Yarra river Bream on SP's

Pier Fishing, Rock Fishing and general land based fishing around Melbourne
User avatar
KChubbs
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:05 am
Has liked: 26 times
Likes received: 6 times

Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by KChubbs » Wed Oct 06, 2021 2:28 pm

Hi Everyone,

I have recently started targetting Bream in the Yarra with lures and predominantly soft plastics. I have been using a 2.5-inch motor oil Z man grub on 1/16th jig head, 8lb leader and braid and 2-4kg 7kg rod. I have been targetting pylons and banks but have not had any bites or fish.

I have also noticed that the current in the Yarra is really strong and it moves my plastic down the river and I am not sure if this is correct. But I am also afraid of using a heavier jig head due to the finickiness of bream?

I was also wondering if other lures such as hardbodies or vibes would be effective in the CBD area and what techniques should I be using?

Cheers,
Ken :wt:

User avatar
Sebb
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:30 pm
Has liked: 3001 times
Likes received: 1576 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by Sebb » Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:19 pm

KChubbs wrote:
Wed Oct 06, 2021 2:28 pm
Hi Everyone,

I have recently started targetting Bream in the Yarra with lures and predominantly soft plastics. I have been using a 2.5-inch motor oil Z man grub on 1/16th jig head, 8lb leader and braid and 2-4kg 7kg rod. I have been targetting pylons and banks but have not had any bites or fish.

I have also noticed that the current in the Yarra is really strong and it moves my plastic down the river and I am not sure if this is correct. But I am also afraid of using a heavier jig head due to the finickiness of bream?

I was also wondering if other lures such as hardbodies or vibes would be effective in the CBD area and what techniques should I be using?

Cheers,
Ken :wt:
Welcome to the forum.
I fished yarra around the CBD a lot before this lockdown. Use the search function in this forum and you will see my posts/reports about yarra bream.

In short story, plastic fishing when the water is milo chocolate is hard, best to fish when the water is clearer.

Fish the run in tide, it slows down the drift of the current, so you can use light jighead. I had a lot of success with zman 2in grub with 1/16 and 1/24 jig head. Use scent and super slow retrieve on the bottom.

When the water is a bit dirty, in winter and early spring, you can even use metal vibe, ecogear zx is great. Cast out and retrieve or vertical jig by pylons.

In warmer months they can be in any water levels, this is when you can use diving hardbodies such as ecogear sx40. Slow roll retrieve with long pauses.

Lastly, use long fluorocarbon leader, like 2 rod lengths. 4lb is best.
------------------------------
A fish is a fish :ft:
No fish is worth a life, stay safe

User avatar
KChubbs
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:05 am
Has liked: 26 times
Likes received: 6 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by KChubbs » Wed Oct 06, 2021 7:41 pm

Sebb wrote:
Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:19 pm
Welcome to the forum.
I fished yarra around the CBD a lot before this lockdown. Use the search function in this forum and you will see my posts/reports about yarra bream.

In short story, plastic fishing when the water is milo chocolate is hard, best to fish when the water is clearer.

Fish the run in tide, it slows down the drift of the current, so you can use light jighead. I had a lot of success with zman 2in grub with 1/16 and 1/24 jig head. Use scent and super slow retrieve on the bottom.

When the water is a bit dirty, in winter and early spring, you can even use metal vibe, ecogear zx is great. Cast out and retrieve or vertical jig by pylons.

In warmer months they can be in any water levels, this is when you can use diving hardbodies such as ecogear sx40. Slow roll retrieve with long pauses.

Lastly, use long fluorocarbon leader, like 2 rod lengths. 4lb is best.
Hey Sebb!

Thank you for the warm welcome and the very detailed summary. I will try out these new techniques and report back!

Do you know why it is difficult when the water is dirty?

