Bream Fishing Guide: Best Lures, Bait & How to Catch Bream

Ask most Perth anglers what they'd fish for on a weeknight after work, and the answer is almost always the same: black bream. These copper-flanked estuary fish are smart, line-shy and obsessed with structure, and they fight like fish twice their size. They're also great eating, found right through the Swan and Canning, and live within 15 minutes of the CBD.

The Swan and Canning Rivers hold a genuinely world-class bream fishery, and bream are one of the most popular estuary fish right around southern Australia. You don't need to be a tournament angler to catch them. You just need light tackle, the right approach and a bit of local knowledge.

This guide covers how to fish for bream and how to catch bream: where and when to find them, the best bream fishing bait, bream rigs, the best fishing lures and soft plastics for bream, how to catch bream off a jetty, and the gear and techniques that put more fish in the net.

Know Your Bream

• Black bream are the bream of Perth and southern Australia, found in estuaries from Kalbarri around the south coast to South Australia, Victoria (where they're called Gippsland bream), Tasmania and far southern NSW. They spend their whole lives in the estuary.
• Yellowfin bream are the east-coast bream, from Queensland to Victoria, found in estuaries, around rocks and along beaches. They're the fish behind Australia's bream tournament scene.
• Pikey bream live in the tropical north, around mangroves and rock bars.
• Tarwhine look similar and are often caught alongside bream, especially along beaches and reef edges.

All bream share the same habits: they love structure, they're cautious, and they feed on crabs, prawns, worms, shellfish and small fish. Everything in this guide works for all of them.

Understanding Bream Behaviour

Black bream are structure addicts. Jetty pylons, bridge pylons, rock walls, fallen trees, moored boats, pontoons and oyster-encrusted racks: if it provides cover, bream will be near it, often within 30 cm of it. They use structure to ambush food, shelter from current and hide from predators.

They're also tidal feeders. As the tide rises, crabs, prawns and worms move up onto the flats and edges, and bream follow the food. As it falls, the food concentrates along the drop-offs. The last couple of hours of the rising tide and the first hour of the run-out is the prime window. Dawn and dusk are always good.

Bream through the seasons

In Perth, summer into autumn is best for numbers, and winter into early spring is best for size.

• Summer: bream are active and plentiful. Early mornings and late afternoons are best, as bream move shallow to feed before retreating to deeper, cooler water. Dawn surface fishing on the flats can be electric.
• Autumn: bream feed aggressively as the water cools, and are less fussy about what they eat. A great time to catch plenty of fish.
• Winter: the bite slows, but this is when many of the biggest bream are caught. Fish soft plastics and blades slowly and deep around structure, and be patient.
• Early spring: still a great time for big fish, as bream move back onto the flats and edges when the water starts to warm.

After heavy rain, the upper Swan and Canning run fresh and bream move downstream to stay in the salty water. Follow the salt.

Best Spots for Bream in Perth

The Swan and Canning Rivers are the main game, with bream also found in the Peel-Harvey at Mandurah, the Leschenault at Bunbury, the Blackwood at Augusta, and the south-coast inlets. Here are the metro spots that consistently produce.

Kent Street Weir (Canning River)

One of Perth's best bream spots. The weir concentrates fish, especially in winter and spring. Work soft plastics along the edges and around the rock structure just downstream of the weir. Best time: incoming tide, early morning.

Claremont: the yacht clubs to the jetty

Classic bream water, with rocky shoreline, jetty pylons, moored boats and drop-offs into the channel. The moorings hold bream year-round. Cast tight to boat hulls and let your lure sink: bream love sitting in the shade underneath boats. Best time: rising tide, dusk.

The Narrows Bridge

The pylons create massive structure in deep, flowing water, and hold bream, mulloway and tailor. Fish the up-current side of the pylons, where bream sit in the eddies. You'll need heavier jig heads (1/4 oz or more) in the current. Best time: night, on the incoming tide. It can produce big bream.

Point Walter

The flats hold whiting and flathead, but the deeper channels on either side are bream territory. Fish the drop-off from the flats into the channel on the rising tide, as bream patrol the edges looking for prawns and crabs. Best time: the last two hours of the incoming tide.

