The 2026 Hobie Fishing Series Australia Round 2 at Marlo, on the Snowy River system in East Gippsland, was won by Joseph Gardner on February 21-22, with the podium rounded out by Brendan Pieschel in second and Ben Hanscombe in third. The full breakdown from the Bream Fishing Project podcast, hosted by 2019 Hobie Kayak Fishing World Champion Andrew Death, ran through the tactics that actually put bream in the tubs.
Gardner's winning bag was 6.15 kilograms. Pieschel came in at 5.93kg, Hanscombe at 5.84kg — a top three separated by 310 grams.
Pieschel's story was the standout strategic note of the weekend. He fished two days on effectively one lure, a PRO LURE Clone Prawn, targeting weed beds and reed banks.
"I just could not get a bite. So I paddled to a spot that I'd seen the fish started working a probably 50-metre section at bank that looked fairly active and very quickly I think by the time I got there, it probably took me about 30 minutes to get three fish," Pieschel told Death.
The cast was tight, shallow and deliberate.
"Because we knew they were eating prawns, I was just flicking really light and deep into the weed beds, letting it sit down, giving it a pause for a bit, and just a quick double hop out of the reeds," he said. "Then it seemed to just come along and smack it in the shallow water between about half a metre and probably a metre depth."
Pieschel also revealed the moment he made peace with a small bag on day two.
"I'm sitting 17th. So I'm thinking I just want a bag to kind of hold top 20 for a year's points more than anything. I just kept working the bank and I thought I'll be here for an hour and if I can get two or three fish in the hour, we'll see what happens then before I change my plan."
That patience paid off. A second-place finish and a $2,740 pay day, a Hurricane Lures prize pack, a $100 Anaconda voucher and a berth at the Australian Championship followed.
Hanscombe's third was built on a Friday pre-fish that handed him a pattern and a set of zones.
"Couple weeks before the comp, just before the ban, went down on a random Saturday for bit of a look around in the boat," Hanscombe said. "Got some really nice fish, which would have been handy comp week. Worked out a few zones where to fish or to check out for pre-fish."
The Marlo conditions this year were tough. Patrick Burn took out the Anaconda Big Bream with a 1.4kg fish, and the field saw more Australian Bass and perch mixed in with the target bream than usual. Evan Leonard claimed the Monster Mover trophy after a day-one donut, backing up with 2.71kg on Sunday.
The divisional winners underlined the depth of the field. Riley Wheelan took the Youth division with 3.31kg. Beth Harris won the Women's division with a single fish at 720 grams in a field of six. Masters (60-plus) was won by Lindsay Pri with 4.95kg, which also put him seventh overall.
Death, closing the episode, framed the top three honestly.
"Only 300 gram or 320 gram from first to third, which is pretty cool and with definitely interesting stories. I like Brendan's story with just the one lure for the whole two days. That's absolutely crazy. Joseph obviously doing something a little bit special to take the win and Ben Hanscombe working it out up the lake."
The series now rolls to Tasmania for Round 3, with Pieschel — who described Marlo as his personal "heartbreak place" — already ruled out. Gardner, Hanscombe and the rest of the top ten carry their points into the next weekend's kayak bream competition.
