estuary baits for bream?

[ChrisD]

Been looking around for baits for estuary bream and it seems they are not fussy, taking just about everything that is presented - from fresh water Yabbies, to bread, to garden worms, prawns, squid and chicken breast.
So with so many possible choices to make on bait for bream - how do you choose? or is it just a roll of the dice on the day?

[GTSHoon]

I like the live mussels from Coles they are great!
Cam

[Scraglor]

I tried for them at Mordi creek, millions and millions of toadies. How do you deal with the toadies? Or is it just one of those things where some days they are worse than others?

[DougieK]

Live bass yabbies. If there are yabbies present where you're fishing, pump a few. In my opinion the best estuary bait full stop.

[poodoo]

I reckon it depends on where you are fishing and what the bream are feeding on. However in general if I'm targeting bream it will either be prawns, fresh water yabbies or sandworms.

You could try some lures like the new cranka crabs?

[ChrisD]

I remember using bass yabbies many, many years ago - used to buy them from an old guy in the back blocks of Northcote on the way into the city to fish the Yarra. Before Jeff's shed was built, we'd fish in front of the tea houses, used to be really good there.
So it does look like there will be options a plenty - hoping to finally, finally, finally get a crack at chasing some on Tuesday, might just flip a coin on the day and see what looks best.

[Freelesson]

I use bread but that in the anglesea river only cause it works and it's cheap don't see the point of spending money on bait when you can use bread. All I can say is try everything til you find what works best.

[ChrisD]

Looks like I will take a few options with me and see what happens.
Anyone know where you can buy live bass yabbies?

[TrevKing]

My go to bait for bream is chicken soaked in tuna oil, they go nuts for it. So do mullet and salmon. :thumbsup:

[rixter]

Bass yabbies ,Small Spider/Soldier Crabs , then Sandworms / have always been my top baits for estuary bream
As you mentioned though , they don't seem to be too fussy, but the first 2 baits I mentioned have always caught me my biggest PB bream, and a few just under my PB.

Although I do think that the smaller bream are maybe a bit scared off by the 'claws' on the bass yabbies or soldier crabs, the bigger fish seem to go for them more I've found. My bream catch rate on 'clawed' baits has always been lower , but always way bigger fish.

Funny a lot of people ask 'where can I get bass yabbies ?" . You don't have to always bait pump them, consider them just like a normal Yabby sort of !.
If you are going to pump them along a beach , just look for a beach with a lot of silt / greyish looking mud just under the sand surface. This is noticeable when you stick your foot into the sand near the water and kick it up, and its all greyish brown sand/mud/silt just under the sand. Perfect are to pump bass yabbies.

Yabbies and Bass Yabbies usually hang about where there is mud flats or silt ( or a combination of both ).
In a river/estuary close to the ocean, this is where the water is usually brackish, around 100 meters or more up a creek from the river mouth - brackish and silty, usually where you will find bream sometimes also hanging about looking for food .

Drop some fine mesh/hoop yabby pots in the area ( not the illegal opera house nets ), use some scrap fish heads or whatever for bait ( a small 'pierced' tin of cat food works well also ) , shouldn't take too long before you get a bait trap full of bass yabbies .


Cheers Rick.