P.s I have already read through all your posts :vy:

sloth
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:35 pm
Location: Maribyrnong, Melbourne
Has liked: 6 times
Likes received: 38 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by sloth » Wed Oct 06, 2021 8:03 pm

As Sebb said drop your leader to 4lb (banks) or 6lb (docks/pylons).

Year round breamin in the CBD you can get away with four lures:

40mm blade
30-40mm shallow diving hardbody
2 or 2.5” zman grub
Strike pro micro vibe

You can add to the above but quite honestly I’d be confident fishing year round in metro systems with just those four.

Winter:
Hit the docks and teabag the blade at the base of pylons

Spring:
Walk the banks flicking the hardbody. Cast parallel to the bank and maybe only 1 - 1.5m out and retrieve with a slow roll and a few pauses and twitches
Or flick the grub along the bank as above and slowly retrieve with lifts and pauses.

Summer:
Bank fishing as in spring or go to the docks and fish the pylons with the micro vibe…. Open spool and just let it flutter down next to the pylon.


Autumn:
As the edge bite dies off it’s more focus on deep and vertical structure. Blades, micro vibe.

If you want to splash the cash grab a cranka crab …. That can be dead sticked year round and will catch fish. Works close to the bank in the warmer months, on the bottom next to pylons in the winter and also works on the drop like a micro vibe.

My year round Melbourne bag for bream looks like this:
9F65D839-89CE-46F5-AF12-83E1E2CB8440.jpeg

User avatar
Sebb
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:30 pm
Has liked: 3001 times
Likes received: 1576 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by Sebb » Wed Oct 06, 2021 8:21 pm

KChubbs wrote:
Wed Oct 06, 2021 7:41 pm
Sebb wrote:
Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:19 pm
Welcome to the forum.
I fished yarra around the CBD a lot before this lockdown. Use the search function in this forum and you will see my posts/reports about yarra bream.

In short story, plastic fishing when the water is milo chocolate is hard, best to fish when the water is clearer.

Fish the run in tide, it slows down the drift of the current, so you can use light jighead. I had a lot of success with zman 2in grub with 1/16 and 1/24 jig head. Use scent and super slow retrieve on the bottom.

When the water is a bit dirty, in winter and early spring, you can even use metal vibe, ecogear zx is great. Cast out and retrieve or vertical jig by pylons.

In warmer months they can be in any water levels, this is when you can use diving hardbodies such as ecogear sx40. Slow roll retrieve with long pauses.

Lastly, use long fluorocarbon leader, like 2 rod lengths. 4lb is best.
Hey Sebb!

Thank you for the warm welcome and the very detailed summary. I will try out these new techniques and report back!

Do you know why it is difficult when the water is dirty?

P.s I have already read through all your posts :vy:
Low visibility and adding freshwater.
Bream loves salt. A bit of freshwater is ok, the freshwater will be on the top and the salt be on the bottom where they sit, plastic or vibe bottom fishing can be successful. But when it's too much fresh, and often too much stuff flowing (mud, rubbish and stuff), makes it hard.

Sloth's info is good and spot on. I use/do similar to Sloth.

Also, yarra is generally easier to catch bream than docks or nong. At least for me anyway.
------------------------------
A fish is a fish :ft:
No fish is worth a life, stay safe

User avatar
KChubbs
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:05 am
Has liked: 26 times
Likes received: 6 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by KChubbs » Wed Oct 06, 2021 8:39 pm

Cheers Sloth! Really appreciate the response and the amazing rundown of everything.

I now have a lot more confidence with both you and Sebb's info for my next session after countless donuts! :oo:

Thanks again guys!

User avatar
Sebb
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:30 pm
Has liked: 3001 times
Likes received: 1576 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by Sebb » Wed Oct 06, 2021 9:07 pm

KChubbs wrote:
Wed Oct 06, 2021 8:39 pm
Cheers Sloth! Really appreciate the response and the amazing rundown of everything.

