Episode 67: Gold Coast Bream With Steve Morgan

Steve’s Top Tips For Winter Gold Coast Bream

• Fish move down to the lower end of the river systems during winter, preparation for spawning. During this period they have a preference for deeper water from 5-15 feet deep, where there is a reasonable current.
• Tides are not super important, as long is there is movement. It doesn’t matter whether it’s running in or out, whether they’re large or small tides or what phase of the moon. As long as it’s not the day of the full moon or anytime on the slack tide, bream can be caught if the right techniques are employed.
• Bridge pylons are always prime structure on the Gold Coast in winter, but come under pressure during tournaments. Deep holes, channel markers, creek entrances and other structure are also good options.
• Winter bream fishing on the Gold Coast is about understanding patterns. Once you figure out what’s working on fish on one piece of structure you can repeat it on similar structure and get similar results.
• In these conditions bream don’t normally bite savagely. The take can be subtle, so don’t be surprised when you set the hook to find that the fish is bigger than you first thought.
• Look for bream in the deeper channels using your fish finder. If you find aggregations of active fish within a metre of the bottom there’s a good chance they’re bream. Fish suspending mid water are more likely to be mullet or other species, rather than bream.

Steve’s Preferred Tackle For Bream Fishing

• Contrary to popular opinion, Steve prefers to fish with straight through fluorocarbon whenever he can as he finds the stretch helps reduce straightened or pulled hooks and it’s faster to change lures or leaders.
• A 8ft 6″ Daiwa Merberu Rod is perfect for throwing Cranka Crabs and combined with 4-8 lb fluorocarbon line is more forgiving and less likely to straighten or pull hooks.
• In tournament conditions Steve fishes blades on 2lb straight through fluorocarbon, preferring to lose a few fish but get a lot more bites, rather than miss opportunities.
• With the Ecogear Aquabait Steve will switch to 2-4lb braid with a 3-4lb leader to improve his ability to set the larger single hook in these lures.

Steve’s Best Bream Lures

• The heavy, olive coloured Cranka Crab 59mm is a gun bream lure on the Gold Coast. Steve suggests casting it in the eddy behind bridge pylons and allow it to fall to the bottom, fish usually take this lure fairly freely as it falls along alongside the pylon.
• A small black Ecogear blade, either VX or ZX in 35mm is Steve’s second choice. Other people like other colours, Steve prefers black but reckons other colours are just as good. Let this lure sink close to the bottom and then fish it back with little tiny hops. Steve uses lighter gear for these lures that he does for the crabs, as the lure isn’t fished as close to structure.
• An Ecogear Aquabait on a jig head just heavy enough to get the lure to the bottom is a good third choice. This is best drifted with little action around the sand scallops and alongside structure.