ABT founder Steve Morgan has stayed front and centre at the 2026 Daiwa BREAM Australian Open, leaving Sydney's launch ramp with key tag number one on the second morning before swapping a small crankbait limit out of Middle Harbour into oyster-rack upgrades on Eco Gear Aqua and a closing run of fish on Outback River Baits Little Mass.
The Daiwa BREAM Australian Open is the centrepiece of the ABT national bream calendar, with three competition days run out of Sydney Harbour and the winner decided on aggregate bag weight. Morgan, posting day two highlights to his Steve Morgan Fishing channel, headed straight back to the same body of water that produced his opening limit.
"It was pretty cool leaving with key tag number one on the second day of the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open," Morgan said. "Like day one I left, went to Middle Harbor for the day. A little bit rougher this morning. And a sunny day which I think's pretty good. I think it positions the fish right in the structure where you expect them to be."
A cleaner day weather-wise meant brighter banks, and Morgan worked the boats and pontoons first thing to bag five fish quickly before chasing upgrades.
"Caught an early limit cranking the boats. Upgraded immediately on Aqua and then finished out the day catching plenty of fish on the Outback River Baits Little Mass," Morgan said.
The early grade was modest. The opening fish ran around the 274mm mark with another in the high 20s, the kind of bag-filler stuff every bream angler hauls in before the sun shifts the fish into position. By the time Morgan rolled the Eco Gear Aqua into the deeper oyster racks the size class lifted. One fish in particular tested his drag against a wall of shell.
"This is a lot more exciting fishing because you're throwing up shallow and if they can come out of—I had one yesterday come out of about a foot of water and just charge it down," Morgan said. "So I do a lot of this in the Hawkesbury actually, up Cowan Creek. We do this a lot. Sink it down near the structure and make sure you got a tight drag."
"That was the first one of the ones we really need today," Morgan said. "How did he get out of those oysters? I'll put that down to luck, not skill. The only skill I had there was knowing not to pull too hard."
From there the day became a measured grind. Stick minnow fish refused to commit—"I threw stick minnows on there yesterday. They didn't like it. They decided the mussel is what they want"—so Morgan switched to the Outback River Baits Little Mass and kept feeding upgrade fish into the live well in 100‑gram increments. Several fish in the 27–30cm bracket allowed him to creep his bag forward without ever finding a clear kilo-class bite.
The closing line of the day told the story: "Little Mass for the win."
With day three of the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open still to come, Morgan retains his key tag and the leverage that comes with launching first across the harbour.
