Bream Fishing Gear

Yellowfin bream are a prolific species targeted in estuaries and along coastlines. They have a very wide distribution making them the perfect target for anglers of all experience levels. They are a schooling, structure orientated fish. Look for area's such as bridges, rockwalls, snags, deep holes, oyster leases, weed banks, headlands, surf gutters and inshore reefs.

Bream are an exciting lure target that can be caught on a huge variety of different presentations. Surface lures, small divers, soft plastics, vibes and stickbaits will all produce results in the right area. Light leaders and sharp trebles will help to increase catch rates as bream can be quite wary at times and have tough mouths.

Small 2” to 3” shrimp and curly tail grubs are the perfect profile soft plastics to use for bream. The weight of your jig head will vary depending on the current flow and the depth of the water. Anything from 1/40th to 1/8th of an ounce will do the job, but the lighter you can fish the better.

For hard bodies, use diving lures that range from 30-50mm. Small, chubby crank divers are great and often produce a wide wobbling action that can attract bream. Bream hang tight to structure, so it is crucial to cast your diver as close to the structure as possible.

A common technique is to jig the plastic up twice from the bottom and let the lure sink again. When fishing around structure, small little hops works better. Keeping the lure in the strike zone with a slow retrieve.

Bream are an opportunistic feeder that will take advantage of any tasty morsels they find. Flesh baits, yabbys, prawns, worms and small livebaits will all entice bites, just keep in mind fresh is best. For this style of fishing #2-1/0 bait holder hooks will help with bait presentation and increase catch rates.

Fishing light gear is the ideal way to target bream both in open water and in the estuaries. Light leaders in the 4-10lb range, light mono and braid will aid in casting and also bite detection. With the exception of surf and rock fishing, small 1-3kg or 2-4kg spin outfits are perfect. In the surf a long slow tapered surf combo will do the trick.