Newbie tackle talk

[n0stalgia]

Hi

I am new to Bream fishing just starting out did not want to go to expensive to start out, see how it all pans out.

I have fished a few times throughout my life going away camping etc, but that was strictly worm on a hook or prawns caught from wherever I was fishing.

I have already purchased a Shimano Raider Spin Rod 1-4 kg with a Shimano Sedona 2000FE Reel.(I took advantage of a retailers spend $150 and get $40 off). Although I ended up spending $188 after discount all up for those items so not a bad start.

Anyhow my problem is that I need a basic kit of lures and other tackle to be used in the Maribyrnong river specifically, I will be looking at spending around $200 which will have to include Jigheads, softs, hards, line and leader (And anything else I am obviously missing that I may have forgotten to mention or do not know that I need). I understand that this could blow out in no time flat so I am hopeing just for the start I can keep to this budget if possible.

For the line I was going to buy 4lb fireline braid and use a 6lb berkley vanish for the leader. Should I go smaller or is this sufficient? From what I have read this is good size lines to start in.

I have watched a lot of videos on you tube to do with lure fishing and I really want to give it a try.

All and any help is much appreciated!

[stella fella]

You're off to a good start mate. For line I'd go with Sunline super PE in 8lb or Daiwa J Braid and just grab a 8lb & 4lb spool of FC rock fluro for leader. As for plastics, grab a pack each of berkley powerbait power minnows in 3" pumpkinseed, bloodworm and pearl watermelon, Z man Grubz in 2.5" motor oil, greasy prawn and watermelon. As far as hardbodies go I have found that Jackall chubbies and Smith camions are the best cranks to use and I have also hade quite a bit of success on Atomic cranks.

[n0stalgia]

Awesome Stella thanks! Good start in the right direction.

[thekingofgloom]

Looks like you're on the right track mate. A lot of people are giving good reviews on j-braid so perhaps spending $35 on some 6lb j-braid would be a better option than fire line. I found a few years back when I started using light braids that slightly under filling the spool avoids wind knots a bit, at least it's a good idea whilst you're still learning how to manage your line/retrieve. I use tt head lock jig heads for nearly all applications, a slightly cheaper option would be have a look through the fishing section of your local big w and/or Kmart for nitro jig heads. I'd recommend buying from 1/20 to 1/6 for the nong, although 1/6 are quite heavy and bream prefer a much slower sink and longer pause, never know you might bump into a solid Jew. Strike pro do a good range of hard bodies which are a much cheaper option than jackall, norries, ecogear etc. the debate on spending the dollars up front or going the cheaper option is a never ending one and you've made your intention clear that you're on a budget so I'd say go the cheaper alternative without buying absolute garbage. Good luck on the beginning of the end for your savings account 👍🏻

[n0stalgia]

Some good info there thekingofgloom thank you!

Is there a way to test new fishing water to find out where the snags are is there a method? I know I will loose a whole heap of stuff but id like to minimise this if possible.

[Sloth]

For the Melbourne CBD systems (nong, yarra, docks) all you really need to get you going is:

A micro vibe
35 – 42mm blade
A 35 - 40 mm medium/deep diving bibbed hard (strike pro pygmy, atomic hard shad are good starting budget options)
A 2.5in zman motor oil grub or 80mm bloodworm squidgy wriggler on a 1/16 jighead
6� gulp worm
Cranka Crab

If you use the right one for the situation then you should be able to catch bream all over town using the above. 6lb or 4lb fc leader is fine for most places.... I tend to go 6lb at the docks and 4lb everywhere else. I’d also avoid the fireline – I don’t like the fused dental floss type lines. It also becomes problematical when fishing "on the drop" at the docks where it will coil due to line memory. A nice limp braid is what you want to go for.

For this time of year, or if you’re not fishing the docks, then you could probably drop the blade and vibe. You could probably skip the crab too... Cranka crabs are great but I use them in specific spots where I know the snags and the fish – not really a search/prospecting lure for me – also probably not a good lure to start with if you’re concerned about throwing bucks away unnecessarily.

Not sexy, but quite honestly if you’re bank bashing the nong over spring you’d not go far wrong by just sticking to fishing atomic shads/pygmies, wrigglers/grubz or a gulp sandworm in natural colours. If you’re hitting the nong and want to maximise your chances you’ll want to spend most of your time working along close to the bank with your hardbody or your soft plastic around the high tide. Cast parallel to the bank about 1 – 1.5m out and then retrieve back along the bank. Try different retrieves and don’t get discouraged.

You’ll learn snags by snagging. If in doubt fish an area first with soft plastics… you’ll learn the terrain and it doesn’t cost too much if you snag up. Saying that you’re fairly safe though with a bibbed lure running along the bank of the nong. It can get wedged in the rocks but as you’re close in you can usually get to it from the bank. Bigger issue when starting for me was putting lures into trees 

Good luck.