Matilda Bay

Sheltered water with jetties, rock walls, moored boats and submerged structure. Work your lure along the bottom around every bit of structure you can find. Best time: rising tide, early morning or dusk.

Canning Bridge to Shelley Bridge

Quieter and less pressured than the Swan. The bridge pylons hold resident bream, and between the bridges there are deep holes, rock edges and fallen trees. Best time: incoming tide. Fish the pylons at night for bigger fish.

Applecross to Dalkeith foreshore

The rocky shoreline between Applecross and Dalkeith is a bream highway. Walk the shoreline and fan-cast around rocky points and structure. Great water for small hardbodies. Best time: incoming tide, autumn and spring.

Mosman Bay, Freshwater Bay and Blackwall Reach

Moorings, pontoons, jetties and deep rocky edges, all classic bream structure. Best time: rising tide, dawn and dusk.

Ascot Waters

The canals hold surprising numbers of quality bream around the rock walls and pylons, and get less pressure than the better-known spots. Best time: dusk into dark, on a rising tide.

How to Catch Bream Off a Jetty

Jetties are one of the best places to catch bream, and one of the easiest for beginners, because the pylons give bream everything they want: shade, shelter and food growing on the pylons themselves.

• Fish right against the pylons. Bream hold tight to them. A bait or lure a metre away gets far fewer bites than one right against the pylon.
• Drop straight down. From the jetty, lower a lightly weighted bait or soft plastic right beside a pylon and let it sink slowly down it. Most bites come as it sinks.
• Fish the shaded side, especially on bright days.
• Keep your weight light. An unweighted bait, or the smallest sinker you can get away with, sinks naturally and doesn't spook fish.
• Use a little berley. A small handful of bread or a berley cage with pollard and a little tuna oil draws bream in. A slow trickle beats dumping a bucket.
• Be quiet. Bream can feel your footsteps on a jetty. Walk softly and keep your shadow off the water.
• Night is often best. Jetties with lights attract baitfish and prawns after dark, and bream come out from the pylons to feed.
• Lift them away quickly. Once hooked, a bream will try to wrap you around a pylon. Keep firm pressure and steer it away.

Great jetty spots include the Claremont, Matilda Bay and Como jetties, and the jetties and pontoons along the Canning.

Best Bream Fishing Bait

Bait is the easiest way to catch bream, and it catches plenty of the biggest fish. Bream eat crustaceans, worms and shellfish, so those make the best baits.

• Prawns: the most popular bream bait. Use fresh river prawns or school prawns whole, or peel larger prawns and thread a piece on the hook.
• Blood worms, sandworms and beach worms: natural bream food, and deadly.
• Crabs: small crabs from under rocks are one of the best baits for big bream. Hook them through the back of the shell.
• Mussels: great around rock walls and jetties where bream feed on shellfish.
• Bread: a surprisingly good bream bait, especially with bread berley.
• Squid and fish strips: tough and long-lasting on the hook, and good in dirty water.
• Chicken: an old-school bait that still catches bream.

Keep your baits small, and make sure the hook point is exposed. Scented soft baits like Berkley Gulp Sandworm and Gulp Crabby are a handy backup when you can't get fresh bait.

Bream Rigs

The golden rule of bream rigs is to use as little weight as possible. Bream are cautious, and a bait that sinks slowly and naturally catches far more fish.

1. The unweighted rig

The simplest and often the best bream rig: just a hook tied to the end of your leader, with no sinker. The bait sinks slowly and naturally beside a pylon or rock wall. Perfect for jetties and shallow structure.

2. The running sinker rig

For deeper water, current or casting further out. Thread a small ball sinker onto your main line, tie on a small swivel, then add 50 cm to 1 m of fluorocarbon leader and a hook. The sinker slides, so a bream can pick up the bait without feeling the weight. Use the smallest sinker that gets the bait down.

3. The running sinker to the hook

For fishing tight to pylons and rock walls, let a tiny ball sinker run straight down onto the hook. It gets the bait down quickly while keeping the rig compact and snag-resistant.