I now have a lot more confidence with both you and Sebb's info for my next session after countless donuts! :oo:

Thanks again guys!
No worries, and good luck.
It took me a while too. After I caught a couple, I got the hang of it.
Keep trying and you will be rewarded :tu:

I read this somewhere, and it helped me to find how slow it should be.

"When fishing for bream on lures, slow it down. When you think you're doing slow enough, slow it even more"
------------------------------
A fish is a fish :ft:
No fish is worth a life, stay safe

sloth
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:35 pm
Location: Maribyrnong, Melbourne
Has liked: 6 times
Likes received: 38 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by sloth » Thu Oct 07, 2021 7:41 am

Roughly what area of the Yarra are you fishing?

I mainly fish CBD and the Nong - for the Yarra I was mainly downstream of crown …. Fairly sure the middle and upper brackish sections of the Yarra would fish like the nong though.

As sebb mentioned above - our estuary is a salt wedge estuary so in our metro rivers you’ll get a wedge of clean salt water pushing up the system on a incoming tide with a layer of fresh above it. This can means at times you can be fishing a section where the upper part of the water column is fast flowing dirty fresh water and deeper you’re into slower moving much cleaner fresh. They might not even be flowing in the same direction. So in some cases the dirty water you see at the top isn’t necessarily what you are fishing in when your working a plastic on the bottom.

It will take time and frustration to get your first few but you’ll get there. The main focus is finding the fish - so landbased it’s about being selective on where you think they are holding - give it a working over and if nothing move on. In terms of finding them it’s useful to know a bit of fish behaviour and there’s plenty online about that but in the main I’d say the two main ones are food and shelter. They are opportunistic so you can catch them all tides and a vast range of locations but there are ways to increase your chances.

When there is run they like structure. Structure with food is better. Structure that is in current which creates an eddy that they can sit in waiting for the current to bring food down to them is best.

On the slack they are more likely to roam around scavenging and you can pick them up on “flats” … slack high water gives them acesss to grounds to forage that weren’t available on the low….

Generally a fish will sit with its head into current so think about how your lure will approach it and which is best. The easiest way to fish and manage your line isn’t always the best presentation to the fish.

There’s heaps online about lure fishing for bream. It’s important to distinguish between landbased and boat/yak. If you have a sounder and you know fish are there then there can be merit throwing a dozen different lures, colours or different retrieves at them to see if you can crack the pattern. Landbased you can only assume the fish are there based on your watercraft and your understanding of how bream behave. Have a few confidence lures that you know work - give it a few casts and if nothing give up the spot and go check somewhere else. It really is a percentages game. A 1/16th to 1/8th zman 2.5 grub will catch a lot of fish in our estuary so that’s my go to plastics wise. For hardbody something like an atomic shad, strike pro Pygmy or baby archback will work and won’t break the bank (shads probably the easiest to cast).

Retrieve wise the simplest working retrieves are:
Hardbody - slow roll the handle a few turns pause a few seconds. Repeat

Plastic grub - rod tip up at 45deg wait to see bow of slack line (plastic has hot bottom). Count anywhere between 10to30s in your head. Crank your reel two to three turns. Let the plastic drop to a slack bow again, count and repeat. This will have the effect of hopping your plastic along the bottom without the mental anguish of worrying if you’re lifting too fast, too high, too slow, not whippy enough, should be doing double hops etc.

Starting off - it’s all confidence and you will doubt everything - location, your lure choice, the colour of it and your retrieve. This will really &$@* with your head. There’s so much info out there and so much lure choice it can be overwhelming but if you focus on fishing the right areas and stick to only a few lures and techniques you’ll be right. Once you get a few under your belt and a feel for it then you’ll develop your own preferences.

It’s a good time to start - coming into spring and summer should start to see things starting to fire up in the coming months.

Good luck :)

User avatar
Sebb
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 3:30 pm
Has liked: 3001 times
Likes received: 1576 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by Sebb » Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:06 am

sloth wrote:
Thu Oct 07, 2021 7:41 am
Roughly what area of the Yarra are you fishing?

