The 2026 East Gippsland Bream Classic, held on the Gippsland Lakes last weekend, was dominated by Melbourne father and son combination, Brad and Cooper Hodges.
Held at the MCG of bream fishing, the magnificent Gippsland Lakes, the venue once again lived up to its name as the Australia mecca for big black bream with records falling yet again.
For Team Hodges it was the dream weekend, not only taking out the victory but producing a new Vic Bream Classics winning bag.
Their 10 bream catch for the weekend weighed an extraordinary 14.030 kilograms, such was their dominance they finished over a kilogram ahead of the second-placed Josh Jeffery and Kerrin Coleman (12.750), with Shaun Clancy and Jarrod Healey (11.465) finishing third.
Sensational numbers from the Hodges leave some of the finest bream fishermen in the country in their wake.
Jeffrey and Coleman received some compensation, picking up the biggest bag (7.460) and biggest fish (1.710) of the tournament.
The Monster Movers Prize went to Romeo Prezioso and Peter Marshall, whose day two bag of 6.230 kilograms, elevated them 23 places, to finish in 18th place overall.
It was no surprise that young Cooper Hodges was the junior angler winner.
Local angler, Scott Scicluna, who teamed up with Maffra’s Mitchell Blomquist held the lead in the biggest bream overnight after landing a massive 1.645 kilogram specimen on Saturday.
They finished seventh overall, just behind Kalimna father and son combination, Paul and Justin Conn.
But the story was the Hodges, with Brad telling everyone at the presentations that he has fished the North Arm for the last 18 years.
“I’ve always fished the North Arm, in the start it was because I had a small boat and was scared of Lake King,” Brad said.
The combination fished the jetties and flats with tried and faithful tackle.
“The turbo shrimps and camo grubs were again effective,” Hodges senior said.
The next round of the Vicbream Classic is at Marlo on May 2-3.
