Welcome to the Bream Fishing Guide Victoria. Bream have become one of the most targeted fish in all of Australia. With the explosion of ultra-light spin rods, soft plastics, lures, kayaks, and runabout boats. National competitions such as the ABT, Vic bream classic, and Hobie classic are thriving and growing. What makes Bream such an intriguing fish is their renowned smarts, their fighting attributes, and their ability to play with baits without taking the hook. Learning to master Bream fishing takes time and patience which makes you an overall better fisherman for all other species. They’re a brilliant species to target on ultralight spinning gear. There are two types of bream around Victoria the black bream is the most common and the yellowfin bream which is more silver in colour. Most bream caught in Victoria range between 25cm & 40cm in length

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Bream Facts & Catch Limits

  • Bream has the scientific name of Acanthopagrus butcheri.
  • The minimum legal size is 28 cm
  • The daily bag limit for bream is 10 over the legal size.
  • At FishingMad we highly recommend catch and release.

Best time to catch Bream ( Seasons )

In Victoria, Bream can be caught most of the year. However, they are more active in spring and summer. They are often best targeted at Dawn/Dusk and on tide changes. Bream is an all-year-round prospect and can be caught at any time of the day. They’re often most active on the peak of high tides especially if that occurs during sunrise or sundown. In summer they reside on the edges of the shallows and seek deeper water in the colder months. Bream spawns between August and December.

Bream Fishing Calendar

Rod & Reel Setup for Bream ( Gear Guide )

Bream Fishing requires finesse so fish as light as possible. There are many rod combos on the market designed specifically for Bream Fishing however the budget on these does vary greatly depending on your experience and requirements. When it comes to selecting a rod and reel suitable we recommend

Bream fishing with lures and soft plastics | Light spin rod around 7 feet in length in 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class. Paired with a 1000, 2000, or 2500 size reel spooled with 2-6 pound line and equivalent fluorocarbon leader.

Bream fishing with bait | Spin rod around 7 feet in length in a 1-3 or 2-4 kilo class. Coupled with a 1000, 2000, or 2500 size reel spooled with 4-8 pound braid and an equivalent fluorocarbon leader.

How to catch bream with lures

The choice of lures is almost endless to make things easier we created a detailed video on the best lures and how to use them. Or Click here to see our detailed guide on the best lures to catch bream.

How to catch bream with bait

When targeting bream with bait we recommend sandworms, prawns, maggots, scrub worms, pilchards, mussels, yabbies, and raw chicken strips. We encourage you to read our detailed guide on catching bream with bait in Melbourne. A simple yet effective fishing rig is to thread a small running sinker through the mainline shown below in blue around 6 pounds. Then tie a small swivel to the end allowing the sinker to run up the mainline freely. On the other end of the swivel tie 50cm of 6-pound fluorocarbon leader which is shown in grey. Finished with a hook size 6 bait keeper hook.

Running sinker fishing rig

 

Best Baits to Catch Bream

Bait Choices

Our best bait recommendations include maggots, scrub worms and yabbies. They will also take small flesh baits presented on a running sinker rig. Where possible fish with as little weight. When land-based you may need a heavy sinker to cast out as far as you can.

  • maggots
  • yabbies
  • Scrub worms
  • sandworms
  • mussels
  • pilchards
  • prawns

Best Soft Plastics to Catch Bream

Soft Plastics

Bream love soft plastics including crab and yabbie imitations, grubs, worm imitations, curly tails, paddle tails, and minnow imitations. For jig head selection it’s a good idea to have multiple weights and sizes with you. This way you can adjust based on the current strength and weather conditions. We generally would have 1/12 through to 1/48 jig heads in a 1/0 size. Take your time when rigging and make sure the plastic is on straight, this improves the plastic action.

  • Munroes 2.75 paddle tail
  • Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5 inch grub
  • Zman slim Swimz
  • Berkley powerbait grub
  • Damiki Monster Miki 2.5 sp
  • Gulp 3 inch minnow
  • Dawia Bait Junkie paddle tail minnow
  • Zman grubZ
  • Squidge wrigglers
  • Squidges biotough grub
  • Berkley Gulp turtleback worm
  • Pro lure live yabby

 

Best lures to Catch Bream

Lure Choices

Bream love lures and the options available to target them are almost endless. Our favorites include shallow diving hard body lures, Minnow imitations, vibes, and blades. Try to find structures such as weed beds, pontoons, and oyster racks and cast them as close to the structure as possible. Some lures and imitations require finesse and patience.

  • Cranka crab
  • Mussel Vibe
  • ecogear sx40
  • Jackall Chubby
  • Savage Gear Fathead Crank
  • eco gear ZX40
  • Daiwa Double Clutch
  • Nories laydown minnow
  • StrikePro cyber vibe
  • Pro lure live yabby

 

Check out this video of us kayak fishing in Victoria catching plenty of good size bream using hard body crank lures.

The best locations to catch Bream in Victoria

  • Marlo
  • Maribyrnong River
  • Tambo River
  • Lake Tyers
  • Hopkins River
  • Werribee River
  • Bemm River
  • Yarra River
  • Patterson River
  • Docklands
  • Mallacoota
  • Mitchell River
  • Gippsland Lakes
  • Nicholson River
  • Mordialloc Creek
  • Tambo River
  • Moonee Ponds Creek

You can obtain a free Victorian recreational fishing guide from the Victorian Fisheries Authorities

Images of fish supplied VFA and DEPI. All other images and videos shown on the Bream Fishing Guide Victoria are Fishing Mad originals. Thanks for reading our Bream Fishing Guide Victoria. If you feel this fish species guide is missing key information or needs any corrections. Then please let us know by emailing our team at enquiries@fishingmad.com.au with specific details in the email. Thank you