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Three Bream Favourites Part 2

By Luke Smith

Is there anything more addictive in fishing than the bite from a fish that you have just coaxed into eating a piece of plastic with hooks in it? For me, its certainly the best feeling, whether it be fishing up north for barramundi, mid NSW chasing bass, or fishing the southern states chasing black bream.

In part one of ‘Three Bream Favourites’ I covered my three favourite black bream plastics, the ZMan 2.5” GrubZ, Slim SwimZ and PrawnZ, how I rig them and some favourite colours for chasing bream. In part two I want to take these three deadly plastics and go through the how and when of fishing them.

To briefly recap part one, my favourite three local bream plastics are the ZMan GrubZ, Slim SwimZ and PrawnZ, all of which can be rigged on a range of jigheads and fished in a number of ways. However, I don’t vary too much from the traditional methods and I mainly fish these plastics on TT HeadlockZ Finesse jigheads in a #1 hook size, either painted or unpainted. The weight being fished will vary depending on the situation however it’s usually pretty similar, between a 1/20oz and 1/8oz.

All three plastics can be fished in pretty much the same situations; however, I do slightly prefer one or the other at any given time. This may be based on a theory, experience, or purely a gut feeling on any given day. I certainly won’t hesitate to swap to a different rod that is already rigged with one of the other options, if my original chosen presentation isn’t firing. For me, the most important thing is to fish with confidence. As soon as you start to second guess your tactics and start thinking about other techniques, lures, or methods, you are distracted. This means that you aren’t focusing on fishing the selected plastic to its full potential and you might be missing subtle cues or even bites.

ZMan 2.5” GrubZ

The ZMan GrubZ, for me, is a subtle presentation and something that I will fish when I want to try and tempt shy or shutdown fish. Fishing it rigged light and letting it sink slowly on a rock wall, or in front of a snag, is often a very productive method. The key is to fish it as light as possible, allowing the plastic to really waft down slowly and appear tempting for a bream to eat. The benefit of fishing light in these areas is that you also avoid snagging up on the bottom a lot more effectively.

Coming into winter the bream down here begin to school up and move into deeper water, in preparation for spawning. This makes them very finicky to catch and even getting a bite can be difficult. Sometimes they simply will not bite at all, while other times they will have a bite window that may last fifteen minutes to an hour. It’s just a matter of putting the time in to consistently to figure them out.

When fishing in this situation I love rigging a GrubZ slightly heavier to hold the bottom and I work it super slowly with plenty of long pauses. The winter fish can be lethargic and certainly don’t always like a fast-moving presentation. If the water depth is over 2.5 metres, I’ll swap things up to a 1/8oz jighead, to help me keep in constant contact with the bottom.

When retrieving the plastic, I will generally start by trying to drag the GrubZ along the bottom as best I can. By doing this I’m trying to keep the lure in contact with the often-muddy bottom, stirring up bits of silt and mud. The theory is that this gets the attention of the bream and might trigger them to investigate. They will often feed along the same bottom, looking for shells and little molluscs, making this technique effective.

It’s not a guaranteed method by any means and its definitely a patience game, however, when the fish decide to bite, it can lead to some great sessions, while also often producing a quality single fish that might save a session.

ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ

The Slim SwimZ is my go-to currently and it is rare that I start a session without using this plastic first. It’s amazing how a little paddle tail plastic can be so versatile and rack up an impressive list of fish captures. Like the GrubZ, it has been producing results for years and certainly isn’t one of the lures that the fish wise up to.

There are not too many situations where I won’t try to fish the Slimmy, whether it be in half a metre of water or in five metres. Jetties and pylons or over sand flats, this lures just works for bream. I do however absolutely love using it on flats or slow tapering banks, fishing it relatively light to get the most natural presentation I can. A 1/16oz or 1/12oz jighead pairs up perfectly with this lure in most situations under three metres, unless there is wind blowing or moving water.

On flats, whether they be mud or sand, I’ll use 1/16oz if there’s no wind and I can stay in good touch with the lure. If I start to feel the wind creating a belly in the line and altering the action of the lure, or current dragging the lure, I’ll step up in weight to a 1/12oz to be able to control the lure more effectively.

I’ll generally fish the plastic with two different techniques. The first technique consists of small rod lifts all the way back to the boat and this is done slow and steady to allow the lure to drop freely to the bottom, where it is allowed to sit for 2-3 seconds before repeating. If in winter, I will slow down even more than when the water is warmer. If the fish are feeding you can get more aggressive and really hone into what the fish want on a given day.

