Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Saltwater-Estuary » Working Out Winter Bream

Working Out Winter Bream

It's an exciting time in many large estuary systems around the country like East Gippsland, as when the cooler months roll in the anticipation of big bags and trophy fish are on all dedicated bream anglers' minds.

Leaving the warmth of home before first light on an icy cold winter morning is always tough, but the potential and expectation of what could be should have you in an elevated mood, as winter bream sessions can be truly epic.

Recent heavy rains in East Gippsland have seen a huge influx of fresh water down all major rivers including the Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson, pushing large schools of bream into deeper waters from the mid-sections right out to the mouth. The same has happened to many of the prime breaming waterways up and down the east coast of Australia recently, setting up what should be a great winter bream bite. These fish are feeding heavily and putting on condition as they prepare to enter their spawning period.

Although these schooling bream look exciting on the sounder, often they can be sulking, uninterested and seemingly on idle, frustrating even the most capable of anglers. However winter days like these spent sounding and marking potentially active fish while hopping from one school to another can pay huge dividends, with solid bags and trophy individual bream on the cards. Slowly working up or down stream with multiple changes and alterations to your fishing techniques throughout the day is often the key to piecing the puzzle together. Let's outline a few tips to help along thew way.

Small presentations like ZMan soft plastics on TT Lures Headlockz Finesse jigheads, or Switchblade and Ghostblade vibes, fished on quality fluorocarbon leader such as Platypus Stealth FC(preferably 4lb, but fish what you're comfortable with) and your favourite Pro-Cure scents are the perfect opening options to target these sometimes apprehensive fish.

ZMan Favourites for Winter Bream

Smaller soft plastics are a go-to bream method all year around here in East Gippsland, and the same applies to bream fisheries right across Australia. ZMan Grubz, Slim Swimz and StreakZ Curly TailZ in Motor Oil, Midnight Oil, Gudgeon, Amber and Bloodworm will consistently work, and it's worth having some of these models and colours as the basis for your winter bream kit. A few more options such as a dark solid colour, along with a bright/fluoro choice as well, gives you plenty of variation to try depending on water clarity and weather conditions.

Jighead Selection Tips

Throughout winter, you will generally be fishing mid-section out to the mouth of any given estuary or river system, which will involve deeper water and wider sections that are more open to the wind and chop. Here in East Gippsland there's not a massive tidal influence, but other systems can also have strong currents to deal with as well. These factors mean you need to be absolutely spot-on with your jighead weight choice, so your soft plastic presentation will hold bottom and stay in the bream strike zone. It's impossible to give the perfect jighead weight for every scenario, however the TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse series in 1/16oz, 1/12oz and 1/8oz are a great starting point for any winter bream session. The fine-wire Gamakatsu hook used on these jigheads are super-sharp, that penetrate easily on light lines and soft drag settings for more positive hook sets.

Depending on the day, I will generally start with multiple weights ready to go on separate outfits, making it quick and easy to determine the correct weight for the conditions. The best advice is spending more time on the water, learning to evaluate conditions and giving you more experience to draw from in the future. Over time, you will instinctively be able to narrow down your choice.

Winter Bream Soft Plastic Retrieve Techniques

While holding position on a located school, the simplest of retrieves can often draw strikes from the most blasé of bream:

• Basic slow roll close to the bottom

• Slow roll with pauses

• Small lifts

• Larger more aggressive lifts

• A quick burn over the bottom

• A few quick hops in succession followed by pauses

There are no hard and fast rules on retrieve styles - if it's working its working! A suggestion is to start with slower and more subtle retrieves, then slowly add more variation and action if no interest is shown. The key is to alternate through styles and methods until you hit something that consistently triggers strikes.

Vibes

The TT Lures Switchblade and Ghostblade vibes are a deadly option for schooling bream. The come in a wide variety of colours and weights, so anglers can tailor their choice to suit the conditions and local bait species.

Some of my favourite and most consistent blading options for winter bream are:

• Switchblade 1/8oz in Red nightmare and Orange Nightmare

• Ghostblade 1/12oz in Orange Spook and Gold Noggin Ghost

Possibly appearing as some sort of crustacean or mollusc, these blades seem to trigger a reaction bite from schooled bream time and time again in my local system.

A consistently successful blading technique is working them very slowly along the bottom with the occasional small, soft lift. Start off with this gentle method and if there's no reaction, work in more aggressive changes of speed and larger hops with longer pauses. Eventually you will find a retrieve speed and style that is attracting the hits. Target casts at different areas of each school, and try various angles of attack.

Scent

The addition of some Pro-Cure Super Gel scent to your soft plastic or vibe is another valuable tactic, often being the difference between turning follows into strikes. Garlic has always been a favourite amongst bream anglers, however a few different varieties are definitely worth having on board, such as Mullet, Bloody Tuna and Saltwater Yabby/Nnipper. Only a small initial dab is required, with a follow-up application every now and then throughout the session.

Winter is Worth it

Targeting winter bream can be testing, but also very rewarding. There is no better feeling then having a kilo-plus fish clunk your offering, sending what feels like an electric shock through the rod into your hand. Loading up and feeling that solid weight along with those aggressive head shakes is incredibly addictive... big winter bream capture everything I love about this sport!

Gearing up:
ZMan 2" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" GrubZ
ZMan 2.5" Slim SwimZ
ZMan 3" Slim SwimZ

TT Lures HeadlockZ Finesse jigheads
TT Lures Ghostblade vibe
TT Lures Switchblade vibe

Pro-Cure Super Gel Scents

Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon leader