I mainly fish CBD and the Nong - for the Yarra I was mainly downstream of crown …. Fairly sure the middle and upper brackish sections of the Yarra would fish like the nong though.

As sebb mentioned above - our estuary is a salt wedge estuary so in our metro rivers you’ll get a wedge of clean salt water pushing up the system on a incoming tide with a layer of fresh above it. This can means at times you can be fishing a section where the upper part of the water column is fast flowing dirty fresh water and deeper you’re into slower moving much cleaner fresh. They might not even be flowing in the same direction. So in some cases the dirty water you see at the top isn’t necessarily what you are fishing in when your working a plastic on the bottom.

It will take time and frustration to get your first few but you’ll get there. The main focus is finding the fish - so landbased it’s about being selective on where you think they are holding - give it a working over and if nothing move on. In terms of finding them it’s useful to know a bit of fish behaviour and there’s plenty online about that but in the main I’d say the two main ones are food and shelter. They are opportunistic so you can catch them all tides and a vast range of locations but there are ways to increase your chances.

When there is run they like structure. Structure with food is better. Structure that is in current which creates an eddy that they can sit in waiting for the current to bring food down to them is best.

On the slack they are more likely to roam around scavenging and you can pick them up on “flats” … slack high water gives them acesss to grounds to forage that weren’t available on the low….

Generally a fish will sit with its head into current so think about how your lure will approach it and which is best. The easiest way to fish and manage your line isn’t always the best presentation to the fish.

There’s heaps online about lure fishing for bream. It’s important to distinguish between landbased and boat/yak. If you have a sounder and you know fish are there then there can be merit throwing a dozen different lures, colours or different retrieves at them to see if you can crack the pattern. Landbased you can only assume the fish are there based on your watercraft and your understanding of how bream behave. Have a few confidence lures that you know work - give it a few casts and if nothing give up the spot and go check somewhere else. It really is a percentages game. A 1/16th to 1/8th zman 2.5 grub will catch a lot of fish in our estuary so that’s my go to plastics wise. For hardbody something like an atomic shad, strike pro Pygmy or baby archback will work and won’t break the bank (shads probably the easiest to cast).

Retrieve wise the simplest working retrieves are:
Hardbody - slow roll the handle a few turns pause a few seconds. Repeat

Plastic grub - rod tip up at 45deg wait to see bow of slack line (plastic has hot bottom). Count anywhere between 10to30s in your head. Crank your reel two to three turns. Let the plastic drop to a slack bow again, count and repeat. This will have the effect of hopping your plastic along the bottom without the mental anguish of worrying if you’re lifting too fast, too high, too slow, not whippy enough, should be doing double hops etc.

Starting off - it’s all confidence and you will doubt everything - location, your lure choice, the colour of it and your retrieve. This will really &$@* with your head. There’s so much info out there and so much lure choice it can be overwhelming but if you focus on fishing the right areas and stick to only a few lures and techniques you’ll be right. Once you get a few under your belt and a feel for it then you’ll develop your own preferences.

It’s a good time to start - coming into spring and summer should start to see things starting to fire up in the coming months.

Good luck :)
:nw:

Good info, good tips. :tu:

I like this, good idea.

"Plastic grub - rod tip up at 45deg wait to see bow of slack line (plastic has hot bottom). Count anywhere between 10to30s in your head. Crank your reel two to three turns. Let the plastic drop to a slack bow again, count and repeat. This will have the effect of hopping your plastic along the bottom without the mental anguish of worrying if you’re lifting too fast, too high, too slow, not whippy enough, should be doing double hops etc"
------------------------------
A fish is a fish :ft:
No fish is worth a life, stay safe

Seniorfisho
Rank: Snapper
Rank: Snapper
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2020 1:32 pm
Has liked: 797 times
Likes received: 433 times

Re: Yarra river Bream on SP's

Post by Seniorfisho » Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:16 am

Sebb wrote:
Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:06 am
sloth wrote:
Thu Oct 07, 2021 7:41 am
Roughly what area of the Yarra are you fishing?

