Alright, legends - let’s talk about one of Australia’s most stubborn, finicky, and downright frustrating fish to catch: the mighty bream.
These cheeky little buggers have turned dodging hooks into an art form, but if you play your cards right, you can fool ‘em and land yourself a cracking session.
So, grab a cold one, rig up your light gear, and let’s yarn about what it takes to hook into bream the Mad Keen way.
Where to Find Bream in Australia
Estuaries & Rivers
If there’s saltwater and structure, chances are, there’s bream hanging about. Bridges, oyster racks, rock walls, pontoons, and sunken trees—these are the VIP lounges where bream love to kick back. The trick is getting your lure in there without donating half your tackle box to the underwater snag gods.
Beaches & Flats
Ever wandered down the beach and thought, “Reckon I could hook something here?” Well, if you spot some gutters or sandbanks, give it a crack! Bream cruise these areas looking for an easy feed, and if you work a light plastic or hardbody lure through the shallows, you might just get lucky.
Offshore Reefs & Headlands
For the more adventurous, rocky headlands and inshore reefs can hold some proper donkey-sized bream. These bruisers are as cunning as they come, so light leaders and stealthy presentations are key. If you get dusted a few times, don’t worry—it’s all part of the fun.
Bream Fishing Through the Seasons
Summer
Warm water means bream are up in the shallows, nosing around for a snack. Early mornings and late arvos are prime times, and topwater lures can produce some epic surface hits. There’s nothing like watching a bream charge your lure, mouth open, like it’s just spotted the last snag at a servo.
Autumn
As the water starts to cool, bream start moving into deeper holes and channels. This is when slow-rolling small hardbodies or sinking stickbaits near structure can do some damage. Patience is key—bream aren’t known for their generosity when it comes to easy hookups.
Winter
This is when the bigger models start schooling up for their annual migration. You’ll find them sitting deep, being picky as ever. Finesse tactics are your best bet—light leaders, tiny lures, and a slow retrieve. If you think you’re retrieving too slow, go even slower. Then slow down some more.
Spring
Bream start getting aggressive again as the water warms, and they’re more than happy to have a crack at a well-presented lure. Look for them near structure and shallow flats, and don’t be afraid to mix things up with different retrieves to see what gets them fired up.
Top Bream Fishing Tactics
Cranking Hardbodies
Slow-rolling a small hardbody lure past a snag is like offering a bream a free beer—eventually, one’s gonna take the bait. A few twitches and pauses can be the difference between a follow and a full-blown strike.
Soft Plastics & Finesse Fishing
When bream are being picky (which is most of the time), a lightly weighted soft plastic worked super slow can get them interested. Keep your leader light, your jighead small, and your patience level high.
Surface Action
Watching a bream smash a topwater lure is one of the best sights in fishing. Small poppers and stickbaits worked over shallow sandbanks or weedy flats at dawn or dusk can bring some explosive hits. It’s also a great way to give yourself a mild heart attack when a big one smashes your lure out of nowhere.
Stay Legal & Look the Part
Bream fishing in Australia comes with a few rules—know your size and bag limits, and always check local regulations before heading out. Nobody wants to explain to the fisheries officer why their “just under legal” bream is somehow still in the esky.
And while you’re at it, make sure you’re kitted out properly. Mad Keen’s sun-smart fishing shirts and polarized sunnies will keep you comfortable and looking the part while you outsmart these sneaky little fish.
Now get out there, have a crack, and don’t let the bream outsmart you—tight lines, legends!