Help this Bream newbie get onto his first bream!

[efendy]

Hi All,

This is my first post and the first attempt to get into Breaming..

First of all, I have to say that there is a very helpful and enthusiastic community here, kudos to all.

I've been reading breammaster, other forums and other sources for a few days now to get an idea on the tackle and locations for breaming.
I usually do mulloway fishing from the beach in SA or rock game and sport fishing from rock ledges, and everything in between but never had the opportunity to fish for bream, bass or freshwater species which require finesse tackle and techniques. So my tackle is a little bit too heavy in this department.

With the help of the posts in this great forum and other sources, I made a list of things I already have and require to kick start my bream carrier.
If you can help me on my choices, I'd greatly appreciate it.

We will be heading to Mallacoota at the end of this month and will probably go there in the following months as well. so any location specific advice would also be greatly appreciated. We could be from boat or land based, I am not sure about that for now.

I thought i would have a couple of combos for different fishing situations etc.

I already have 7'2 Starlo Classix Squidgy Spin, 2-4 kg and 2-10g lure weight paired with stradic fj 2500 with 10lb power pro super slick.
would this work for what I want to do? is the braid too heavy? I though I would use this for mainly soft plastics?

I made a big list of things I will get from US and I will also get an ultralight combo. As I spent a lot on fishing recently, I try to minimize the cost so I am thinking of getting 6'6 okuma celilo UL rod, 1-3kg and 1/32 - 3/8 lure weight. paired with a symetre 1000. I thought I can use 4lb power pro micro as a line for this. is this combo OK? Rod is essentially a trout rod and I thought should be suitable for throwing hardbodies/vibes etc. any comments on this?

Beased on what I read, I bought soft plastics today. 2" gulp shrimp in banana prawn, fry in lime tiger and crabby in camo. would these be sufficient for a start? any other favourites, especially in squidgies?

Hardbodies are a problem they are expensive. I am thinking of getting atomic hardz crank 38 in ghost gill brown for starters, in what deepness? mid and deep?

Also, I have 2 berkley mf40 vibes in midnight tiger and also have a river2sea popper but I dont remember the size or colour, but it's small if it helps

I am also getting X-raps from US (cheap ) can you recommend colours and sizes? 4, 6 or 8? or you can recommend any other rapala hardbody which is gun for bream?

Leader? I have 6lb fluoro blackmagic. any other sizes?

I think that's about it. I'd appreciate any help, suggestions or just a welcome message
Cheers

[Breamobsession]

Welcome to the site mate, all the gear you have mentioned should be fine to start of with, everyone will have their favourite lures/plastics but the ones you have mentioned will do the trick to start with. For Mallacoota you can't beat 100mm Wrigglers in Bloodworm (Yes 100mm is good for bream) and most types of flick baits, Juro firebaits go great at Coota and they have just brought out a new range. Atomic 38's are great and will serve you well in Coota, others to consider similar are Hurricane Fatty's Chubby's, Cranka's ect. Good luck with the MF40's, i'm not a fan of those things for Bream but you will probably find some people don't mind them. I'd make sure you have some Blades, this time of year a lot of fish will still be holding deep. Strike Pro Cybers are a cheap option and very effective, go the bigger ones for Coota 40 instaed of 35. The Hurricane VIBZ will also be a good option but not quite ready yet. The leader you have will probably be okay but check out the Sunline FC Rock or VHard. Both very good leaders and not all that expensive. i'd suggest 4-6lb as a general rule. There are some monster flatties in Coota so you will probably get done at some point even if your using heavier stuff.

Best of luck

[Jackcridland]

hey Breamobsession how is mallacoota around this time of year? worth driving from melbourne for the weekend?

[Breamobsession]

Originally Posted by Jackcridland

hey Breamobsession how is mallacoota around this time of year? worth driving from melbourne for the weekend?

Always worth a trip to Coota mate

[FishermanDavo.]

for jigheads id go fairly light like 1/40ths and 1/60ths but also depends on the depth you are fishing

[efendy]

Originally Posted by Breamobsession

Welcome to the site mate, all the gear you have mentioned should be fine to start of with, everyone will have their favourite lures/plastics but the ones you have mentioned will do the trick to start with. For Mallacoota you can't beat 100mm Wrigglers in Bloodworm (Yes 100mm is good for bream) and most types of flick baits, Juro firebaits go great at Coota and they have just brought out a new range. Atomic 38's are great and will serve you well in Coota, others to consider similar are Hurricane Fatty's Chubby's, Cranka's ect. Good luck with the MF40's, i'm not a fan of those things for Bream but you will probably find some people don't mind them. I'd make sure you have some Blades, this time of year a lot of fish will still be holding deep. Strike Pro Cybers are a cheap option and very effective, go the bigger ones for Coota 40 instaed of 35. The Hurricane VIBZ will also be a good option but not quite ready yet. The leader you have will probably be okay but check out the Sunline FC Rock or VHard. Both very good leaders and not all that expensive. i'd suggest 4-6lb as a general rule. There are some monster flatties in Coota so you will probably get done at some point even if your using heavier stuff.

