LANDBASED BREAMING
Targeting bream from shore or by wading shallow flats opens up a new world of lure fishing fun. By RHYS WITHERS. Images by SHANE CHALKER.
CONTRARY to popular belief, you don’t need a fancy tournament boat to catch bream on lures. Lure fishing for bream from shore or by wading shallow flats is a fun and productive way to target these increasingly popular inshore sportfish. In this article I plan to run through a few techniques I use while luring bream from shore. Hopefully it will inspire you to get out there and give it a try.
Less is more
Mobility is key when wading the shallows or walking the shoreline. You don’t want to be lugging half a tackle shop around in these situations so it’s important that you limit how much you’re carrying. I find a small to medium tackle box (one that fits into a backpack is handy) with a small selection of proven lures and jig heads is all that’s needed. Other items I take include a camera (in a waterproof storage case), sunscreen, pliers, line cutters and few spools of leader. Add in a bottle of water and a few snacks and you’re set. All this will fit nicely into a decent backpack.
Rod selection is also important. You don’t want to have to carry a quiver of sticks so choosing one rod that suits a variety of scenarios makes good sense. I really like the Millerods 6’9 Bream Buster Classic and the Samurai Reaction 7′ 203. These are premium rods so if your budget is tight I can also recommend the Nordic Stage AREAL 7′ Sharpshooter as a little gem that’s light, sensitive and, most importantly, won’t break the budget.
Other essentials are a good pair of wading shoes, a wide brimmed hat and a decent pair of Polaroid sunglasses. Good sunnies (I like Blueyes) allow you to see gaps in the weeds and help you target the better fish producing areas.
Where are the fish?
The first thing I do when I go to any location is check out the available structure and fish-holding features. The things you need to look for are weed-beds, sand banks, drop-offs, rockwalls, pontoons and so on. Pay attention to signs of bait; if you can see shoals of baitfish schooled up into a tight ball close to the shore you can be sure that predators like bream will be hunting in the area. Prawns or shrimp flicking over the surface are another indication of feeding fish. Noting the size, shape and colour of the available bait will help you match the hatch when it comes time to selecting lures.
The second thing I do is check the water clarity. This helps me decide on the type of lures I’ll use, as well as the line class. I’m a firm believer in the saying “you gotta go light to get the bite”. Using a heavy leader in clear water will often cause larger bream to shy away from your offering.
Another factor to take into consideration is the wind. Wind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It pays not to fish structure that has a strong side or head wind as your casting accuracy will go out the window. On the other hand, glassed-out, sunny conditions can make for some very tough fishing as the fish tend to be very spooky. A light but steady breeze often produces the best fishing conditions. When the breeze gets up a bit I like to look for weed-beds and sand flats where I can cast with the wind and get my lure out further.
Pretty colours
Once you’ve found a spot you think will produce the goods, it’s time to select a lure. Choosing the right lure for any given location is vital – colours, sizes, actions, diving capabilities, noise and various other design characteristics all influence if and how a fish will bite. Tie on the wrong sort of lure and you’ll often go fishless.
Some of my favourite lures for land-based fishing include crankbaits like the new Berkley 3B Fatdogs, Atomic Hardz and the Pontoon 21 Crackjacks. Crankbaits are an excellent searching tool as they enable you to make long accurate casts so you can thoroughly work a bank or structure. Often the best retrieve when using a crankbait is a constant slow roll, but don’t be afraid to mix it up and experiment with twitches and pauses.
Another effective lure for land-based breaming is a blade. Good brands I’ve used include the Berkley Big-Eye, TT Switchblade and Ghostblade and the Eco Gear ZX and VX series. Blades are very versatile and can be worked along the bottom with gentle hops like a soft plastic or slow rolled like a hard-bod.
Of course, you can’t talk about bream lures without mentioning soft plastics. Go-to softies for me include Gulp 2” Shrimps, Gulp 3” Minnow Grubs, Atomic Prongs, the Squidgy Pro Range Lobby and the Squidgy Pro Range Flickbait.
Soft plastics can be used with endless different retrieve techniques. My favourites include long pauses that allow the fish to eyeball the lure then eat it.
I like to work soft plastics with plenty of hops, jerks and slow rolls, while always watching the line for any movement that indicates a bite.
Hit the water
I don’t like to stay in the one spot too long when targeting bream from shore. I’ll normally only fish a spot for a few casts then move on (this is when travelling light comes in handy). If you’re able to wade into the water up to about waist deep, take advantage of it. Wading allows you to get out and make casts in productive areas that you otherwise couldn’t reach. Other advantages of wading are that you can find yourself fishing areas that you just can’t access in a boat or even a kayak. Watch out for stingrays when wading around the flats. If you shuffle your feet, you’ll usually disturb the rays before you actually tread on them. Often you’ll see rays “mudding” as they suction pump nippers and worms. These are good spots to flick a lure as bream will hover around feeding rays hoping for a free feed themselves.