A variation of this retrieve, slowly lifting the plastic, is to shake the rod tip like its zero degrees outside and your body is half frozen. You need to relax your hand on the rod and really rely on your wrist and a soft grip to impart the shaking action. It’s a bit of a funny one but I guess it makes the lure move erratically and almost vibrate, whilst not physically moving that far in the water. This may imitate a wounded or dying baitfish or may just look silly enough to attract a fish’s attention. Either way it quite often works well for me.

The second technique that I like for fishing the Slim SwimZ is to work the rod sideways with small twitches. It is like the first retrieve, however rather than lifting the lure up off the bottom, I am trying to drag it across. Again, I will mix it up with different rod twitches/shakes and pause lengths. It’s just a matter of working out what the fish want on a given day. The other benefit of this retrieve style is that by keeping your rod tip low to the water throughout the retrieve, it will keep your line in the water and reduce the chances of the wind grabbing your line and impacting the action of the lure.

When fishing the slow tapering banks, I will try both techniques, generally starting with the vertically rod lifts first. I find that this retrieve is more subtle and fish that are feeding on the shallow edges will happily ambush it. The other reason for starting with the vertical lift retrieve is that it is more snag proof, as you are working the lure up off the bottom, instead of dragging it along the bottom and into any submerged rocks or timber.

After a couple of prospecting casts with a vertical rod in a new area, I will then swap to the low tip technique, once that I am semi-confident of the bottom make up and not having to stress about snags. Let’s be honest, no one likes being snagged, especially when it’s happening multiple times in quick succession, or you pop a leader trying to retrieve it.

When retrieving plastics off snags I have a few tips that I might share in another article, however the main advice I can offer is to try not to bury the hook by striking... and yes, I swear they sometimes bite, lol.

ZMan 2.5” PrawnZ

The PrawnZ is still relatively new on the scene at the time of writing this, however, I like using it as a jerk bait style plastic as it does not have a lot of natural action, in the form of a tail that swims by itself, like the other two. I like using it around structure, where you know there are fish hiding in cover and waiting to ambush any unsuspecting prey. I’ll rig the PrawnZ a bit lighter on a 1/20oz jighead, stepping up to a 1/16oz if I need the control.

In the above situation I’ll cast as tight as possible to the structure and let the PrawnZ waft down. By waft, I mean sink slowly and delicately, not plummet to the bottom like it’s attached to an anchor. If the lure doesn’t get eaten on the initial drop, I’ll then give it a couple of short sharp flicks upward with the rod tip to make the lure dart around. I will then let it drop again and repeat the flicking and dropping back. Once the lure is out of the deemed strike zone, I’ll then crank it back in and repeat the process. With this technique you are really targeting actively feeding fish and hoping for that reaction bite. With the PrawnZ tail design they have a great erratic darting action when fished with this method.

The other technique that I use is to fish the PrawnZ on the flats as it is a very natural presentation. I’ll basically fish them using the same methods as I do when fishing the Slim SwimZ on the flats, either using a vertical rod and small hops or a sideways rod and small twitches. Fishing these two techniques helps to keep the lure in the strike zone, which is commonly close to the bottom for bream. These techniques also help the lure presentation to mimic a live prawn and how they move around a sand flat.

If I’m in 1.5-2.5 metres of water I like to fish a 1/12oz jighead with the same techniques, as it allows you to impart action on the lure while still be constantly in touch with the bottom. The other reason for this additional weight is that when you are hopping a soft plastic on the bottom the presentation will generally be stirring up the bottom each time it hits and is then twitched up off the bottom. With this style of plastic, I find this important as when a prawn naturally swims their movements are often fast twitches, especially when threatened, and will create that puff of sand or mud as they kick off the bottom.

The above are just some techniques that I use to tempt my local black bream and the estuary perch that fall to the same lures and techniques. Keep in mind that this is what works for me and that there are many ways to catch a bream on these versatile plastics. The key is to trust your gut and fish with confidence.

Oh, and don’t forget to use plenty of Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent, especially when the bite is tough. Mullet and Bloody Tuna go well with the Slim Swimz and GrubZ, and I really can’t help but to ‘match the hatch’ and fish the PrawnZ with the Shrimp Scent.

Cheers and good luck, Luke

Gearing Up:

ZMan 2.5” GrubZ
ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ
ZMan 2.5” PrawnZ
TT HeadlockZ Finesse Jigheads – 1/20oz, 1/16oz, 1/12oz, 1/8oz, Size 1
Pro-Cure Mullet Super Gel Scent
Pro-Cure Bloody Tuna Super Gel Scent
Pro-Cure Shrimp Super Gel Scent