Hobart Bream

As the rod bends over and the line starts pulling through my fingers, I start thinking to myself, ‘Jeez, I’ve got these guys sussed.’ The thick, bronze back reflects the winter sunshine as it breaks the surface and another hard fighting, River Derwent bream slides into the net. I take a couple of photos and feel pretty smug about how I’ve worked these fish out.

Fast forward three hours and I haven’t had so much as another tug, save for a tiny flathead that pricked my thumb and I am now actually bleeding to death… So, maybe I am not as dialled in to them as I thought.

Just as I am about to make another move up the river, the line goes tight again and all the cold and despondency is forgotten. This is Derwent bream fishing in a nutshell.

Bream represent a large portion of my fly fishing time these days. I love the lakes for trout, and I am always eager for a trip up a creek looking for dry-fly sipping fish, but the truth is, I just do not have the time to get out after trout as often as I’d like. Recent years have also seen local rivers and creeks suffer from low flows and reduced trout numbers. So, more often than not, I make the relatively quick trip to Hobart’s ‘Big River’ in search of some estuary brutes.

We are pretty spoiled for black bream fishing in Tasmania. They are relatively underfished and underappreciated, but hardy and aggressive. And addictive! We can often sight-fish for them, or fish along structures, and they take a variety of flies. Bream will also frequently hand you your backside as they dust you on some oysters or wrap your newly tied leader around a dock.

In Tasmania, black bream do not have a fishing season and are found in most coastal lagoons and estuary systems over a variety of bottoms, feeding on a huge variety of prey items. Their ability to tolerate a wide range of salinity levels allows them to travel large distances up estuary systems when they need to spawn, or even with just the tidal flow.

Their longevity in the Derwent means that they get to a really good, average size. Mid to upper 30cm (to the fork) fish are common and 40cm fish come around relatively frequently. The big signs that are up, telling you not to eat them, ensure that the rate of catch and release is high for this perfect fly rod species.

TACKLING BREAM

My approach to bream fishing has not really changed much over the last 15 or so years. I have tried a few different rods, but have now settled on a 6-weight outfit. It allows me to cast weighted flies easily enough and bends right to the butt with any half decent fish.

Generally, I prefer fishing from the shore. I really enjoy wandering the banks and casting to all the spots where I can imagine fish to be.

I prefer using a floating line with quite an aggressive front taper. There is often a breeze to cast into, and I am mostly using weighted flies.

For leaders it is pretty simple. I use a shop bought, 9ft tapered leader and add 4ft of tippet. 8lb fluorocarbon is as light as I go for the bream here — they are not noticeably leader shy and I find that it gives me a fighting chance when they steam off towards underwater snags. It is always worth checking the leader after landing a fish, as it is amazing how often the leader comes back really roughed up.

One other piece of equipment that I find invaluable, especially with the price of fly lines, is a stripping basket to keep loose coils from getting wrapped around oysters or mussels. I used a ‘bucket’ type for years with no issues at all, however, more recently I’ve been using a newer design from ‘Easy Shrimp Eyes’ which is much lighter and makes moving even easier.

When I fish from the boat I will often go with the same floating line and leader set up, as I am often casting right into the shore. However, if I find that I’m not getting down due to depth or current, I will add a sinking poly leader to the end of the fly line, or use an Intermediate line.

FINDING BREAM

In my experience the bream of the Derwent are pretty transient and come and go as they please (probably more tidal than ‘as they please’ to be fair), but there are areas and marks that seem to hold fish most of the time. Once you have worked out a few go-to spots then it is always fun to explore from there.

I prefer shores that have a decent drop-off and also like areas that have structure — big rocks are good places to start, as are reefs and washed-up trees. Of course, man-made structures like piers and jetties, boat hulls and groynes are always good places to look.

Bream do move about the river at different times of year, and I personally find it hard to locate fish at the end of winter and early spring, particularly if there have been floods that coloured-up the river. But, as the water warms a bit they spread out more, especially in the lower reaches of the river. After the New Year is when I really like to get into the bream, as the wading is nicer and the fish are often easier to locate.