Hooks, leader and sinkers

• Hooks: size 4 to 1/0. Try Gamakatsu Octopus or Vexed Baitholder hooks, or small circle hooks like the Gamakatsu Octopus Circle, which hook bream in the corner of the mouth when you just wind.
• Leader: 4–8 lb fluorocarbon. Bream are line-shy.
• Sinkers: the smallest ball sinkers that do the job. See our sinkers range.

Pre-tied options like the Jarvis Walker Bream Flathead Rig are handy for beginners and kids.

Best Fishing Lures for Bream

Catching bream on lures is some of the most addictive fishing in Australia. There are five main types of bream lures, and it pays to carry a few of each.

Best soft plastics for bream

Soft plastics are the number one bream lure in Perth. Go small and fish slow: bream aren't fish that smash everything in sight.

Curl tail grubs: the bread and butter

The most proven bream lure in Australia. The curling tail swims even on a dead-slow retrieve. Let it sink beside structure and retrieve with a slow hop, hop, pause. The pause is when bream bite.

• ZMan GrubZ 2.5": the king of bream grubs, and nearly indestructible. Motor Oil is the universal Perth bream colour.
• ZMan GrubZ 2": downsize when bream are following but not committing.
• Daiwa Bait Junkie Grub 2.5": scented and soft, so bream hold on a little longer.
• Bite Science Dirty Grub 2.5": great value for learning new spots.

Prawn imitations: the secret weapon

Prawns are a huge part of the Perth bream diet. A soft plastic prawn fished slowly along the bottom around pylons is deadly. Fish it on the lightest jig head you can get away with.

• Ecogear Bream Prawn 40mm and 50mm: a Perth favourite, made for exactly this fishing.
• ZMan PrawnZ 2.5": floats tail-up off the bottom on the pause.
• Daiwa Bait Junkie Prawn 2.35": scented, soft and the perfect size.
• OSP DoLive Shrimp 3": premium Japanese prawn with lifelike leg action on the sink.
• Irukandji Megaprawn 80: a larger prawn for bigger bream.

Paddle tails and minnows: search baits

Cast and slow-roll to cover ground and find where bream are holding.

• ZMan Slim SwimZ 2.5": the go-to bream paddle tail in Perth. Bloodworm on a 1/16 oz head, slow-rolled along the Dalkeith foreshore, is deadly.
• Daiwa Bait Junkie Minnow 2.5": scented, with a natural swimming action.
• Bite Science Mad Minnow 3": great value.

Jerk minnows and creature baits

• Jackall Driftfry 2.5": a pin-tail jerk minnow that often gets the bite from finicky bream.
• Bite Science Creepy Critter 2": a creature bait with legs that flutter on the fall. Pitch it into snags and rock walls.
• OSP DoLive Craw 2": a craw that scuttles backwards on the fall like a fleeing crab. Fish it weedless into heavy timber.

Hardbody lures for bream

Hardbodies trigger reaction bites from bream that won't look at a slow soft plastic. They shine in spring and autumn when bream are aggressive.

Crankbaits: bump the structure

Small diving crankbaits that bounce off rocks, pylons and timber trigger explosive strikes. When the lure hits something and changes direction, bream don't have time to think. They just eat it.

• Jackall Chubby 38 and Deep Chubby 38: the most famous bream crankbaits in Australia.
• Zipbaits Khamsin Tiny DR: premium Japanese deep diver.
• Atomic Hardz Crank 38 Deep, Pro Lure Crank Deep 36 and Ecogear SX40F: proven bream cranks.

Suspending minnows: the patience game

Suspending minnows hover in place when you stop winding. Cast, twitch, twitch, then pause. The longer you can make yourself wait, the bigger the bream usually are.

• Daiwa Double Clutch 48SP: arguably the best bream minnow ever made.
• OSP Dunk 48SP and Jackall Squirrel 61SP: premium Japanese suspenders.
• Zipbaits Rigge 43SS: a slow-sinking minnow that's deadly in the skinny water around Matilda Bay.

Surface lures: the most addictive way to catch bream

At dawn and dusk in summer, on calm, shallow flats, bream will smash lures off the surface. Watching a bream bow-wave towards your lure in shin-deep water is hard to beat. Unlike whiting, bream like a slow walk with long pauses: twitch, twitch, pause, and they usually hit on the pause.

