Welcome to the Bemm River Fishing Guide. The Bemm River is located 450 kilometres east of Melbourne along the Princess Highway towards Lakes entrance and Marlo. The Bemm River is spectacular and highly regarded as one of the best bream fishing destinations in Victoria. It’s a beautiful and scenic location perfect for a fishing weekend destination away. Bemm River, you have a good chance to land a trophy-sized bream either along the Sydenham inlet or in the main river itself. This is the sole reason why they host ABT and Hobie fishing tournaments that are hosted here regularly.
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Watch the vid below of our Bemm River Kayak fishing challenge catching some amazing species.
Things to do at Bemm River
It’s a small township however there are some great local services including a pub, boat ramp and a tackle store with a great assortment of fishing gear. There are several accommodation options for the family or keen anglers on a fishing weekend away in East Gippsland including the Bemm River Caravan Park. There are also a number of great fishing platforms and jetties and nice spots along the beach towards the river mouth channel. Kayaking fishing and boating are prime activities at the Bemm River. The Bemm River is a scenic destination for bushwalks and bird spotting. Also, keep an eye out for wildlife such as snakes which are quite common in the area. There are also surrounding townships quote famous for fishing including Mallacoota and Marlo.
This is a dream location for kayaks and small boats. It’s also worth noting that in our recent trips there we also hired boats from hooked on Bemm which cost $150 for the day.
Fishing the Bemm River
At the Bemm River, you can target
- Bream
- Estuary Perch
- Poddy Mullet
- Flathead
- Trevally
- Tailor
- Mullet
- Luderick
Bemm River is a large span of water and you can fish the open areas of the river for bream and flathead, up the spectacular and scenic channel where the river meets the ocean for trevally, bream, flathead and tailor, or up the narrow river for estuary perch, bream and seasonally masses of poddy mullet. Whichever you choose the fishing is excellent and the fish are spread far and wide. At Bemm you can catch excellent size flathead, bream and tailor.
For many anglers, bream will be your primary target species and the most popular way to catch them at Bemm River is with lures and soft plastics. The choice of bream lures is almost endless so we recommend reading our guide on the best lures to catch bream. A large portion of the Bemm River is shallow and weedy and for this reason, lightly weighted soft plastics, surface lures, shallow diving hard body lures, and shallow diving cranks work well. When rigging soft plastics we recommend using jig heads from 1/12 at the heaviest through to 1/40th. On most occasions, we were using 1/20th in size 1-0. Hard body lures and surface lures also work great at Bemm. Worked slowly and with occasional pauses. They can also be effective when trolled in areas with less weed. We had great success using lures such as shallow diving cranks and minnows. Bream will congregate within the weed, edges and drop-offs so these are good areas to specifically target. In extremely weedy areas surface lures worked slowly works a treat you will also catch tailor and estuary perch with this method.
When flicking lures and plastics you will need an ultralight spinning outfit. This would start with a light rod around 7 feet in length either a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class. There are so many great options to choose from in this range which can be quite confusing for beginners. When choosing a reel make sure you pick a 1000, 2040 or 2500 size that is best, spooled with 4-6 pound braid and finished with a 2 or 4-pound leader. Again the range of reels on the market is amazing and the budgets vary greatly depending on your skill level and spending habits. If you plan on fishing with baits then we would highly recommend using Sandworms, maggots, scrub worms, pilchards, mussels, yabbies, & chicken. For bait fishing again alight rod setup is best. A 2-4 kilo class rod with a 2500 size reel would be a great option spooled with 6-pound line. Beginners can go a little heavier with a 3-5 kilo rod. We would encourage you to watch our video below on how to catch bream with bait or read our detailed guide on Bait fishing for Bream.
