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Backwater breamin
By Cameron Cronin
Living in Sydney, I am lucky enough to have a stack of great bream fishing options available right at my fingertips. From casting plastics into the foamy ocean washes in the lower reaches, to flicking topwater along mangrove lined creeks up in the brackish. I often find myself spoilt for choice and struggling to decide where to target my quarry. In recent times however, that choice has been vastly simplified with my discovery of backwaters and the exceptional bream fishing opportunities that they harbour. Unattractive at first glance, these hidden gems are dismissed by countless anglers that are heading for seemingly greener pastures and as a result these areas offer some red hot breaming options for those prepared to put in the hard yards and locate them in the first place. Simply put, I can't get enough of backwater breamin'.
It's that all too rare combination of serenity and big, hard hitting, lure crunching bream that makes for some addictive fishing and keeps me coming back for more, time and time again. But just like any bream fishing, it isn't always fun and games. Although at times backwaters can fire like you wouldn't believe, they can also be very tricky places to fish and you might have to change a few things up before you start to experience regular success. In this article I will talk about how to find and fish backwaters, my favourite gear and lure selections and also go over a few small tips and tricks that I have picked up over time that should help fast track your backwater success.
So you may be wondering, what exactly are backwaters? Although definitions may vary from person to person, I believe a backwater to be an open lagoon, fed by a small creek that eventually connects to the main system. Often the feeder creek will be so small that the backwater will be completely cut off from the main system at times. Sometimes there may even be a manmade barrier preventing fish access most of the time. All that is needed to make a backwater viable, in terms of holding bream, is the occasional supply of clean saltwater. This allows bream to find their way inside and make themselves at home.
Now you know what a backwater looks like it's time to try and find one. Although it is possible to go out and physically search for backwaters, I find it far easier to use satellite imaging programs, such as Google Earth and Nearmap. By hovering at an altitude height of around 1 km, you can quickly and efficiently scan your chosen estuary for potential hotspots, zooming in on anything that catches your interest for a closer look. If you think that a spot has the potential to produce, it is then a simple matter of 'Pinning' the location and marking any potential routes into the area, especially if the location is particularly isolated. I am perhaps a little too obsessed with this step, with countless backwaters marked and saved into my computer up and down the east coast, ready for investigation some time down the track. The options here are truly endless for the adventurous angler and for me that's where half of the fun lies!
So now you've chosen a location it's time to pack your gear and get ready to bend some rods! For this style of fishing it is imperative to pack as light as possible. These days I normally try and limit myself to one medium to large tackle tray of my favourite lures, in order to make room for other essentials such as food, water, sunglasses, camera, mobile phone, sunscreen, toilet paper and insect repellent. While some of these may not be necessary for short range trips around urban areas, it certainly pays not to leave out most of these items, especially as we come into summer and start to experience hotter weather and harsher conditions.
As I like to fish backwaters from the land, I will usually only take one rod and reel combination along with me. As a general rule I fish gear that is slightly heavier than what would usually be used, for a couple of reasons. The first of these is to stop large bream around the heavy structure that is commonly encountered in backwaters. Secondly is the need to deal with unexpected by-catch which will often pop up in the middle of a bream session. Depending on where you live, this by-catch may be anything from flathead to mangrove jack and even Jewfish.
Backwaters can produce some very interesting captures and I personally have been put in my place by several species of fish that would be much more at home up in tropical Queensland. For these reasons my gear consists of a short and powerful 2-5kg rod and a 2000 sized spinning reel loaded with 4-6lb braid. Leader selection often involves drawing a fine line between finesse and getting busted off by everything that isn't a bream, but I find 6-8lb a good compromise and this will see you putting most hooked fish on the bank.
As far as lures are concerned, there are two main styles I like to use; soft plastics and blades. Recently I have taken a real shine to the 1/12oz TT lures Ghostblade for fishing the open sandy areas that frequent most backwaters. I'm not sure why, but this lure has an uncanny knack of out fishing any other presentation I throw around my local backwaters. It has quickly become my go-to lure for fishing this type of spot. All that is required to fish the Ghostblade is a slow lift and drop, allowing the lure to settle on the bottom for about half a second between each lift. When fishing very shallow ground the slow roll can also be a great option, especially when the bream are fired up.
Of course soft plastics still have their place and are a must have for fishing the snaggier sections in order to keep your tackle box full and lost funds to a minimum. My personal favourite is the ZMan 2.5" GrubZ; a killer around the snags. As I mentioned earlier, backwaters are also home to a plethora of larger 'by-catch' species, so it always pays to bring a few scaled up plastics such as the ZMan 3" MinnowZ and ZMan 4" StreakZ Curly TailZ, along with a couple of jigheads to match, just in case the bream don't fire.
While I consider the abovementioned lures as 'must haves', it is also important to bring plenty of other styles, especially when exploring a new location. While I do try and limit myself to one box, I tend to squeeze as many lures into that box as possible, with small poppers, stickbaits and diving minnows all being regular inclusions in my lure line up.
Last but not least, before you set off for your chosen location have a close look at your spot on the computer and consider whether you will be able to fish it from the land, or if you will be better off using a kayak or a small inflatable. I know what it feels like to turn up at a super-promising backwater, after a huge trek and find a stretch of about ten metres of fishable water. Trust me, it isn't very much fun!
Since I started fishing backwaters, I have been blown away by the numbers and quality of bream residing in waters that many wouldn't even rate a cast. Although it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I strongly encourage anyone reading this to get out and give backwater breamin' a go. Once you've had your first taste of success, I guarantee you'll be hooked and wanting more. You never know... you might even become as addicted as I am!