These next series of posts will take us around the globe to see what ultralight fishing options there are in other countries, maybe a fishing holiday is on the cards?
Australia
Fishing isn’t just a past time in Australia, its a way of life. Being an island nation with endless stretches of beaches and majority of the major cities situated on or near the coast, the options for fishing are endless. Although Australia still have access their own species of bass (Australian Bass) and also brown and rainbow trout within inland lakes and estuaries, we will take a look at a the “black bream” which is very popular with sports fishermen and ultralight fishing enthusiasts.
Black Bream
The black bream is a saltwater dwelling fish and tends to be found within inshore coastal waters and estuaries. They are known to move far up into the upper reaches of these systems towards where the salt water meets freshwater. This makes them an excellent target for ultralight fishing enthusiasts as they can be caught from boat or shore.
Black bream put up an excellent fight on ultralight fishing tackle from the initial hit until they reach the shore. However the trick is getting the hook up in the first place. The bream is renowned for being a very smart and timid fish and they will make you work for it. They tend to congregate towards wharf pylons, rock walls, eroded banks, snags and similar types of structure for cover. When fishing in these types of environment, expect the bream to head straight for cover once hooked. Soft plastic minnows and hard body lures are your options for catching bream.
Bream are a scavenger fish and opportunistic feeder, they scare easily and are sensitive to flashing lights, shadows and noise. They can weigh in between around 1lbs to 7pbs with the Australian record just under a whopping 7.7 lbs! Average sizes are around 25-35cm. The legal catch size is 25cm in most states however different states have a limit of how many fish over 40cm can be kept. Bream aren’t too bad as a table fish however personally from experience I keep them as a sport fish only. Given bream are sometimes caught within the upper reaches of inland estuaries the water can sometimes be affected by algae blooms or other factors and this can transfer to the meat in the fish.