Watch the vid below highlighting the spectacular fishing and scenery of the Bemm River
Places to fish near Bemm River Pier
Not far from here, you can also try fishing at these destinations
- Lake Tyers
- Lakes Entrance
- Tanboon Inlet
- Marlo
- Broadribb River
- Metung
- Hollands Landing
- Mallacoota
- Mitchell River
- Gippsland Lakes
Bemm River Boat Hire
Whilst up at Bemm River we hired a small Polycraft boat. The cost was $150 per day and really allowed us to cover the entrance and upriver. It’s a great way to explore Bemm River and fish a lot of the area. This video shows what we hired and what we were able to catch by having a hire boat.
Recommended baits Bemm River
Prawns are the bait of choice in many of the rivers around Gippsland. There are several ways to present baits including a running sinker rig, paternoster rig, or dropper rig. The rig and sinker choice will be dependent on the species you are targeting and the conditions such as wind and tidal strength.
- prawns
- yabbies
- Scrub worms
- sandworms
- maggots
- mussels
- pilchards
Recommended lures and soft plastics Bemm River
- Zman grubZ
- Hurricane Twitch 50 shallow
- OSP bent minnows
- Daiwa Double Clutch
- Zman slim Swimz
- Berkley powerbait grub
- Damiki Monster Miki 2.5 sp
- Jackall Chubby
- Savage Gear Fathead Crank
- Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
- Gulp 3 inch minnow
- Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
- Cranka crab
- Mussel Vibes
- Squidge wrigglers
- eco gear ZX40
- EcoGear SX40
- Squidges biotough grub
- Nories laydown minnow
- StrikePro cyber vibe
- Pro lure live yabby
The choice of bream lures is almost endless let our video guide help you
Targeting Bream at Bemm River
This is a great location to target bream with lures and soft plastics. The options available are almost endless so make sure you read our guide on the best lures to catch bream. Recommended options include crab imitation, shallow diving cranks, paddle tail soft plastics, curl tail soft plastics, minnow imitations, vibes, and blades. Also, try your luck with surface lures which is an exciting form of fishing with light gear. Bream is all about finesse fishing so you will need an ultralight spin outfit. We recommend a 7-foot rod in a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class, paired with a 1000, 2000 or 2500 reel spooled with 2-6-pound braid and equivalent leader. There are so many amazing bream outfits on the market and budgets vary greatly depending on your skill level and spending habits. Bream reside within structures such as jetty pylons and stumps. Enticing them away from the structure onto your lure will take some time to master. Remember to work your lures and plastics slowly and mix up the retrieval techniques.
If you target bream with bait then we would highly recommend sandworms, maggots, scrub worms, mussels, yabbies, & chicken. A 2-4 kilo class rod paired with a 2500 size reel would be a great option spooled with 6-pound line. We would encourage you to read our detailed guide on Bait fishing for Bream.
Targeting Estuary Perch at Bemm River
Another highlight of fishing in this area is targeting Estuary perch with surface and shallow diving lures. The action can be frantic on warm balmy evenings with low wind. listen for the sound of breaking water which indicates EPs are feeding. The excitement an angler gets from an EP smashing a surface lure on light gear is something that truly needs to be experienced. It almost catches you by surprise when that aggressive strike comes. Small surface poppers, cicadas, blades, surface minnows and pencil lures work well here. So do shallow diving hardbody lures. Noteworthy options include bent minnows, Rapala countdown series, nories laydown minnows and shallow diving cranks. Basically, anything that doesn’t dive too deep and makes a good vibrating action will work well. You can use any colour choice we often start with silvers that mimic small baitfish or mullet.
EPs also respond incredibly well to a whole range of soft plastics lightly weighted. Including curl tails, paddle tails and minnow imitations. The trusty 2.5-inch grubs and minnows are an excellent choice. These imitate small baitfish that the EPs are actively feeding on. We would recommend mixing up the retrieval speeds and pauses and playing around with different colours. Where possible fish along the structure and stay alert for signs such as breaking water. Fishing for Estuary Perch requires finesse. We recommend an ultralight fishing combo consisting of a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo spin rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 1000 or 2000 size reel spooled with 2-8 pound line and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. When bait fishing uses a 2-4 kilo rod around 7 feet in length. Coupled with a 2500 size reel either a float or small running sinker to a swivel and very fine leader.