Personally, I don’t like weed beds. I am sure they hold fish; I have caught bream alongside them, but I just do not find them as productive as other areas.

BREAM FLIES

Flies, in my opinion, are not as important as the confidence you have in them. I have about five patterns that I go to, and another five to use in specific circumstances.

Mostly, in the Derwent, I use a baitfish imitation. The bream here are very active in hunting down the bountiful supplies, and some of the baitfish are quite large. So my flies tend to be in the 3 to 3.5 inch size.

My choice of pattern really depends on the depth and strength of the flow. If the water is deep or the tide is gunning through, then I start off with a Martins Minnow with a 4mm tungsten bead. These cut through the water nicely to get down in the water column. Sometimes I will change to a Woolly Bugger with a craft fur tail, if I feel that a bit more movement is needed, also with a 4mm tungsten bead so it gets down. It is a useful tactic to have the bigger tungsten bead if you’re fishing near structure as the flies travel straight down, almost vertical, which is quite attractive to the bream.

As the flow gets lighter or the water gets shallower, I use my own ‘Bream Baitfish’ pattern, or a Bream Bunny or Gotcha type pattern. Colours are mostly natural olives/blacks but the majority of my flies have a trigger colour in them too, like orange, pink or red. And it is always worth carrying a few in purple and chartreuse, just to change things up. Other useful flies include an olive shrimp pattern, Brent Bowerman’s Bream Thing, and a Popping Shrimp (especially for up the East Coast).

BLIND SEARCHING

A fair bit of the fishing in the Derwent is blind searching. Sometimes you can see the bream ‘flashing’ as they feed, but, more often than not, they are not overly obvious. I tend to cover a fair bit of bank when I’m fishing. I generally work in the opposite direction to the flow, making three or four casts as I go. One straight up the bank, one at 45 degrees, one at about 60 degrees, and then one at 90 degrees. If I have not had any response, I’ll shuffle up 5 to 10 steps and try again. I’ll give a bank about an hour, and if nothing’s happening, I move.

I will also move if I start catching flathead. Flathead in the Derwent are mostly small and plentiful in numbers. In my experience I rarely catch bream where there are lots of flathead. So, if I get three or four in a row, then I will move further up the bank. Occasionally it feels like the whole bank is full of flathead, and in that case I get in the car and try elsewhere.

As I’ve fished more and more for bream, my retrieve has become slower and slower. Often the only action on the fly is from the current. If there is a tide running, then I will cast out upstream, mend the line as it comes down the river and only strip enough to keep the line tight. I think the bream hang off the reefs and rocks and belt out for food carried down by the current. I make sure I fish the cast right to the end of the swing as, just like trout, there are a lot of takes that come as the fly rises quickly at the end.

If the tidal run is slow, I will cast out, straighten up any loose line, then let the fly sink. Keep a keen eye on your fly line to look for takes on the drop. If nothing takes on the drop, then I’ll give two relatively long, slow draws and let the fly sink. Again, it pays to fish like this right to the rod tip, especially if you have had a tap or a pull on the way in.

ARM WRENCHING

Bream aren’t shy when they take, so be prepared for some arm wrenching pulls. And try not to trout strike!! I am horrendous at this, especially if it has been a quiet period. The slightest tap on the fly and my rod tip goes hurtling into the air, propelling the fly a good rod length away from the now disinterested fish. If I have my game face on, then I remember to strip strike, or better still, keep retrieving until everything goes solid, then strip strike.

It is a good idea to get a finger stall or some bandage tape for your stripping finger as it saves getting line burn from an aggressive bream, or from retrieving saltwater coated lines. The bandage tape is also good for closing up flathead wounds.

Tasmanian bream are great fun. They can be massively frustrating on some days, and other days they’ll take whatever you throw at them — you never really work them out. But, when the big, blue nose of a cracking bream hits the net, it really cheers up the day.

Tasmania’s black bream provide a great alternative to trout, and can easily be caught on your regular trout tackle. Just remember to wash off the salt.