• Bassday Sugapen 70F: a benchmark surface lure for bream and whiting.
• Daiwa Infeet Slippery Dog 65F and Zipbaits Fakie Dog: easy-walking surface lures.
• OSP Bent Minnow 76F: twitched in the surface film, it looks like a dying baitfish.

Vibes, blades and crabs: when bream go deep

When bream are holding deep around bridge pylons or in the channels, especially in winter, blades and vibes get down fast and can be hopped off the bottom.

• Ecogear ZX40 and ZX35 blades, and the TT Switchblade: deadly in winter.
• River2Sea Baby Vibe: the original Australian bream vibe.
• Daiwa Infeet Metal Vibe 3.5g: a tiny metal vibe for the pylons.
• Cranka Crab 50mm: a crab imitation that bream find hard to resist. Slow-roll it along rocky edges.
• Blue Lip Baits Micro Mussel: a mussel imitation for rock walls and jetties.

Jig heads

For bream, err on the light side. A slow, natural sink almost always beats getting down fast.

• 1/40–1/16 oz: shallow flats, calm water and slow current. The first choice for most bream fishing.
• 1/8 oz: medium depth and moderate current.
• 1/4 oz: deep water, strong current and bridge pylons.

Our favourites are TT HeadlockZ Finesse, Gamakatsu Round 25R, Daiwa Bait Junkie 0X and Bite Science Substrike DC. Browse all jig heads.

Bream Fishing Techniques

The hop and pause (soft plastics)

Cast to structure, let the plastic sink to the bottom on a slack line, then lift the rod tip 15–20 cm and let it fall back. Pause for two or three seconds between hops. Most bites come on the fall or the pause. Watch your line: often you won't feel a thing, but you'll see the braid twitch, jump or go slack. That's a bream. Lift firmly, but don't strike hard.

The slow roll (paddle tails)

Let the plastic hit the bottom, then wind slowly and steadily so it swims just above the bottom. The best way to cover ground and find fish.

Cranking structure (hardbodies)

Cast past the structure, wind the lure down to depth, and keep it bumping into rocks, pylons and timber. The strike comes when it deflects.

Skip casting

A low sidearm cast that skips a lure across the surface and into shade under pontoons, jetties and moored boats, where the bream are hiding. It takes practice, but it's one of the most valuable bream skills there is. Buoyant ZMan plastics skip well.

Night fishing: the big bream secret

Many of Perth's biggest bream are caught after dark, when they come out from structure to feed. Fish bridge pylons and lit jetties. Lights attract baitfish and prawns, which attract bream. Dark soft plastics show up well against the lit water.

Fly fishing for bream

If you want a challenge, bream on fly in the Swan is some of the most technical estuary fishing in Australia. A 6–7 weight fly rod like the Sage R8 Core, a floating line like Rio Mainstream Saltwater, and small prawn, crab and Clouser patterns will get you started. For a first saltwater fly rod, try the Redington Path II or estuary-specific TFO Mangrove Coast. Pair it with a sealed-drag reel like the Redington Run, Sage Spectrum LT or Abel Rove, and finish with a Rio Saltwater Tapered Leader and Rio Powerflex Plus tippet. Rio Elite Tropical Bonefish line is ideal for spooky fish on the flats. Sight-fish the flats at dawn, cast ahead of the fish, and strip slowly with long pauses.

The Best Bream Setup

Rods

A 6'6"–7'6" spinning rod rated 1–3 kg or 2–4 kg, with a fast, sensitive tip. You need to feel the subtle tick of a bream mouthing your plastic, with enough backbone to pull it away from structure. Longer rods cast further from the bank, and shorter rods are more accurate around moorings and jetties.

• Oceans Legacy Quest Inshore Finesse: ultra-light finesse models like the 672UL (2–8 lb) and 712XXUL (2–4 lb) are perfect for tiny jig heads around structure.
• Oceans Legacy Aurora Flats Spec: light and balanced, and great for wading the edges and casting to structure.
• Yamaga Blanks Blue Current III: Japanese finesse perfection, with incredible sensitivity.
• Yamaga Blanks Blue Current TZ/Nano: a step up again, lighter and more sensitive still.
• Ripple Fisher Real Crescent: handcrafted in Japan, beautifully balanced, and made for technical light game like bream.
• Daiwa's Infeet range is a long-time bream favourite, from the Infeet S and dedicated bream finesse Infeet BF and Infeet Z to the Infeet EX and Infeet IL LTD.