Targeting Poddy Mullet at Bemm River
Poddy Mullet are a fascinating species. The school up in massive numbers and grow up to 75cm in length. They frequently jump out of the water and create an amazing spectacle for onlooking anglers. They are a dream to catch as they are strong, fast and like steam trains go on massive bursts of big runs of energy. The fascination for the species is how to catch them. I have seen schools of thousands of poddy mullet swim right past a well-presented bait or lure right in front of them. However, we have had some success using small paddle tail and grub soft plastics with scent applied. Catching them with light spinning gear is great fun and they will put your reel through its paces.
Targeting Flathead at Bemm River
We encourage you to read our detailed guide on How to catch Flathead. Flathead is a year-round prospect which can be caught at any time of the day. They are an ambush predator that waits in disguise for smaller fish to swim by for easy feed. This highlights the importance of keeping your baits and soft plastics towards the bottom. If fishing from a boat or kayak we would recommend drifting around the sandy flats until you find a good patch of them. Also, keep an eye out for depth drop-offs which is a great location for an ambush predator to be waiting.
We recommend targeting flathead with a 7 foot 2–4 or 3-5 kilo fishing rod paired with a 2500 or 3000 size reel spooled with 8-12lb braid and equivalent leader. You can go lighter, but flathead has bristly teeth that can compromise your fishing line. Flathead is not fussy and will happily have a go at many various soft plastics and lures. We would highly recommend reading our detailed guide on the best lures and soft plastics to catch flathead. Top choices include worm and yabby imitations, paddle tail soft plastic, curl tail soft plastics, deep diving hard body lures, vibes, swimbaits, and blades. If you target flathead with bait, we recommend using a paternoster rig or running sinker rig. Use a small ball sinker to swivel, then 50cm of 8-12 leader to a size 6 long shank hook. Good baits choices include pilchards, mussels, squid, chicken, whitebait, Pipis, blue bait and prawns.
Targeting Tailor at Bemm River
Tailor is an aggressive predatory fish with sharp teeth with great fighting qualities. They have a similar profile to a salmon and leap out of the water when hooked. They school up in big numbers hunting baitfish in packs and breaking water often a sign that there feeding. You can catch them trolling, casting lures or bait fishing from the banks or surf. Small metal slugs, curl-tail soft plastics, and paddle tail soft plastics are great choices. So are staple baits like pilchard mullet, blue bait and garfish. Either on a single hook, ganged hooks or even on light wire trace if there cutting through your leaders.
Picking a suitable outfit for tailor can be tricky as they have sharp teeth and can shred your leaders with ease. When fishing in estuary systems we would typically use a 7-foot rod in a 2-4, 3-5 or 4-6 kilo class, paired with a 2500 or 3000 reel spooled with 6-8-pound braid and slightly stronger leader. If your targeting them in the surf then a long casting surf rod spooled with 14-20 pound braid and equivalent leader would be suitable. Handle them carefully they have sharp teeth that can do some damage. If you’re getting hook-ups but dropping a lot of fish then consider using a stronger leader or light wire trace.
Targeting Trevally at Bemm River
Trevally pound for pound is one of the best fighting fish. In certain parts of Australia surface popping for Giant Trevally is one of the bucket list fishing experiences that you must tick off. However, in Victoria, you will mainly be catching the much smaller silver trevally. Good bait options include blue bait, whitebait, raw chicken, pilchards, pippies, squid and mussels. Trevally will also take a range of soft plastics including worm and minnow imitations, small surface poppers, and small metal spoons. We recommend targeting trevally with a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo fishing rod coupled with a 2000, or 2500 reel spooled with 4-8-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader. If there are larger trevally in the area than you can go heavier moving up the scale to a 3-5 kilo class spin rod spooled with fine 8-12-pound braid and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.
Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Bemm River Fishing Guide are Fishing Mad originals. Thank you for visiting the Bemm River Fishing Guide. If you feel this location guide is missing any key information or needs any corrections made, then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Thank you