Best of luck

Hey breamobsession,

thanks for all the great info mate!

I'll definitely will get some wrigglers and will take a look at the strike pro cyberz as well as the hurricane cranks. Btw, I made my order for the rod reel and the braid. So I am all set when the order arrives.

I see a lot of people on the forums with two combos light and ul thats why I am setting up two as well. How do you use these two combos? Only depending on the lure weight? Is 10lb braid too much for the light combo?

Once again thanks for all the help!
Cheers

[efendy]

Originally Posted by FishermanDavo.

for jigheads id go fairly light like 1/40ths and 1/60ths but also depends on the depth you are fishing

Great tip mate. Ill definitely keep in mind while shopping for jigheads.
cheers

[Breamobsession]

Just keep in mind the depth you are fishing and the conditions, people will of often say go the lightest you can get way with in the conditions your fishing, the idea is you want the plastic to look as natural as possible and not just plummeting to the bottom. Most fish will take the plastic on the drop. Never be afaid to fish heavier jig heads if the conditions allow though, sometimes this is actually more effecive by allowing your placcie to stay on the bottom and just small lifts or hops along the bottom.

As for your gear, both should be fine for casting small lures around. I have never used those combos but perhaps someone on here who has can give you little more insight. Its really a personal preference thing when chucking lures. I personally like stiffer rods with a fast taper for plastics as it tends to help with setting the hooks, something with plenty of power in the butt. For Hardbodies i prefer something with a slower taper as it puts less pressure on the fish and less missed hookups ect but its all a personal thing really.

10lb braid should be okay but it may be a bit of overkill for Bream, really depends on the diameter of the Braid, I use 8lb and leaders ranging from 2-8lb depending on the conditions. I use Sunline Super PE which is very thin line for its rated strength, Power Pro is thicker Braid but is very good imo in the lighter stuff 3lb. Just look for a Braid that had a thin diameter if your wanting to go higher strength. Fireline Exceed or Crystal is actually okay as well in the lighter breaking strains 3-6lb plus is cheap as chips.

Hope that helps somewhat

Cheers

BO

[efendy]

Originally Posted by Breamobsession

Just keep in mind the depth you are fishing and the conditions, people will of often say go the lightest you can get way with in the conditions your fishing, the idea is you want the plastic to look as natural as possible and not just plummeting to the bottom. Most fish will take the plastic on the drop. Never be afaid to fish heavier jig heads if the conditions allow though, sometimes this is actually more effecive by allowing your placcie to stay on the bottom and just small lifts or hops along the bottom.

As for your gear, both should be fine for casting small lures around. I have never used those combos but perhaps someone on here who has can give you little more insight. Its really a personal preference thing when chucking lures. I personally like stiffer rods with a fast taper for plastics as it tends to help with setting the hooks, something with plenty of power in the butt. For Hardbodies i prefer something with a slower taper as it puts less pressure on the fish and less missed hookups ect but its all a personal thing really.

10lb braid should be okay but it may be a bit of overkill for Bream, really depends on the diameter of the Braid, I use 8lb and leaders ranging from 2-8lb depending on the conditions. I use Sunline Super PE which is very thin line for its rated strength, Power Pro is thicker Braid but is very good imo in the lighter stuff 3lb. Just look for a Braid that had a thin diameter if your wanting to go higher strength. Fireline Exceed or Crystal is actually okay as well in the lighter breaking strains 3-6lb plus is cheap as chips.

Hope that helps somewhat

Cheers

BO

Hey, thanks again! It helps a lot.

I've already ordered 4lb power pro micro for the 1000 reel. so, that would be fine for the 1-3 kg rod I am guessing. 10 pound power pro slick was already on the stradic 2500 with 2-4 rod. I will change it with something thinner if I have problems with casting after the first trip. I would appreciate any comments from other people with experience with above. The 2-4 rod would be good in theory for soft plastics as it's the 7'2 Starlo Classix Squidgy Spin which is designed for plastics. I am not sure it would be OK for very light jigheads though.

I am sure this has been covered many times in the forums but what variety of jigheads should I have in my tackle bag for starters in terms of weight and also hook size (and brands if possible as the hook size would differ I guess)?

Cheers