Anglers shall, at all times, conduct themselves in a manner becoming a professional sportsperson. Behaviour that will reflect unfavourably on ABT, its members, representatives and sponsors will subject the angler’s catch to penalty or disqualification.

Weigh-in procedure and Points Scoring

• Anglers will finish a session by placing the key back on the appropriate spot on the board before the session finishes. Anglers placing their tag on the board after the session finish time will incur a weight penalty. Generally ABT officials are NOT permitted to place the key tag for anglers– it must be placed by either competitor in the boat.
• Tags not returned by the allotted weigh–in time will be penalised at the rate of 50 grams per minute per angler. If a boat returns later than 15 minutes after weigh-in time both anglers will be penalised 750 grams and all fish caught will not be weighed. It is the angler’s responsibility to allow enough time to ensure the key tag is placed before the allotted time.
• Anglers are requested to retrieve their boats and trailer them to the defined weigh-in area adjacent to the BREAM stage, or to proceed to the on-water weigh-in site. Bream will be weighed in order of arrival. Details of the weigh-in site and times will be established during the briefing prior to the start of the event.
• Each angler may bring their limit per session to the weigh-in of five bream.
• Bream must be the state’s legal length to the fork of the tail to qualify for weighing, or legal length +1cm to the tip of the tail (depending on state). The fish’s mouth must be closed while measuring. Any variations to this and the event’s lengths will be announced at the briefing.
• Events with the lengths measured to the tip of the tail should have the fish mouth shut and the tail pinched together to make it as long as possible.
• Bream will be weighed collectively with “Big Bream” candidates weighed individually. Note: that it is the angler’s responsibility to identify these fish to the weighmaster.
• Boater and non-boater catches will be scored on separate scoreboards as both divisions are fishing for different prizes.
• Dead fish, or those unable to swim away from the release point (as deemed by ABT officials) will not score points. At all times, bream are the responsibility of individual anglers.
• Boats that start in an incorrect order will be penalized, in a decision to be made by tournament officials. Boats missing their call-up must wait until all boats have left to be started by ABT staff.
• Boats can return to the weigh – in earlier than the allotted time, however, that is all the anglers in that craft can fish for the day unless negotaited with the Tournament Director.
• Ties will be settled by countback. The angler with the largest and subsequent largest bag will gain the higher place, otherwise the first angler to reach their score gains the higher place.

Variations for App Events

• You still need to keytag-in at the end of an App event session.

• Anglers need to hand in their completed catch cards with ABT staff and not leave until they are happy that all of their valid fish have been recorded properly.

• Legal sizes do not apply to fish recorded and released at the point of capture on the app.

Angler of the Year Awards

The BREAM Angler of the Year is the most prestigious award a BREAM angler can achieve.

It rewards the angler who is the most consistent highly placed angler throughout the BREAM rounds, with points per round allocated according to placing. The first placed angler in each event receives 100 points, and each place below that receives one less point. Anglers do not need to catch a fish to receive AOY points, however, they do need to fish both days in an event to score. This rewards anglers who have made the effort to attend and fish events to the best of their ability. Note that a negative daily score will impact on AOY points. Anglers completing a competition with negative points will be placed below anglers scoring zero points in AOY calculations.

• Anglers catching no fish for a tournament will incur a 10 AOY point penalty to reward anglers who have landed a fish during a tournament.
• Anglers with zero points will score equal BREAM AOY points.
• AOY points ties will be settled by countback. The angler with the best performance in the most recent event will gain the higher placing.
• The BREAM AOY Title will be calculated on the best 5-from-8 event scores.
• There will an AOY Title awarded to both boaters and non-boaters.

BREAM QUALIFIERS

National BREAM Grand Final

The National BREAM Grand Final will be contested between qualifying anglers that receive entry through the BREAM Qualifying events and the AOY points table. All declined Grand Final spots will be passed to the next angler in-line from AOY (except in WA).

The National BREAM Grand Final will be contested between the following anglers;