Page 26 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

Bream are kid-friendly and accessible
REAM are great Not long after my en- happened recently at fish to catch and counter with the big Kingscliff.
are ideally suited bream, I thought I had I was fishing on the
Tweed to Byron Bay
by GAVIN DOBSON
for kids, due to their him for a second time, local reef recently and
accessibility.
Most wharves, pon-
year has been a cracker numbers-wise.
have a chance to find them.
but the fight was differ- ent, much more dogged and less erratic.
pulled in the head of what was going to be a 20kg jewfish if it hadn’t been for a cheeky shark.
toons, rock walls and riverbanks hold a popu- lation of bream.
In fact, I’d step out and say it’s been one of the best for a fair while now.
I sympathise with them but for those tar- geting bream – it’s a bonanza.
I wasn’t surprised when a big luderick surfaced.
The very next day, I was near the 32 mark- er and was in the pro- cess of lifting two fish aboard when a small 6-7’ white pointer charged up and grabbed a snapper off the bot- tom hook.
Most years around this time pictures of Keira and myself appear in these pages with bream from the bottom end of the Brunswick River.
Tailor fishos in the surf are complaining because quality baits of pilchard, bonito and garfish are being de- stroyed before tailor
Even in the middle of the day, if the water’s right beach fishos are coming back with a good feed.
It was a solid fish at 1.3kg and every year we catch a few on baits that are much more protein than salad.
It’s something we par- ticularly love, and this
The average size of bream is down slightly this year but big ones are still out there, you just have more fish competing for bait.
Speaking of bait, this carnivorous luderick ate some mullet gut, which is my preferred bream bait to use in the riv- er, closely followed by mullet fillet.
The hook above had a sizeable maori cod on it–thecodhadafew scratch marks and a ter- rified look on his face, I can tell you.
A couple of good bream by the author’s classifi- cation.
I know I’ve hooked them but to catch a wily old bream you’ve got to fish light, and trying to land one around oys- ter encrusted rocks and pylons on 6lb line is a mission.
Let’s hope the rest of winter and the whale season remain inci- dent-free.
So, what is a big bream?
When I’m using mul- let gut, I throw the on- ion in as burley and use the soft stinky part of the gut as bait.
I was pretty stunned myself, and it all hap- pened so quickly.
Well, that’s going to differ depending on who you’re talking to and where you are in the country.
I just wrap a big blob around the hook and slide the appropri- ate-sized sinker right on top.
I didn’t have time to even lift the fish away from the shark, despite the fact I was already in the motion.
A round here I class 35-40cm bream as good, 40-45cm as re- ally good and 45-50cm as great.
On the change of tide, I like to not use a sinker if there are no pickers around.
Sharks of all species are on the increase around here that’s for sure.
I’ve only ever seen one over 50cm caught in my life–byamate–andit’s a feat I’d love to achieve.
Night is the best time but if the water is dirty as it is now, daytime is fine and much more family oriented.
My condolences to the family and friends of the recent Kingscliff at- tackvictim.
Keira swung a nice bream onto the jetty.
Sharks have been making their presence felt again and I feel pet- ty complaining about them because losing a few fish is not in the same ballpark as los- ing your life, which
I’ll get offshore when weather and time allow, but on the other days I reckon as soon as Kei- ra gets off the school bus we’ll be going to the river for an evening session while bream are still there.
I guess that’s all part of the challenge and the fun of going back.
The weather has most- ly been against us but if you can get out, the current is still running and out wide is just hard work.
I have seen a 50cm fish this year.
I’ve had a couple of OK days, with small windows of opportuni- ty weather-wise but I’ve stayed mostly on the 32 fathom line to try stay- ing inside the worst of the current.
Oh well, make up some wire rigs and go get a feed or just stick in close and try for a feed of reef fish, snapper and maybe a jewfish.
He rose to grab my floating bait and as I struck, he rolled side- ways and then the hook pulled.
Who’s to say what would have happened had the hook stuck, but the odds were in favour of the fish because I caught two over 40cm that morning and only just managed to keep them out of the struc- ture.
Me?
Changing the subject, now to offshore where things have been hard.
Back to the offshore scene and leatherjackets may turn up soon – just to give me something else to whinge about on top of current and bad weather.
Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020
www.bnb shing.com.au