Episode 24: Derwent Estuary Black Bream With Plinio Taurian

Plinio’s Top Tips For Luring Derwent Estuary Bream

• Don’t follow the crowds to the popular spots. The Derwent system is loaded with bream holding structure such as seagrass, rocky shorelines and docks, go explore and you’ll find fish everywhere.
• For best results, look for areas where there is structure and water movement. Derwent bream love to sit in the outflow current behind rocky points and shallow swimming hard body minnows worked in half a metre to a metre of water will usually take fish.
• Make sure you include lots of pauses in your retrieve and count it out to make sure you leave the lure stationary for quite long periods.
• Fish shallow and don’t be discouraged by the amount of weed in the water. You need to learn to work the lure in and around weed as it’s a fact of life in this system.
• Runout tides are often favoured, but other tides can fish well too. Avoid periods around the full moon when tides are huge and the fishing is generally quiet.

Plinio’s Derwent Bream Tackle Selection

• Plinio uses spin gear with light, 1-3 kg line class fast rods and 2500 size reels for best results.

Plinio’s Top 3 Lures For Derwent Estuary Bream Fishing

• Ecogear MW 62F is one of Plinios favourites for fishing the shallow margins and shorelines in colours 393 and 328. Throw the lure in shallow and spend the first 30% of the retrieve tickling it across the bottom with occasional rips where possible. Then pause and let the lure sit stationary to get the strike before repeating the
• Norries Laydown Minnow Chigyo 57mm runs a little deeper and works well if the fish are a little deeper and playing hard to get. It’s fished the same way as the Ecogear MW, just deeper.
• Ecogear ZX35 or ZX40 blades are great when the fish are down deeper in the drainage edges along flats either moving upstream on the electric motor or drifting downstream. Short hops off the bottom work well, then a large move to a new bite location before repeating the short hops.