Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

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passport1980
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Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by passport1980 » Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:34 pm

So, I am wrapped to say I have caught my first bream on a hard body lure out here. I have never put much effort in lures as I have never had much success. so, I was surprised to get a 25 odd cm bream along the pylons in the Marribrynong river my first night out.

2 more trips of nothing- then last night on the 3rd cast had a nice size bream smash the lure, I lost it when I tried to bring it up. Then 5 minutes later, the same thing- only a bigger sized bream!! After that it went dead quiet. I wonder why???

I wasn't too bummed as I realised I 'can do it'......and they are out there, interested in my lures.., but in the end......I still lost two legal/just under sized bream due to inexperience.

I know there is so much to learn, so I must humbly put myself at the mercy of the experienced angler

SO If anyone can help with a FEW QUESTIONS I would really appreciate it.

1) Setting the hook, drag etc
2)Tactics for fishing at height
3)What to do once fish is hooked on lure

SOME FUNDAMENTAL THINGS, I know!! But this lure business seems far different than my old bait soaking, bucket sitting days. Thanks,

John

purple5ive
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by purple5ive » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:25 pm

what lures are you using??
with black bream, you need to pause the lure and leave it there for a while, they usually smash it on the pause. theres no striking with a hardbody as such, just feel the taps and gently or not so gently lol load the rod up.
make sure your drag is set properly if too tight the lure hooks will pull from the fishes mouth.
fish light leaders , 4-6lb is a good size.
once hooked let the drag do the work and just play the fish out, if theres structure around you then keep the fish away from it, nothing you can do if there snags underwater and the fish goes for it though..

passport1980
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by passport1980 » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:41 pm

Yeah that is great advice. It sort of confirmed what I was thinking. I had a too tight drag. I wondered how loose to have it.

The two I lost sort of took me by surprised and I freaked out like a d-head and just tried to pull them right in.

Thanks, I will try a loose drag the next time....

passport1980
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by passport1980 » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:42 pm

And I will get back to you on the lure types....

sloth
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by sloth » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:54 pm

Allegedly drag should be set to 25% of breaking strain of your line. Personally I just set by hand. I fish 4lb leader and I set mine such that a firm smooth pull by hand takes line. If I can't pull drag it's too tight. If unsure go lighter - you can always tighten the drag during the fight or palm or finger the spool to increase drag (gradually).

As purple pointed out with hardbodies and trebles they tend to hook themselves - just smoothly load the rod when you get the tap. Bream will generally give two or three strong runs for cover so if you're near pylons get stuck into the fish from the off and try to turn the fish away from the structure.

Bream are pretty cluey. When they're schooled up if you get one or two fish from the school the bite tends to shutdown. In my experience when this happens its time to move on. With lure fishing it's about hunting the fish - so with the Nong you can fish the bridges but then walk along the banks and cast every 20m or so until you find them.

passport1980
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by passport1980 » Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:39 pm

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I had to learn the hard way. I honestly didn't think I would get anything. But now I am super keen. Loose drag....check

How do the bream go fishing with lures from the bank with no structure around???

sloth
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Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by sloth » Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:59 pm

The structure is the rock banks. Basically they are in there picking at baitfish, crustaceans, worms etc. generally works best on an incoming or high tide. If you go early morning 1 hour before the high you'll see heaps of bream in the shallows and on the banks. The tactic is to work your lure along the bank. Ideally fish the shady side. Long casts along the bank that maybe only go out 3-5 metres from the bank then retrieve parallel to the bank with twitches and pauses. Shallow divers like sx40/43, cranka cranks, strike pro pygmy etc. they are spooky so loooong casts if you can and ahead of you - always fish "fresh" bank ....

Caveat: I've only recently started fishing the banks of the Nong myself and the above is advice I've received from more experienced breamer's - it has worked for me but I've still got heaps to learn about this system before I'd say I know what I'm doing there :)

ps I mainly fish the docks so that's what a lot of my breamin knowledge is based on.
Last edited by sloth on Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

sloth
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by sloth » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:00 pm

Always worth rolling a lure down the edges of any pontoons you come to as well!

passport1980
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by passport1980 » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:36 pm

Yeah Thanks Mate. Hopefully next time I will be a bit calmer and better prepared when a bream hits my lure.

I suppose the 'finesse' side of things is something I need to work on. I never fished so light before.

passport1980
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Re: Marribrynong River Bream on lures. Help Please???

Post by passport1980 » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:39 pm

Purple 5ive- I was using a Fathead 38 Crank DR from Savage Gear. (Floating, runs 3-5 ft) on those occasions.

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