The Shimano 24 T-Curve is a great estuary all-rounder that covers bream, whiting and flathead. If you prefer baitcasting, see our baitcasting setup guide for BFS bream outfits.

Reels

A 1000–2500 size spinning reel with a smooth drag. Bream make short, violent runs into the nearest pylon, and a drag that sticks means a bust-off.

• Shimano 25 Nasci: great value, smooth and tough.
• Shimano 23 Stradic: the benchmark all-rounder.
• Shimano 24 Vanford: lighter, for long finesse sessions.
• Shimano Stella: the reel all others are measured against.
• We also carry a massive range of Daiwa, including the Legalis LT, TD Black MQ, Certate LT, Airity and Exist.

Line and leader

PE0.3–0.6 braid is standard for bream lure fishing: thinner braid casts light lures further and feels more bites. Try Daiwa J-Braid X8, or high-vis Gosen Answer Ajing X4 so you can see line bites. For ultra-finesse PE0.3–0.4, try Varivas Avani Light Game Super Premium PE X4. Add 1–1.5 m of 4–8 lb fluorocarbon leader with an FG knot. Bream are genuinely line-shy, and in clear water dropping your leader can make all the difference. Sunline FC Sniper, Shimano Ocea EX, Sunline V-Hard (for oyster racks) and Oceans Legacy Duelist FC are all great choices. See our braid and leader ranges.

Essential Bream Tips

• Accuracy beats everything. A cast 50 cm from the pylon catches nothing. A cast 5 cm from it catches a bream.
• Stealth is everything. Walk softly, keep your shadow off the water, and don't slam car doors near the river.
• Lighten the leader before you change the lure. Often it's the leader they're refusing, not the plastic.
• Downsize when it's tough: a smaller plastic, a lighter jig head, a thinner leader.
• Wear polarised sunglasses. You'll see bream, structure and your lure. Try Smith Guide's Choice, Shimano Conquest or Costa Permit.
• Handle bream gently with wet hands, and release the fish you don't need. Big bream are slow-growing and long-lived, and many anglers let them go.

Bream Fishing FAQ

How do you catch bream?

Fish light tackle around structure like jetties, pylons, rock walls and moored boats, on a rising tide at dawn or dusk. Use small baits like prawns and worms on a lightly weighted rig, or small soft plastics, hardbodies and blades fished slowly and close to the structure.

What is the best bait for bream?

Prawns are the most popular and reliable. Blood worms, small crabs, mussels and bread are also excellent. Keep baits small and use as little weight as possible.

What are the best lures for bream?

Small soft plastics like the ZMan GrubZ 2.5" and Ecogear Bream Prawn, crankbaits like the Jackall Chubby, suspending minnows like the Daiwa Double Clutch, blades like the Ecogear ZX, and small surface lures like the Bassday Sugapen.

What is the best bream rig?

An unweighted rig, a hook tied straight to a 4–8 lb fluorocarbon leader, is often the best, especially around jetties. Use a small running sinker rig in deeper water and current.

How do you catch bream off a jetty?

Drop a lightly weighted bait or small soft plastic right beside the pylons and let it sink slowly. Fish the shaded side, use a little berley, stay quiet, and try at night when lights attract prawns and baitfish.

What size hook for bream?

Size 4 to 1/0 suits most bream fishing. Go smaller for small baits and cautious fish.

When is the best time to catch bream in Perth?

Bream are caught year-round in the Swan and Canning. Summer into autumn is best for numbers, and winter into early spring is best for big fish. Fish the rising tide, and dawn, dusk and night.

Ready to Chase Some Bream?

The Swan River is one of Australia's best bream fisheries, and it's right on our doorstep. Come and see us at Level 1/154 Stirling Highway, Nedlands. We fish the Swan for bream ourselves and can set you up with the right gear for the spots you're planning to fish. Call us on (08) 9389 1337, or browse our soft plastics, hardbody lures, vibes and blades and jig heads online.

Free shipping on orders over $150* (under 3kg, exclusions apply) Australia-wide.