Always pay attention to your surroundings and what’s going on in the water around you. Prawns or baitfish skipping across the surface or hearing that distinctive “kiss” of a bream eating oysters off a pontoon or wharf are all good indicators that the fish are in feeding mode.
Flats
Sand flats are great places to lure fish for bream. These shallow estuary areas are ideal for wading and allow you to stalk the fish as they move around. Surface and sub-surface lures are ideal when flats fishing. Erratically working a top water lure with long slow pauses that mimic a fleeing prawn can result in some explosive action. I prefer to use a longer, softer rod around 7’2” length with a fast action when on the flats, as this allows for longer casts. I also use 3-4lb fluorocarbon line straight through to my reel. Always use a reel with a smooth drag when fishing with light fluorocarbon as you don’t want to lose any fish because of a jerky, worn out drag.
Flats that feature weed-beds and drop-offs can be extremely productive on the run-in tide. Bream school up to hunt all the baitfish and prawns that hide in the weed. Fishing in this sort of environment is often one of the best choices when the wind is up, as you can make long, wind assisted casts. You have to move stealthily, though, as bream are a very spooky fish and loud splashing can frighten them off. Some of my best sessions chasing bream while land-based or wading have been on the weed-beds adjacent to the famous “Paddocks” in the main channel of Wallis Lake in Forster on NSW’s Mid-North Coast, where I live. Most estuary systems boast extensive flats and weed beds. Look for flats in your local area that are tide dependent. On the high tide, it’s a fairly good bet that bream and other species will take advantage of the raised water levels and head up onto the newly flooded grounds in search of all the bait species that call the weed-beds home. As mentioned above, bream can be very spooky. I find hitting the flats on an overcast day with just enough wind to chop up the surface of the water makes them just that little bit more inclined to bite.
Mangroves
Mangroves are an excellent wading option, especially in summer as the water warms and surface fishing action intensifies. During the late stages of the run-in, and early stages of the run-out, bream and other species hunt along the mangrove edges. Essentials for fishing in the mangroves include a good pair of waders or shoes. Wander around the mangroves with bare feet or in thongs and you’ll end up with nasty injuries thanks to broken oysters, barnacles and sharp roots, not to mention rubbish in the form of glass and rusty metal. You’ll also need insect repellent (you haven’t seen mozzies and sandflies until you’ve wandered around a mangrove swamp!), polarised sunnies and a rod with plenty of pulling power, as you really need to stick it to the fish once it’s hooked.
A good quality fluorocarbon leader is another must have item; I use 8lb Sunline FC Rock, because it’s extremely abrasion resistant and is fairly thin in diameter for its class.
Lure selection isn’t as important around mangroves as it is on flats or around weed-beds. Surface lures are the go, though – mangrove roots will snag any divers quick time. Some of my favourites for this sort of work are the 3B Popdogs and Scumdogs, the Luckycraft Sammy 65 and the Stiffy Topdogs.
Bycatch
All fishos know that you can never accurately predict just what you’re going to catch, and more often than not the bycatch is just as fun to catch as the bream. Flathead, whiting, tailor and silver trevally are all common incidential captures when land-based breaming. Whiting are very common in most east coast estuaries, especially on the flats. Proven surface lures for whiting include the Berkley 3B Popdog and Scumdog range, Megabass Dog X-Jnr, Bassday Sugar Pen and the Stiffy Popper in the FRV colour. These are also common bream lures, but whiting love them when a constant retrieve is used. Surprisingly enough, whiting are insane predators, attacking large lures in packs; they will fight amongst each other to be the first to get to the lure. And once a fish is hooked, its mates will even try and steal the lure from the hooked fish’s mouth!
Flathead are another species I like to target when the bream don’t want to play. Not too many other estuary fish get the heart racing like a big old lizard caught in waist deep water on the sand flats; these big girls are an amazing fish, they really are beautiful ambush predators. Some personal favourite lures for chasing lizards are bream sized crankbaits such as Berkley’s 3B Fatdogs, the popular Atomic Hardz and Jackall Chubbies. Plastics include Gulp 3” Minnows and Squidgy Pro range Flickbaits.
Take the plunge
Recently I spent a session wading the waters of Wallis Lake with good mate and Fishing World photographer Shane Chalker, throwing a crankbait around the shallows early in the morning. The action was hot with a number of bream and flathead landed from the areas mentioned above. It reminded me of the very first time I fished the shore for bream back when I was a youngster. Since then I’ve spent hundreds of hours walking the shores, wading the shallows, hopping over rocks, climbing into trees, you name it, all in the hope of making that one perfect cast and hooking a big fish that gets the heart racing and the adrenaline pumping. Each outing is different and presents challenges and opportunities. There’s something about not having the luxury of a boat, just getting out in nature and walking to get to the spots gives me a real sense of achievement. Try it yourself and you’ll see what I mean.
