This time of the year, winter bream (yellowfin variety) shows up in big numbers, migrating from the coastline to breed in the protected bays, rivers, and Passageways. They will be in good condition as they have put on a lot of weight and are feeding on everything as they are about to spawn. Bream doesn’t tend to stop eating like some fish do pre-spawn. You will find them instinctively hungrier and will be easier to catch. Keeping this in mind, it is a good time to limit your bream catch as they are one of Australia’s most popular fish that are caught. The current bag limit for this species in Queensland is 30 (but be aware the 30 includes pikey bream, yellowfin bream and tarwhine in possession) per person with a minimum length of 25cm. Bream can breed in almost fresh water and have been found in freshwater ponds and creeks with almost no saltwater influence. Anglers can prepare for bigger-thanaverage fish, with most of my extra-large specimens caught this time of the year. Bream in the mid-40s is not uncommon, with the odd one hitting the 50cm mark, but they can grow to a maximum size of approximately 65cm.
I find the gut, cubes or fillets of mullet one of the best fish baits, followed closely by my favourite baby blue pilchards regularly sold at Bribie Bait, Tackle and Bikes near the jetty. Whole fish on a Snell rig with size 1 or 1/0 hooks works a treat with 10 to 15kg trace, as you will be likely to pick up a stray flathead, and hence you will need a bit stronger leader.
Some other baits include yabbies, prawns, chicken hearts, and squid. Don’t forget the humble soft bread, which can be dynamite on bream.
For the more finesse anglers, 4 to 6-pound main line, braid, or nylon is best for the test of skill and technique. There are two types of nylon – monofilament and fluorocarbon. I prefer 4lb fluorocarbon as my main line and a 4 to 6lb Fluro leader. The difference between the two is that fluorocarbon has very little stretch, is heavier than mono, and has more abrasion resistance than mono. Because of this characteristic, I find it helps remove/turn bream out of oyster racks, pontoons, or any snaggy ground. I often will fish unweighted bait to trick the XO-size bream, but from time to time, I fish with the smallest sinker possible to get your bait down.
Mono is lighter and has more stretch, which allows it to act as a long shock absorber, which helps in playing a fish back to you. This will also complement a stiffer rod. Many fish are lost because of sticky reel drags. Indeed, some are so tight that they don’t allow the fish to pull out the line at all, resulting in the line often breaking at the knot. By setting your drag light, you will enjoy when the fish runs, and if there are no snags around, you can take your time getting it in and enjoy the experience.
Tailor season has officially started for Bribie, with lots of small tailor invading the Passage. The cold westerlies typically start the migration north as they head to Fraser Island. With some persistence, you may need to catch 30 tailor to bring home half a dozen of the legal size. See the photo -as they are so much fun to catch, no one was complaining. Tailor need to be a minimum of 35cm in QLD and are notorious for biting off hooks. If you lose a couple of hooks, use a thicker trace, wire trace or ganged hooks to limit the bite-offs. When bait fishing for tailor, the easiest rig would be a 15kg nylon trace about 1 meter long with a set of gangs baited with a pilchard. Tailor typically won’t typically be over 40cm this month, so having gang hooks 3/0 or smaller will be the better choice. Even 1/0s will produce a bycatch of flathead and big bream. Strip baits of mullet and bonito are also top baits on gangs for tailor. They are fast-swimming fish and need to be bled when caught. As tailor have soft flesh, it is important to have an ice slurry handy to aid in bleeding them out and firming the fish for the table. They are excellent table fish if you look after them.
There is a closed season on snapper and pearl perch for a month from midnight on the 15th of July to Midnight on the 15th of August. I have noticed lots of undersized snapper lately, which is a great sign that the closure is aiding in producing a sustainable fishery. Snapper are an iconic fish with lots of anglers dreaming of their first nobby. Some anglers like Lachlan are like magnets to big snappers, with this beauty caught on his first cast with a soft plastic. The fish went 82cm and was safely released after a couple of photos. Great fish like this are caught locally around Bribie every year. You have to be out there wetting a line.