I mainly fish CBD and the Nong - for the Yarra I was mainly downstream of crown …. Fairly sure the middle and upper brackish sections of the Yarra would fish like the nong though.

As sebb mentioned above - our estuary is a salt wedge estuary so in our metro rivers you’ll get a wedge of clean salt water pushing up the system on a incoming tide with a layer of fresh above it. This can means at times you can be fishing a section where the upper part of the water column is fast flowing dirty fresh water and deeper you’re into slower moving much cleaner fresh. They might not even be flowing in the same direction. So in some cases the dirty water you see at the top isn’t necessarily what you are fishing in when your working a plastic on the bottom.

It will take time and frustration to get your first few but you’ll get there. The main focus is finding the fish - so landbased it’s about being selective on where you think they are holding - give it a working over and if nothing move on. In terms of finding them it’s useful to know a bit of fish behaviour and there’s plenty online about that but in the main I’d say the two main ones are food and shelter. They are opportunistic so you can catch them all tides and a vast range of locations but there are ways to increase your chances.

When there is run they like structure. Structure with food is better. Structure that is in current which creates an eddy that they can sit in waiting for the current to bring food down to them is best.

On the slack they are more likely to roam around scavenging and you can pick them up on “flats” … slack high water gives them acesss to grounds to forage that weren’t available on the low….

Generally a fish will sit with its head into current so think about how your lure will approach it and which is best. The easiest way to fish and manage your line isn’t always the best presentation to the fish.

There’s heaps online about lure fishing for bream. It’s important to distinguish between landbased and boat/yak. If you have a sounder and you know fish are there then there can be merit throwing a dozen different lures, colours or different retrieves at them to see if you can crack the pattern. Landbased you can only assume the fish are there based on your watercraft and your understanding of how bream behave. Have a few confidence lures that you know work - give it a few casts and if nothing give up the spot and go check somewhere else. It really is a percentages game. A 1/16th to 1/8th zman 2.5 grub will catch a lot of fish in our estuary so that’s my go to plastics wise. For hardbody something like an atomic shad, strike pro Pygmy or baby archback will work and won’t break the bank (shads probably the easiest to cast).

Retrieve wise the simplest working retrieves are:
Hardbody - slow roll the handle a few turns pause a few seconds. Repeat

Plastic grub - rod tip up at 45deg wait to see bow of slack line (plastic has hot bottom). Count anywhere between 10to30s in your head. Crank your reel two to three turns. Let the plastic drop to a slack bow again, count and repeat. This will have the effect of hopping your plastic along the bottom without the mental anguish of worrying if you’re lifting too fast, too high, too slow, not whippy enough, should be doing double hops etc.

Starting off - it’s all confidence and you will doubt everything - location, your lure choice, the colour of it and your retrieve. This will really &$@* with your head. There’s so much info out there and so much lure choice it can be overwhelming but if you focus on fishing the right areas and stick to only a few lures and techniques you’ll be right. Once you get a few under your belt and a feel for it then you’ll develop your own preferences.

It’s a good time to start - coming into spring and summer should start to see things starting to fire up in the coming months.

Good luck :)
:nw:

Good info, good tips. :tu:

I like this, good idea.

"Plastic grub - rod tip up at 45deg wait to see bow of slack line (plastic has hot bottom). Count anywhere between 10to30s in your head. Crank your reel two to three turns. Let the plastic drop to a slack bow again, count and repeat. This will have the effect of hopping your plastic along the bottom without the mental anguish of worrying if you’re lifting too fast, too high, too slow, not whippy enough, should be doing double hops etc"
I like to always have slack line while hoping a plastic because it makes it jump up and down on the spot, If you have your line tight the plastic will bounce like ball moving forward.

Post Reply

Return to “Melbourne Land Based Fishing”